Cook Smarter, Not Harder
Posted by Al Rosas on Cook Smarter.
Just because a recipe is complex does not make it good. It only makes it complex.
Whenever I am asked to teach a culinary class, I feel honored that someone, anyone, would let me talk to them a great length about what I love to do. I go on about freshness, food miles, organic and, of course, avoiding the “BIG THREE” (high fructose corn syrup-hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides and also trans-fats). Some students listening intently, some even take notes or record the class. We go on and on stirring, mixing, chopping and laughing. I always make it a point to keep things light. Keep people loose. Letting them enjoy themselves. After all, just because they are paying to learn does not mean it shouldn’t be fun.
The kitchen is the modern day focal point of most homes. HOORAY! People want to be where the fun is and a culinary class should not be any different. We eat a little, maybe drink a little and definitely cook a lot. I ask my newfound friends, “What is that you like about cooking?” or “What are you looking to get out of this class?” I hear answers like: I want to learn new techniques to entertain my friends; I can cook a little and want to learn more. One thing I never hear is: I want to learn how to cook complex dishes. The stories come shortly after like some kind of support group. How they try to cook some thing out of a cookbook that look really impressive. How they saw a show that had subtitles and wanted to duplicate it. Burned, flopped, disgusting, inedible are some of the adjectives I hear.
This is my advice to my students that I will pass on to you today. Stay in the shallow end. They groan. I explain. The shallow end was a lot of fun; we didn’t really know what we were missing in the deep end. As chefs, we were never there. The shallow end was where we first learned to swim with Mom or Dad. Where we dove for dad’s spare change and some times got to keep it. Where we played Marco Polo or swam underwater from side to side for the first time. So as I remember it was NOT all that bad to stay in the shallow end (there were times that even though I had graduated to the deep end, I still played in the shallow end). The same goes for cooking. Enjoy yourself in the kitchen and don’t cook beyond your abilities, but always test your limits. Eventually you will be in the deep end. Remember don’t go swimming too soon in the deep end after you eat. Learn to swim shallow first and you’ll love to cook.
