Author: boardmanh

By Hannah Boardman

Learning to cook is a daunting task, and the rise of celebrity chefs and fancy cooking shows isn’t helping relieve anyone’s apprehensions. What most people don’t realize, however, is that cooking is actually really easy. You can convince anyone (most importantly yourself) that you can cook by following three easy steps.

The first step is finding self-confidence. If you expect yourself to fail, you will. While it seems like a simple concept, reminding yourself that you are capable makes a huge difference. This doesn’t mean that you won’t make a few mistakes, but that is normal. Even the best chefs mess up sometimes; Julia Child often made mistakes on her popular cooking show. Making mistakes doesn’t mean you can’t cook; it just means you’re human.

Next you must follow your instincts. Recipes are full of subjective language (“…when the crust is golden brown,” “…when the onions are translucent”) and imprecise timing (“…8-11 minutes”). For beginners, this can be frustrating. How golden is the crust supposed to be, and what does translucent even mean? Why can’t they just give me a specific time? When you start to get overwhelmed with questions, take a deep breath, and let your instincts take over. Channel your inner Remy from “Ratatouille”, and just do what feels right. You will be surprised by how much you knew subconsciously.

The final trick to becoming a good cook is to have fun. When you have three pans on the stove and something else in the oven it can get stressful, but it doesn’t have to. Take a step back and remind yourself that cooking is what you make of it (no pun intended). Improvise and make things easier on yourself. Leave out the mushrooms if they will take too long to cut and make part of the dish ahead to reheat right before you eat. If you start to feel stressed it is important to recognize where the stress is coming from and combat it, rather than giving up.

With the right mix of confidence and instincts cooking can be fun and easy. The more you practice, the better you will become. Soon, you won’t even be faking it anymore, you will just be making it! Good luck, and bon appetite.