I’m pretty confident. I worked for an upscale restaurant and catering company for 3+ years as a teen, and have chefs in the family, plus my mom is a good cook, so I’ve just soaked up a ton of knowledge over the years. Couple all that with an obsession for Good Eats and other cooking shows, and I’m pretty good when it comes down to it.
Funny thing is that I’m picky and I also hate buying ingredients & cooking for one, so I rarely ever cook. It’s a big f’n deal when I do cook. Not because I don’t know how, I just don’t care.
I am really skeptical that 45% of respondents (as presently) are excellent home cooks (Confident). I’ve known some excellent cooks, and I’m not as good as them. (For example, I’d say that an excellent cook must be able to make a few dozen dishes with no reference to recipes and no precision measuring. I can do a number of things this way, but not that many, and I might still give myself assistance here and there.) On the other hand, though I voted Capable, “nothing too complicated” makes me sound unambitious. I think there could have been more gradation and specificity in the high end here.
Me too. I picked fairly capable simply because I don’t cook all that much, though what I make generally turns out just fine.
But I’m not terribly adventurous - my latest off-recipe foray involved seeing if I could make chocolate chip Belgium waffles, if I used mini chips. I’m sure you’ll all be relieved to know that it works. Oh, and you know those mini muffin pans, with about 2 dozen little cups instead of six-twelve big ones? Scooping cookie dough into them was another successful experiment this spring. Yeah, I’m all about adventure in my kitchen.
I voted fairly capable, but “enthusiastic bumbling amateur” is probably a more accurate description. I’ve recently taken more of an interest in cooking, but my knowledge of the basics is pretty lacking so I’m often left wondering the same sorts of things ladyfoxfyre’s husband does about burner heat, amount of oil, and that sort of thing.
(Burner heat, in particular. My feel for what level of heat is correct for a given job is woefully undeveloped.)
What I’m finding, though, is that the margins of error for many (most?) processes are very large. Taking a guess and pressing forward usually results in an enjoyable dinner. I do occasionally mess something up completely by leaving out a step that the writer of the recipe thought would be obvious…
I picked capable - I do 80% of the meal prep at home, but am more of a “feeder” than a cook
I can crank out a meat, veg and starch - either individually (nothing prepped or packaged) or a variety of combinations - in 30 minutes or less and have my pre-teen kids and my wife sitting around the table talking about the day.
I can prepare a Thanksgiving or other big holiday meal - which allows me to hide in the kitchen and enjoy a few glasses of wine
Most recipes are no big deal - but I prefer improvising with what’s in the fridge.
I’m not comfortable bragging, but I have pretty much devoted my life to the kitchen. I was fortunate enough to train under my culinary idols, and managed to carve out my own niche.
The only regret I have is that people are scared shitless to cook for me, which is unfortunate, because I love it when they do.
Yeah, seems to me that there should be a level or two between “capable”, “confident” and “pro”.
I was “confident” 10 years ago. I’m MUCH better now that I was then, and can cook a lot more varied stuff a lot better than I could then. I’m not a pro, but I have taken cooking courses at pro-level schools. And I’m sure I’m not the only one here who falls in the in-between areas.
On some level I agree that the poll may be a little heavily weighted to elicit an “excellent” response.
On the other hand, I think that your requirements for “excellence” are a little too exclusive. No measuring? Really?
There are plenty of meals that I’ll make without referring to a recipe, but I still measure things on a fairly regular basis. It’s fairly common for me to knock up a dinner for six with appetizers, a soup course, two mains, three sides, and dessert, but “No fair, he used measuring spoons while preparing his spice mix!”
For full disclosure, usually when I’m laying on a big spread like this I do all the prep ahead and enter all the cooking times into a spreadsheet which gives me a nice timetable for all the key events for the various recipes, listed in chronological order. I think that’s probably more of a cheat than measuring out a half-cup of wine, but I’m still keeping my “Excellent” badge.
FWIW, I’m an engineer, too, and as I said, I’m not big on measuring things when I cook. My approach has been known to drive another engineer (a former roommate) to the brink of madness, though.
Not sure what you meant by this. I am pretty sure you’re American, but maybe not a football fan? The Pro Bowl is the showvase game for football witb the best players in the league.
I’m confident. I love to cook. I use recipes for ideas (except for baking, which I am just capable). Sadly, my wife doesn’t really appreciate subtle nuances, such as the choice of herbs, and no one in my family really appreciates cheese (the horror!) Still, they enjoy most meals I prepare, even if they do not really appreciate the importance of building from the right ingredients.
I picked pro because I’ve cooked professionally, and I’m likely to again. I wouldn’t select the Master Chef category because that would imply broader experience and/or education, and a higher skill level than I have. In my book a Master Chef has to be a visual artist, and show skill across many cooking styles, and the various stations of a commercial kitchen. It is a pretty exclusive club.
I’d say the big difference between the Confident category and Pro category is the experience in commercial kitchen environments. At home you can make the same dish differently every time, at a restaurant consistency is a more important factor. Even you improve a dish, you could lose customers who want it exactly like the last time they had it. In the commercial environment you have to deal with large quantities (especially in catering), and produce menus, do inventory and ordering, price dishes and create specials. Much of that doesn’t hinge on the skill level of the basic cooking skills though. Knowledge of flavors, the properties of ingredients, cooking technique (the difference between an omelet, scrambled eggs, and brown stuff stuck to the pan), are all things that many excellent home cooks could all do, and if they are organized people, and have the energy, they could usually transition into professional cooking easily.
That may be just your habit. For dishes you’re accustomed to making, I bet you could abandon precision measurements and rely on hands, eyes, nose, tongue, as appropriate. If you’ve added a half-cup of wine to a pot often enough, you should know what that looks like as it combines with other ingredients, how the stirring feel changes, the proper tang of the steam. (I just pour wines, vinegars, oils and soy sauce straight from the bottles these days.)
And I’d further bet that, having done that, after a while you’d find yourself producing dishes that were freer, more responsive to that day’s ingredients, more distinctive in their reflection of your personal proclivities.
The categories are up for individual interpretation. That was the purpose of “What would you say is your level of cooking ability?” Obviously not everyone is going to fit neatly into the categories as described. If people consider themselves excellent home cooks, who’s to argue?
If I were to remake the poll, it would be identical, except I would change the last one to “Master Chef: I am Masaharu Morimoto” instead of “which way to Kitchen Stadium?”
i can cook basically anything that can be seasoned and heat-regulated from start to finish (soups, stews, sauces, etc.)
i’m still learning one-shot procedures wherein you put the main ingredients only once, fire it up and wait for it to cook (basically any kind of roast, pies, casseroles, etc.)
I said “confident,” though I’m lazy. Mom had me help in the kitchen since I was big enough to stir cookie dough, and I picked up on what many measures “look like” - so I’m one of those cooks who just pours and sprinkles stuff without always using measuring cups and spoons. I learned everything my mom had to teach me, and then I went further. I enjoy following recipes, but often can’t be bothered to look stuff up, or if I do, I might just Google ingredients, check a few things that pop up, and then improvise my own idea.
I’ve been told I can throw down in the kitchen. That sort of compliment seems to apply to a confident cook. I’m impatient, though, and not into much prep time or multiple stages unless it’s for a special occasion. Most of the dishes I cook for myself are 20-30 minutes from fridge to stomach. I enjoy breads and pastries when I make them, but usually can’t be bothered. Soups and stews are a go-to since they’re easy prep and then pretty much walk away until they’re done.
Right smack dab in the average stakes. I don’t eat much so the basics is all I need to know. Which means in some social situations I may be inadequate in comparison.
Having said that, I have a friend who the other week struggled to heat up a pre-cooked chicken, and needed instructions. Half of which he (foolishly) ignored.
Throw things together and cook them by gut instinct. :Eat a lot of shitty food and throw a fair bit of inedible stuff out.
Throw things together and cook them by gut instinct Minus a few things experience has taught you will lead to suck. :Eat a fairly limited menu of standard things you like plus an assortment of slightly disappointing branching out, and only the rare disaster.
Throw things together and cook them by gut instinct Minus a few things experience has taught you will lead to suck Plus a growing understanding of why things that worked, worked. : Variations on a core menu of things well tuned plus satisfactory to impressive results on experimentation and innovation.
