Yes, anybody. My mother might tell you that if I was able to learn to basic cooking skills, there’s hope for just about anyone.
She has this great, embarrassing story about how at the age of twelve I still didn’t know how to make a sandwich. And sadly, it’s perfectly true.
But I’ve come a long way since then… I’ve learned to love cooking, and even though I cook everyday, I still just love the feeling of eating something delicious that I made myself.
I’ve learned quite a few tricks and techniques over the years, and it’s made a world of difference for my cooking skills. And I’ve really found that a great quality meal just makes you feel better.
So I created this website to pass on what I’ve learned about cooking! Because it’s not that hard – anybody can learn basic cooking skills. You just have to know what to do!
And once you do, you’ll find that the best restaurant in town is right in your own home.
Growing Up
I may not have always loved cooking, but I have always loved baking. Cookies, cakes, fudge, brownies… that’s what got me started in the world of cooking.
I may not have known how to make a sandwich when I was twelve, but I could make cookies or a cake from scratch if I was in the mood for something sweet!
Of course, at some point I realized that cookies and cake make a delicious diet, but maybe not such a balanced one. And I knew I was going to have to move out of my parents’ place someday, and then… no more mom to cook for me!
So I hovered in the kitchen. In the year or two before I moved out, I learned all the basic cooking skills I could. I practiced, and I went online and found recipes. And I found out that cooking something good isn’t so hard after all.
But the biggest revelation for me was realizing that a cooking method is worth a thousand recipes. It’s one thing to have a great cream of celery soup recipe. It’s a whole other to realize that you can make pretty much any cream of vegetable soup following the same technique.
And once you know the basic cooking method, you can start improving every recipe you come across!
Life Really Begins…
In 2008, I met the man of my dreams. In 2009 we got married, and I moved from Canada to the United States so that we could be together.
And nothing in the world could make me happier!
Of course, going through immigration meant that I couldn’t work for a while. I had just left a job in Montreal where overtime was a regular thing. So going from that to having all day long to do whatever I wanted took a bit of adjustment.
Meaning I had to find something to do or I would have gone crazy!
Having all day meant I could spend as much time as I wanted cooking, but there’s only so much we can eat. So I created this website.
I’ve always loved teaching. I’ll admit it… I’m a bit on the nerdy side, and in school, I’d help my friends with their math homework. And it was always such a great feeling to sit down with someone, work through a problem and see that light come on as they just got it.
And I thought, wouldn’t it be great to help people learn basic cooking skills? To show them how easy and fun it can be, and improve their quality of life by giving them the chance to make first-class meals for themselves.
Enjoy How To Cook
My goal with this website is to show people that great cooking is something anyone can do. And that it’s something you can actually learn to love.
I think that the best way to do it is to start with basic cooking skills: how to pan fry, how to make soup, how to roast… because without those basics, every time you cook, you can feel as though you’re swimming into unknown waters – and that’s not the best feeling.
I do my best to explain what you have to do and why you should do it. It’s amazing how knowing why can make all the difference.
Here’s an example that isn’t related to cooking. I recently got a sewing machine. I had never owned one, and basically had no idea how it worked on the inside, but I could use it.
Well, something happened and it stopped working. And it was so frustrating because I didn’t know what to do about it.
So I went online, and read up on how a sewing machine works. I learned all about bobbins and thread and tension, and just knowing how it worked helped me figure out what had gone wrong with mine.
Well, cooking is the same way. If you know the chemistry of what’s going on, then suddenly a whole new world opens up for you.
And that’s the world I want to show you!