Chef hat and arrow? Or ghost and pine tree?
Note: Chefitude = Chef + Aptitude. (Not chef + attitude, that is a subject for a different post).
The following list contains five sure-fire ways to increase your cooking abilities and general “chefiness”. I am not legally able to guarantee the following, but the wise employment of these strategies will probably result in instant self-confidence, abundant attention from the opposite sex, and millions of dollars in tax-free income.
Chef tip #1: Get your learn on.
If you don’t already, find ways to keep up on the latest cooking trends, new ideas, etc. Subscribe to a favorite food magazine (I like Bon Appetit). And there’s always the Food Network if you have cable. Note: beware of becoming a Food Network Zombie, who sits and stares at the delicious things on the screen without ever trying to make the food themselves! Apply what you learn to your cooking. And don’t even get me started on the Internet; there is a huge treasure trove of information out there on just about any food topic that you can imagine. Just make sure you get your info from sites that you trust.
Chef tip # 2: Find a class
Local cooking classes will help you get out of your cooking shell and into your local foodie community. Find them on sites like Craigslist and Meetup, or any local sites that you have available. The best classes will have you participate in the cooking so that you can try out new techniques and recipes. Interaction with the instructor and class members will give you plenty of new ideas to work with. And best of all, you’ll make new foodie friends!
Chef tip # 3: Make yourself try something new every day
Don’t get into a rut. If you’re in a rut, bust yourself out of it tonight. Make some Thai Curry or a Satay. Find an ingredient that you’ve never used before and taste it, then make something with it. Have you ever had a cherimoya fruit? It tastes like magic. Find one that is soft but not mushy, cut it open, and eat it with a spoon. Serve it to your family/friends/love interest – they will be blown away! We live in the Information Age, and there is no excuse for sticking to the same old thing. You have a million books, web pages, magazines, and TV shows that are hurling new ideas at you all the time. Pick one thing, find a recipe online, and make it!
Chef tip # 4: Critique your meals
Whenever you go to a restaurant or have a meal that you didn’t have to cook, analyze it in your mind. Contemplate and savor it. Pick apart its flavors; imagine how it was made. Think about the balance of flavors, texture, and all-over mouthfeel. What would you change? If you don’t like the dish, how could you make it good? Remember, this doesn’t mean that you have to be the Simon Cowell of your Bunco group’s pot luck dinner. (“This is an insult to Risotto. Italian grandmothers everywhere are spinning in their graves.”) I think you’ve gone too far when you can no longer enjoy any food without first assigning it a catty remark. This doesn’t win you many friends.
Chef tip # 5: The next step: find a part-time cooking job
Are you really serious about upping your Chefitude quotient? Then it’s time to hit the classifieds and find yourself a cooking job! Cooking jobs help you solidify your chef skills like nobody’s business. In order to master cooking skills, you need repeated, systematic practice. And what better way is there to get that practice than to get paid while doing it? It puts you on a schedule. It puts you in a real kitchen with real chefs. And it gives you a great motivation to learn. I still have the things that I learned from my very first kitchen job deeply ingrained in me – I use them every day.
Sure, there are drawbacks. In a restaurant, you are an employee, so you learn what the employer wants you to learn. (Which is not always what you want to learn.) And with entry-level jobs, the pay isn’t great and the jobs aren’t always glamorous. But if you really want a nitrous-boost to your cooking skills, this is a great way to do it. For best results, choose a restaurant and a position that fit your own interests. If you want to decorate cakes, get hired on at a bakeshop. Interested in large event planning? Work for a catering company. Want to learn gourmet main dishes? Get hired at a gourmet restaurant as a disher or busboy and let them know you have a passion for cooking. (That’s what I did, and they started training me in the kitchen soon after).
Now we come to the conclusion of this Chefitude-boosting seminar. Remember, local renown as a superstar chef is closer than you think!
Cookies and punch are now being served in the back foyer. See you next time!
P.S. If you happen to live in the Utah Valley area, I am planning to start a local cooking group of my own! It will be plenty of fun and delicious to boot. If you are interested in details, contact me at classes@vicariousgourmet.com.