How To Become The Cream Of The Crop In Cooking?

People often call cooking an art, which is not that far from the truth, especially if you put your heart into it. However, this claim can lead people to believe that you have to be born to do it, which is not true. On the contrary, cooking is one percent talent and 99 percent hard work. Neither Jamie Oliver nor Rudolph van Veen just magically woke up knowing how to cook. It is not something you are born with, it is the skill to be learned each day. And that process is very rewarding. Not only will you be able to prepare delicious meals for you and your family, but you will be highly praised for your art. If you want to become a better cook, here are a few tips to follow.

Practice, practice, practice

Think of it as a sport. If you truly want to be good at it, you will practice each day, or at least a couple of times a week. Even when no one else is home and you have to eat alone, you should still prepare yourself a decent meal. Think of it as an opportunity to try out new dishes that you are too shy to make for others.

Cook what you love

This especially goes for all you culinary newbies. Make things you love, that are over the top delicious and you will enjoy the process and look forward to the outcome. Don't even try to make something that you would otherwise never eat.

Travel the world

Cooking is a great way to discover new parts of the world. Try one cuisine and stick with it until you master it. You love pizza? Great, start with that and then move on to pasta. You enjoy steak tartare? Fantastic, make one and pretty soon you'll be an expert in Foie gras and mousse a chocolate.

Treat your kitchen with great appliances

Sure, the chef's hands do most of the job, but the meals at restaurants wouldn't be half as good if they wouldn't have professional appliances. You don't have to spend tons of money to get a premium quality range or oven, but you should stick to the reliable brands, instead of cheap alternatives. Many great European manufacturers operate overseas, and you will have no trouble finding appliances produced by Miele in the USA that will enable you to cook like a pro.

Have the right tools for the job

Now that you have the perfect appliances, it is time to get to pans, pots and knives. Again, go for quality and find the best tool for each purpose (you'll need a chef's knife, a special knife for boning and carving...). Of course, if you are up for some major investments Wusthof knives are the choice of many famous chefs, but you can always go with the best budget alternative Victorinox. As for skillets and pots, opt for copper, nonstick, stainless steel or cast iron.

Use herbs and spices

Now, let's go back to actual food. If you are still using only salt and pepper to season your dishes, you are doing something wrong. There are amazing herbs and spices to be tried out that can add authentic flavor to any recipe. With proper herbs, you can transform a regular chicken into Indian, Italian or Chinese. Another useful addition to dishes is acid (e.g. lemon and vinegar).

Be bold

We don't mean like go where no man has gone before like sausage in a pancake, but you should definitely experiment with seasonings, sauces, and why not, even wines. This will make cooking more fun to you, and the more you like it, the better you'll be at it.

Finally, find something that makes cooking easier to you. Put some nice music and dance your way to the perfect dish. Or pour yourself a glass of wine. Cooking should be a pleasure, not a chore.