The Top 5 Things a "Beginner" Cook Needs To Know in Order to Succeed.

Confidence

Let’s start with the most important rule. All other rules after this are meaningless (!) unless you have this. A confidence to succeed and fail is important because if you really are a beginner it’s likely you don’t know the basics of cooking. A lot of men and women who attempt to make something whenever that’s a chicken dish or maybe breakfast and overcook it tend to immediately give up. Only when you give up, that’s when you fail.

Trial & Error

Well since you likely haven’t cooked a lot AND you are new at this, it never hurts to find something easy and cook it right? Well, let’s take Eggs for example. Try “over-easy” or even “sunny side up”. Now you might mess them up but you might get them exactly right. You’ll never know unless you try.

Repeat (Repetition)

Since this coincides with the former, I will keep you focused on both simultaneously. Now you know the phrases: “repeat, repeat, and repeat” and “practice makes perfect” correct? Well for cooking and prep work, this is the mindset you should have in mind. That lasagna dish you made correctly for the first time or how about the chicken you cut into pieces and turned into a great tasting noodle soup. Well, neither will be a “go-to dish” to make unless you practice each step and make sure you remember the right amount of spices to include.

Ask questions

Short and simple: If you don’t ask questions then you won’t learn anything then you won’t learn anything. Every cook in the kitchen will ask about something they don’t understand or know how to do. Even chef’s will ask other chef’s questions about different techniques and ingredients why can’t you?

Know where to shop and how to shop

Last but not certainly least; unless you are rich and have tons of money to spend then you will need to get the most for your dollar. You will practice and you will make mistakes from time to time (Trial and error). Just to point out: a lot of classic dishes that can help you become a better cook don’t use expensive ingredients. On the other hand, the quality of ingredients is important and the knowledge on where to shop for them is.