I love cooking, but because my mom is too much of a bimbo and my dad too much of a “manly man” to ever step into the kitchen, I never had the chance to learn from them. I grew up on delivery, takeout, eating out, and the incredible food made by the amazing woman who cooks for our family. I became deeply interested in cooking at the start of my teenage years and taught myself through the internet, books, that same woman, and other relatives.
I started by “making” frozen dinners, instant noodles and meal kits.
The most complex stuff I’d make is stir frying with some stir fry sauce.
Starting somewhere around 3rd year in college I decided I wanted to get better at cooking so I would look up a recipe for something I liked to eat once a month and try to make it.
Once I graduated I realized I actually like cooking so I took the idea further and decided to make a new dish every week. I would research a dish, find a recipe that I thought looked good and then buy the ingredients the next time I’m at the grocery store. I practiced mise en place (ie. I would measure, wash and cut every ingredient before turning on the heat) and it really helped make every dish accessible.
I did this for 10 years. Turns out if you consistently cook at least once a week for 10 years you make mistakes, learn and get better.
I’m not as good as a chef and my knife skills suck but I like to think I can cook food as good as most restaurants. I also got to explore a large range of dishes and discovered a lot of foods I love and how to make it.