Good morning! I have been all over the internet looking at Cooking Forums. I have joined a few, but I don't think I am finding what I really need. I don't cook alot. In fact, I really can't stand to be in the kitchen. However, my 16 year old daughter would really like to learn how to cook - without the boxed stuff I so inelegantly use. She (or maybe its me being obsessive) wants to go to culinary school. My fears are that she knows next to nothing and I don't even know where to begin to help her. To tell you the truth, I am much better at the research than I am in the kitchen. I would much rather do a ton of research, put it all on a website (and this I don't even know how to do) for her to use where ever she is and forget about it. With that said, I admit I am way to practical for that. She needs an education BEFORE she gets to school. And I am the parent!!! What I would really like to know are....what should I teach her first, second, third....etc? I will do the research if you can at least point me in the right direction. I am inundated and overwhelmed with what is out there. I guess I could use the education too :o
First you need good tools to cook with. Do you guys have a good set of cookware and a nice set of knives? Those are two must haves for cooking. I guess some good basic recipes would be appropriate to start you guys off with. What kind of food do you guys like to eat? I live in KY so we are big on southern style comfort food but I also love Italian and asian food. I would teach her what they different types of cooking oil out there are best for and there smoke points. For instance you would want extra virgin olive oil for vinaigrettes and to finish dishes. Vegetable oil is good for frying and baking. If she likes to bake I would teach her the difference between the types of flour you can get and make sure she understands what baking soda and baking powder are. Roasted chicken and pasta dishes are pretty easy to master and good for the beginning cook.
I love to cook with a lot of herbs to add flavor. You may want to introduce her to fresh or dried herbs a few at a time to see if you guys like them. Oregano and basil are very common in Italian cooking. I always cook with kosher or sea salt and you always want fresh ground pepper. If you dont have one I would pick up a peppermill.
I love to cook with a lot of herbs to add flavor. You may want to introduce her to fresh or dried herbs a few at a time to see if you guys like them. Oregano and basil are very common in Italian cooking. I always cook with kosher or sea salt and you always want fresh ground pepper. If you dont have one I would pick up a peppermill.
Hello Amy and welcome, I was in the same boat when I decided to learn to cook. My mother was a box and can cook so I really didn’t have a lot of exposure to anything being made from scratch. Really you just have to jump in there with both feet. The best thing for her to do is to think about what she would really like to eat. What kind of food does she enjoy? My first dish was white fish with beure blanc. It’s funny now when I think about that being the first dish I ever made from scratch but it sounded tasty and that was enough to get me started. Once she knows the sort of food that speaks to her try buying a good cook book in that genre and working through recipes. When it comes to cooking you have to learn by doing.
Hi Amy!
Welcome to Spice Place. We're a fine bunch of folks from all regions and all walks of life. As different as we all are- the one thing we have in common is our love of eating! We cover all the bases here- some are pros, some used to be pros- others are fantastic home-cooks... others casual hobbyists... we got it all! So, c'mon in and take a look around. Pulluppa chair and make yourself at home- we're glad u stopped by!
Has your daughter ever taken a high school Home Ec course? Normally this is a sampling-order of kitchen-things they introduce to young first-year novice cooks: biscuits, muffins, quick-breads, pancakes, pie crust, cakes, pasta, casseroles, simple meats- then complete (simple) meals.
I started cooking alongside my Mom in her kitchen when I was roughly 8 or so. I started w/ frying eggs, potatoes & meats at breakfast. Then baking- biscuits, cakes, pies... Then moved on to peeling potatoes and cutting-up a whole chicken at supper. Then progressed to meatloaf, meatballs, lasagne, turkey, and ethnic-grub like tacos, stir-frys, etc. By 10 I was pretty much doing it all. (Partly because I HAD to. At this age, my wonderful, loving Mom had a break-down, "took ill" and never recovered, so I took on many household duties)
By this early age, I realized I LOVED cooking and made up my mind that being a chef was my calling.
At 14 I hired-on at a local, small-town tavern where my first jobs as a youngster were scrubbing toilets and washing dishes, taking out garbage and cleaning deep-fryers and grease-traps... then after proving myself over several months, I was trusted with cleaning 50lb. cases of chicken quarters, 25lb. cases of whole catfish, cutting steaks, peeling 50lb. cases of potatoes & carrots, prepping 50-gallon rubbermaid garbage-cans full of tossed salad and cole slaw, 5-gallon buckets of homemade salad dressings, etc.
At 16 I left the tavern and progressed to another nicer local hotel restaurant with nicer food and a Sunday Brunch with all sorts of "Sunday-type" foods like Prime Rib, whole hams, and fancy buffet food.
Right after high school graduation I moved north to Chicago, enrolled into a community-college culinary arts program (dropped-out after only one semester!) and hired-on at a fancy country club where I apprecticed for 3 years learning high-end American and continental cuisine- and worked there for 5 years, total.
By 25, after just over a decade in commercial kitchens, I was a sous chef at a bigger hotel- then I progressed after that to resorts, a cruise ship company, then side-stepped out of fine-dining into "meat & potatoes" cooking at remote site Alaskan oil camps, feeding hungry field-workers.
Your daughter? If she wishes to become a chef, she has many fine options. A formal education is a great choice- BUT, it's not her only choice. If she can afford the expensive tuition- she should go for it. But remember this: if you're destined to be a good chef- school will definitely help. But if you're not? No amount of schooling will turn a pig's ear into a silk purse. Being a chef is still one of those rare careers where one can definitely find success without a degree.
I had a successful career that I absolutely loved (left kitchens last Spring after 25 years) and although I served an appreticeship, I had little formal schooling. Over the years, coming-up, I worked with many incredible chefs and kitchen managers, and later when I became a chef, I worked with others- and hired many who both attended school and some who did not. And in all honesty? It was always an individual thing- I never once saw a pattern. I cannot say that most school students/graduates did better than those w/ no education... and I cannot say that those with zero formal schooling did better, either. Truth is- some students were fantastic- others we terrible! And visa-versa! As with so many things- it just all depends on the individual.
My one piece of advice, though? Start early in commercial kitchens. Work in many kitchens, for many chefs- to learn many ways. Be prepared to SWEAT, and be prepared to give up all your nights/weekends/holidays, 'cause cooking is a very demanding field.
As a mother, you can offer nurturing support thru buying her food magazines and cookbooks (especially those with beautiful photos) to help inspire her. If money is a concern, remember Amazon sells USED books. Often one can get a recently-published, still-new year old cookbook still in great new condition for less than ten bucks! (in fact, I've bought great cookbooks for ONE DOLLAR plus S&H!) I get ALL my cookbooks this way, these days.
Lastly? No good chef got to where she/he is today without scrubbing pots, washing dishes and mopping floors. If one has an issue with doing menial tasks- cooking likely isn't for them!
Anyway- good luck and best wishes to you both! And we hope to see you here often! smiles- Kevin (chubbyalaskagriz)
Welcome to Spice Place. We're a fine bunch of folks from all regions and all walks of life. As different as we all are- the one thing we have in common is our love of eating! We cover all the bases here- some are pros, some used to be pros- others are fantastic home-cooks... others casual hobbyists... we got it all! So, c'mon in and take a look around. Pulluppa chair and make yourself at home- we're glad u stopped by!
Has your daughter ever taken a high school Home Ec course? Normally this is a sampling-order of kitchen-things they introduce to young first-year novice cooks: biscuits, muffins, quick-breads, pancakes, pie crust, cakes, pasta, casseroles, simple meats- then complete (simple) meals.
I started cooking alongside my Mom in her kitchen when I was roughly 8 or so. I started w/ frying eggs, potatoes & meats at breakfast. Then baking- biscuits, cakes, pies... Then moved on to peeling potatoes and cutting-up a whole chicken at supper. Then progressed to meatloaf, meatballs, lasagne, turkey, and ethnic-grub like tacos, stir-frys, etc. By 10 I was pretty much doing it all. (Partly because I HAD to. At this age, my wonderful, loving Mom had a break-down, "took ill" and never recovered, so I took on many household duties)
By this early age, I realized I LOVED cooking and made up my mind that being a chef was my calling.
At 14 I hired-on at a local, small-town tavern where my first jobs as a youngster were scrubbing toilets and washing dishes, taking out garbage and cleaning deep-fryers and grease-traps... then after proving myself over several months, I was trusted with cleaning 50lb. cases of chicken quarters, 25lb. cases of whole catfish, cutting steaks, peeling 50lb. cases of potatoes & carrots, prepping 50-gallon rubbermaid garbage-cans full of tossed salad and cole slaw, 5-gallon buckets of homemade salad dressings, etc.
At 16 I left the tavern and progressed to another nicer local hotel restaurant with nicer food and a Sunday Brunch with all sorts of "Sunday-type" foods like Prime Rib, whole hams, and fancy buffet food.
Right after high school graduation I moved north to Chicago, enrolled into a community-college culinary arts program (dropped-out after only one semester!) and hired-on at a fancy country club where I apprecticed for 3 years learning high-end American and continental cuisine- and worked there for 5 years, total.
By 25, after just over a decade in commercial kitchens, I was a sous chef at a bigger hotel- then I progressed after that to resorts, a cruise ship company, then side-stepped out of fine-dining into "meat & potatoes" cooking at remote site Alaskan oil camps, feeding hungry field-workers.
Your daughter? If she wishes to become a chef, she has many fine options. A formal education is a great choice- BUT, it's not her only choice. If she can afford the expensive tuition- she should go for it. But remember this: if you're destined to be a good chef- school will definitely help. But if you're not? No amount of schooling will turn a pig's ear into a silk purse. Being a chef is still one of those rare careers where one can definitely find success without a degree.
I had a successful career that I absolutely loved (left kitchens last Spring after 25 years) and although I served an appreticeship, I had little formal schooling. Over the years, coming-up, I worked with many incredible chefs and kitchen managers, and later when I became a chef, I worked with others- and hired many who both attended school and some who did not. And in all honesty? It was always an individual thing- I never once saw a pattern. I cannot say that most school students/graduates did better than those w/ no education... and I cannot say that those with zero formal schooling did better, either. Truth is- some students were fantastic- others we terrible! And visa-versa! As with so many things- it just all depends on the individual.
My one piece of advice, though? Start early in commercial kitchens. Work in many kitchens, for many chefs- to learn many ways. Be prepared to SWEAT, and be prepared to give up all your nights/weekends/holidays, 'cause cooking is a very demanding field.
As a mother, you can offer nurturing support thru buying her food magazines and cookbooks (especially those with beautiful photos) to help inspire her. If money is a concern, remember Amazon sells USED books. Often one can get a recently-published, still-new year old cookbook still in great new condition for less than ten bucks! (in fact, I've bought great cookbooks for ONE DOLLAR plus S&H!) I get ALL my cookbooks this way, these days.
Lastly? No good chef got to where she/he is today without scrubbing pots, washing dishes and mopping floors. If one has an issue with doing menial tasks- cooking likely isn't for them!
Anyway- good luck and best wishes to you both! And we hope to see you here often! smiles- Kevin (chubbyalaskagriz)
Hi Amy, welcome to SP. It's nice to meet you.
I would suggest that if you can't stand being in the kitchen then maybe your daughter is the one that should be signing into the SP. Start small. Look for interesting recipes and plan a weeks menu for dinners each night. She can ask how to questions as she plans out the meals. What type of cookware to use, what cutlery would be best for prepping this or that? You would be shocked by the quick responses of members here to help each other.
Cooking is not something you should have to look at as Jane Goodall did with the apes.
I would suggest that if you can't stand being in the kitchen then maybe your daughter is the one that should be signing into the SP. Start small. Look for interesting recipes and plan a weeks menu for dinners each night. She can ask how to questions as she plans out the meals. What type of cookware to use, what cutlery would be best for prepping this or that? You would be shocked by the quick responses of members here to help each other.
Cooking is not something you should have to look at as Jane Goodall did with the apes.