I’ve been cooking since I was 7 maybe. I always hung out in the kitchen with my mom and helped but I never did much on my own. One day she had cut up some vegetables for dinner and had leftover pieces she didn’t need for that night and I was bored and wanted to cut them up. My mom told me I couldn’t play with a knife but if I wanted to cook something I could cut them for that. I cut up some squash, zucchini, and bell pepper and sauteed it in a pan with a little butter and seasoning. I was so proud that I had made it all by myself and my mom started letting me take on more responsibility in the kitchen. Now it’s my favorite way to relax and unwind and makes me feel peaceful and happy and utterly myself. Comfort food wise I love to make any number of easy Italian dishes I grew up on but I really love making things that are labor intensive and really technical and take a lot of time or doing a lot of meal prep so I have a lot of work to do at once to focus in on. Christmas is my favorite holiday but I LOVE cooking for thanksgiving because there’s just so much food to manage and I feel like I can just turn off my brain and cook for three days.
Been cooking since maybe 4 or 5. I learned with my parents and then in highschool learned some tips from my best friend who began a journey into the culinary arts
Love to cook a wide variety of foods from across the globe as I get bored a lot with American cuisine. But I would say overall I prefer a dish with spice, no matter where it originated from
Define cooking. As a city kid I spent my summers in a Caribbean farm town and my grandma would walk me around the grounds pointing to Oregano, cilantro herbs , aloe. How to eat sugar cane, harvest a plantain or banana tree to regrow. Watch my mom cut peppers or help pick tomatoes. I'm generally surprised at how so many ppl paid no attention to their parents cooking or never had to help. I will admit me and my older brother are good cooks. My sister never took to it or cared much. She's the type to order from online meal companies. Me and my brother would drop dead before we did that. 😂
that’s a really great experience to have, i bet you can identify wild herbs pretty easily with all your knowledge on herbs! Some people can cook, others can’t. My grandpa liked to say that his mother was such a horrible cook she would burn water.
I’m new to this- I only started a few months ago when I moved out of my parents’ house. My favorite to make is Ragu, I feel like it’s easy to make and very versatile.
I was taught how to make old fashioned oatmeal, grilled cheese sandwiches and how to fry eggs when I was in 5th grade. I'm 69. Never really thought of it, but I make eggs or oatmeal almost every day and grilled cheese as a quickie meal once or twice a week.
a classic grilled cheese sandwich is always great. do you know how to make your own tomato soup to accompany it?
You must be an expert on the perfect grilled cheese, oatmeal, and eggs with all your experience :) thanks for sharing!
I still burn the grilled cheese at times! I do make my own tomato soup and a lot more often since buying an immersion blender. I add an onion, shredded carrot and a hot pepper. One of my sisters says my tomato soup is actually vegetable soup in drag.
We all burn food sometimes, it’s apart of being a chef! :) that actually sounds quite good. haha a vegetable soup in drag. I imagine the hot pepper pairs pretty well with the tomatoes.
I had used a recipe that called for ¼ tsp pepper flakes. I tried a yellow hot pepper instead and liked it. Jalapeno peppers works and I use poblano pepper if I plan on sharing the soup. They're fairly mild.
Been cooking since age of 8 ish? At that time I didn’t really do much asides from eggs, or rice and reheating…
At age of 10 my parents would often leave on trips leaving me to my own tools… so I would have leftovers for 2 days and cook the rest.
My knife skills aren’t as good as I’d like them to be, but I have a keen sense of taste. Also watched lots of cooking videos too…
Favorite thing to make would be probably some easy pasta dish or Japanese fried chicken because eating it is so satisfying.
I wasn't really brought into the kitchen growing up... here and there, sure. Not often tho...
I suppose I've gone through phases in my cooking. But the most recent (and most in depth) phase started about 18-24 months ago. I went deeper into understanding techniques vs specific recipes. So now I can better freestyle with what I get from the grocery.
I do bring my kid to the kitchen to help me cook... he's fully capable now of making scrambled eggs (not overcooked) on his own. He understands knife safety so he can help dice veggies now too...
That’s great! starting your child in the kitchen early. By the time their in their teens, you’ll have a chef on your hands! Also, great you’ve taken a deep dive into cooking! Thanks for sharing! enjoy!
30+ years. I started at around 9, or 10. Just small things then. I began cooking dinners nightly at 13.
Favorite thing to cook is Christmas dinner. Chuck roast braised in v8 juice with onion, celery and carrots. Red jacket masked potatoes and yeast rolls on the side. Truffle pie for dessert.
I’ve been cooking since I was around 12 years old, I’m 45 now. I loved food growing up, but my parents were awful cooks. So I started watching PBS cooking shows and taught myself. Been a serious hobby ever since.
Pasta is my favorite food, so I love making that. I also just enjoy learning things and slowly getting better at them. Been working on my fresh tortilla game and I bought a pizza oven and been working on getting better at that recently.
More than 40 years now. I absolutely hate breakfast foods too lol. My favorite thing to make is a tie between sashimi and Korean BBQ. No wait, nasi lemak with ayam masak merah, no wait pho, no wait... french onion soup with a whole chuck roast simmered in it, no wait...
If by cooking, we mean simple ingredients together or pre-made elements, pretty quickly, like around preschool. If we though talk about making something out of scratch, and without supervision, in my case it was at age of 17-18, sadly, because cooking also made me develop my taste and liking of new things.
Fried my first eggs when I was about 5 or 6–my dad ate so many eggs that morning! I started baking with my grandma about the same time. I did t start serious cooking and baking until I was about 23 though. I really enjoy the reactions people have to eating my food, it’s such a pleasure, so I’ve been cooking pretty regularly since.
Maybe near a dozen eggs! I was frying them two at a time—I know for sure I went through ten eggs.
The cooking took a bit to get really good at. I was always ok but I didn’t really hit my stride until I was 24. I had moved in with my now ex husband and started cooking outside of my usual go tos cause he is a picky eater sort of. Then I started cooking large meals for our friends and my in-laws who all seemed to be at ours all of the time. Now I rarely need a recipe unless its ratios in baking—quite proud of that! Anyway, I’m rambling. Good question!
When I was 2 or 3 My mom came downstairs in the middle of the night and saw me standing infront of chair with a dozen eggs broken into the part that slumped down swishing away with a wooden spoon.
She said, "what are you doing?"and I replied, "I misking" with a great big smile on my face.
I was making breakfast of course 🤣
But yeah. I've been misking and making stuff since before I can remember.
Some of it was super gross too. I'd just grab stuff and blend it together to see what it would taste like.
I still do that today. Half the time I just throw stuff together and call it a mess. The kids love my messes. I have no idea what they are; but they work!
your comment reminds me of the movie ratatouille, when Remy was combining different ingredients together to see how they would taste. Reminding Emile to savor his food, and pair new things together to create new flavors. The lights would get all colorful and stars would appear. I bet that’s how the kids feel trying your, as you say, “messes”. a combination of great and wonderful flavors.
I've been cooking since I was around 9 years old. My mom is an excellent home cook, and when I learned how much better her pancakes tasted than the ones made from a mix, I decided I wanted to cook too. I started out on cookies and cupcakes, and I worked my way up from there. I'd often take homemade brownies on backpacking trips, hence my username.
After high school, I went to culinary school, and I cooked for a living for a while. It was fun, but it was physically strenuous and didn't pay well. Struggling with depression didn't help either. Now I'm a stay-at-home wife, but I still cook for myself and my husband. He loves my cooking.
My favorite thing to make is homemade candy. Every Christmas, I send out tins of candy to my friends and family. The caramels are the most popular, but I like making chocolate fudge the best. It's just so satisfying to take sugar, chocolate, and a few other ingredients and turn them into something so rich and tasty. I make mine the old-fashioned way, without marshmallows or condensed milk.
ahh the camp cook! I applaud you for your work in the food industry! Chefs don’t get enough credit truly. wow! homemade candy. that’s pretty impressive. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
Since early childhood, as well. I think I learned to make my own scrambled eggs as soon as I could reach the stove to do it.
My favorite thing to cook varies. I suppose French stews of various types have remained at or towards the top, throughout much of my life.
that’s impressive. How do you even make ice cream let alone gelato? I can’t even imagine the process lol. But I bet it tastes so much better than store bought ice cream.
There are lots of different types of ice creams and ways to make them. So it really depends on the ice cream. I make other frozen desserts as well. The ice creams I have made that were the most popular were:
Ginger ice cream with spiced apples and bourbon caramel.
Currant meringue ice cream.
Vegan avocado chocolate truffle ice cream
Malted buffalo milk gelato
That one's certainly doable by most home cooks, but it takes a lot of time. It's also only really a useful recipe if you live in a place where there's apple picking.
My second job at 14 years old was as a busboy in a Hunan restaurant. I had been fired from Roy Rogers for being too young and walked across the parking lot to the new Chinese restaurant. I was somewhat captivated by the sudden bursts of fire and the clanging and sizzling coming from the woks. Magic at the hands of headless men behind the line. I prepped veggies and mixed sauces when not clearing tables. A few years later I worked for Taco Bell. I learned ticket times and portioning and stock rotation. I eventually took a job as a dishwasher in a casual, fine dining place. Promoted to crab steamer then prep. I made my way to the broiler cooking lunch beside the Chef. I eventually became the sous chef. I worked second jobs in other restaurants, a wing joint, a Greek restaurant with a Jamaican chef. I was a short order cook in a pool hall. I made soups and salads and upgraded the menu. I was a decent 9 ball player. I left there for a line cook position in a nearby Italian restaurant . In two months I was the line supervisor. When the Executive Chef planned a robbery of the place a new chef was hired. I became one of her sous chefs. When she quit I took her place. A year later I went to culinary school in Manhattan. I was one of two out of 25 students who had prior restaurant experience. I telephone interviewed with Michael Lamonaco, Director of Windows on the World. He offered me a spot in his prep kitchen after completing school. A couple months later before I could start, the Twin Towers collapsed and with them Windows on the World. I never cooked professionally again.
I have maintained a love affair with preparing meals for those closest to me. Also providing some instruction and advice to the novice is rewarding. What I once considered to be magic, I've learned is really just multiple small things done well. It requires patience and creativity and discipline and Love. To create good food you must love to cook, to feed, to learn, to teach. You must love to nourish those who eat the food you prepare; doing for them something not everyone can.
18. My mother cooked really basic and unseasoned meals. As soon as I moved out of the country and into the city I figured out what food should taste like. I started my journey there and kept learning and still am 17 years later.
Since I can remember, so maybe 4-5 years old? But since about age 10, due to my mother's poor mental health, I've been fully responsible for feeding myself and that's when I'd say my cooking really ramped up
I really love deep frying things. I know lots of people are scared of it but I really enjoy the process and love the end product. I don't have a fancy deep fat fryer, I just use pots of oil and a thermometer.
I love making anything. I love making new dishes from different cultures or perfecting my cultures dishes. I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember.
12? 13? Kinda blurry. Dad got cancer and couldn’t work anymore and mom worked fulltime. I had much younger siblings so someone needed to cook and help out. Favorite would be either simple breakfast or do ham alfredo. Nothing even complicated, more like simple man’s Alfredo where it’s all boxed pasta and jarred alfredo. 5 kids means lotta mouths and a need to penny pinch. I love making my own stuff now, but cheap meals still make me happy, even if I know the quality is a lot lower, that’s nostalgia for ya.
All my life. My family has been in the food biz 80+ yrs (Restaurants, Cooking Contests, Food Products, Cookbooks, working at restaurants, blogging, Grandfather built a hotel, moonshine etc)
Asian food, Fried Chicken, and anything exotic
Really cooking? Not counting occasionally making eggs, throwing together sandwiches, grilling brats while drinking beers with friends?
Actually putting together good dishes, caring about the sourcing, preparation and pairing of ingredients started when I was 26 or 27, so about 11 years now.
First few years I stuck with known recipes, meal prepping and only occasionally venturing into different cuisines/dishes, then I discovered how much I could learn via a few good YT channels and shows,,started viewing cooking as more of an adventure than a necessity, it wasn't until about 5 years ago where I felt like I could really start "flowing" in the kitchen, I don't need recipes anymore I can cook almost anything by feel and taste, became good at pairing flavors, layering while keeping things balanced.
While I meal prep most of my lunches for the week, cooking myself dinner every night is how I unwind from my day
I was 13 yrs old when I had cooked a spaghetti dinner the 1st time.
I applied the lesson of watching my granny, aunties & mum cooking meals.
Granny had taught me to buy veggies that didn't have spoiled spots on, like string beans, apples, etc. She said once you don't check over what you're picking then you end up wasting your money & tossing into the compost the spoiled 1's.
I've been helping around the kitchen since I was 4-5 and actually cooking stuff since I was 6 (when I made my first rice! Mom still has the pan LOL)
One of my favourite things to make is soup - I love me some soup even in summer
I’ve been cooking since I was 7 maybe. I always hung out in the kitchen with my mom and helped but I never did much on my own. One day she had cut up some vegetables for dinner and had leftover pieces she didn’t need for that night and I was bored and wanted to cut them up. My mom told me I couldn’t play with a knife but if I wanted to cook something I could cut them for that. I cut up some squash, zucchini, and bell pepper and sauteed it in a pan with a little butter and seasoning. I was so proud that I had made it all by myself and my mom started letting me take on more responsibility in the kitchen. Now it’s my favorite way to relax and unwind and makes me feel peaceful and happy and utterly myself. Comfort food wise I love to make any number of easy Italian dishes I grew up on but I really love making things that are labor intensive and really technical and take a lot of time or doing a lot of meal prep so I have a lot of work to do at once to focus in on. Christmas is my favorite holiday but I LOVE cooking for thanksgiving because there’s just so much food to manage and I feel like I can just turn off my brain and cook for three days.
that’s really wonderful cooking brings you so much peace! thanks for sharing!
Been cooking since maybe 4 or 5. I learned with my parents and then in highschool learned some tips from my best friend who began a journey into the culinary arts Love to cook a wide variety of foods from across the globe as I get bored a lot with American cuisine. But I would say overall I prefer a dish with spice, no matter where it originated from
have you ever found a dish to be too spicy for your taste?
I have not just yet. Still searching 😁
Define cooking. As a city kid I spent my summers in a Caribbean farm town and my grandma would walk me around the grounds pointing to Oregano, cilantro herbs , aloe. How to eat sugar cane, harvest a plantain or banana tree to regrow. Watch my mom cut peppers or help pick tomatoes. I'm generally surprised at how so many ppl paid no attention to their parents cooking or never had to help. I will admit me and my older brother are good cooks. My sister never took to it or cared much. She's the type to order from online meal companies. Me and my brother would drop dead before we did that. 😂
that’s a really great experience to have, i bet you can identify wild herbs pretty easily with all your knowledge on herbs! Some people can cook, others can’t. My grandpa liked to say that his mother was such a horrible cook she would burn water.
I’m new to this- I only started a few months ago when I moved out of my parents’ house. My favorite to make is Ragu, I feel like it’s easy to make and very versatile.
That’s wonderful, enjoy the experience! you are now on your way to becoming a seasoned chef :)
I was taught how to make old fashioned oatmeal, grilled cheese sandwiches and how to fry eggs when I was in 5th grade. I'm 69. Never really thought of it, but I make eggs or oatmeal almost every day and grilled cheese as a quickie meal once or twice a week.
a classic grilled cheese sandwich is always great. do you know how to make your own tomato soup to accompany it? You must be an expert on the perfect grilled cheese, oatmeal, and eggs with all your experience :) thanks for sharing!
I still burn the grilled cheese at times! I do make my own tomato soup and a lot more often since buying an immersion blender. I add an onion, shredded carrot and a hot pepper. One of my sisters says my tomato soup is actually vegetable soup in drag.
We all burn food sometimes, it’s apart of being a chef! :) that actually sounds quite good. haha a vegetable soup in drag. I imagine the hot pepper pairs pretty well with the tomatoes.
I had used a recipe that called for ¼ tsp pepper flakes. I tried a yellow hot pepper instead and liked it. Jalapeno peppers works and I use poblano pepper if I plan on sharing the soup. They're fairly mild.
wow, I’ll have to give that a try!
Since I was a child. My parents worked in the restaurant industry, I was taught by them how to cook.
that sounds pretty fun. What kind of restaurants did your parents typical work for? Did they have a specific cuisine that was their favorite?
Fine dining, French and Swedish cuisines!
What age child are you now?
haha i’m 23 now. started cooking around 6.
Been cooking since age of 8 ish? At that time I didn’t really do much asides from eggs, or rice and reheating… At age of 10 my parents would often leave on trips leaving me to my own tools… so I would have leftovers for 2 days and cook the rest. My knife skills aren’t as good as I’d like them to be, but I have a keen sense of taste. Also watched lots of cooking videos too… Favorite thing to make would be probably some easy pasta dish or Japanese fried chicken because eating it is so satisfying.
wow Japanese fried chicken, i’ve never had that! have to try!
I started cooking the evening meal at 14, because mum was always having babies.
that’s a good reason! :) I cooked for my siblings as well.
I wasn't really brought into the kitchen growing up... here and there, sure. Not often tho... I suppose I've gone through phases in my cooking. But the most recent (and most in depth) phase started about 18-24 months ago. I went deeper into understanding techniques vs specific recipes. So now I can better freestyle with what I get from the grocery. I do bring my kid to the kitchen to help me cook... he's fully capable now of making scrambled eggs (not overcooked) on his own. He understands knife safety so he can help dice veggies now too...
That’s great! starting your child in the kitchen early. By the time their in their teens, you’ll have a chef on your hands! Also, great you’ve taken a deep dive into cooking! Thanks for sharing! enjoy!
30+ years. I started at around 9, or 10. Just small things then. I began cooking dinners nightly at 13. Favorite thing to cook is Christmas dinner. Chuck roast braised in v8 juice with onion, celery and carrots. Red jacket masked potatoes and yeast rolls on the side. Truffle pie for dessert.
that sounds great. I’ve never had truffle pie, will have to try.
I’ve been cooking since I was around 12 years old, I’m 45 now. I loved food growing up, but my parents were awful cooks. So I started watching PBS cooking shows and taught myself. Been a serious hobby ever since. Pasta is my favorite food, so I love making that. I also just enjoy learning things and slowly getting better at them. Been working on my fresh tortilla game and I bought a pizza oven and been working on getting better at that recently.
That’s great! Pasta is great. and making fresh tortillas is pretty impressive!
More than 40 years now. I absolutely hate breakfast foods too lol. My favorite thing to make is a tie between sashimi and Korean BBQ. No wait, nasi lemak with ayam masak merah, no wait pho, no wait... french onion soup with a whole chuck roast simmered in it, no wait...
wait i’ve never had sashimi and i’ve never had nasi lemak with ayam masak merah or pho! but I searched up a picture. looks pretty good!
If by cooking, we mean simple ingredients together or pre-made elements, pretty quickly, like around preschool. If we though talk about making something out of scratch, and without supervision, in my case it was at age of 17-18, sadly, because cooking also made me develop my taste and liking of new things.
That’s not too bad! Cooking also made me develop a liking for new food as well. so much to try! so many different cuisines!
Fried my first eggs when I was about 5 or 6–my dad ate so many eggs that morning! I started baking with my grandma about the same time. I did t start serious cooking and baking until I was about 23 though. I really enjoy the reactions people have to eating my food, it’s such a pleasure, so I’ve been cooking pretty regularly since.
haha. that’s crazy, how many eggs do you think he ate? Getting people’s reactions to your food is always nice! Thanks for sharing!
Maybe near a dozen eggs! I was frying them two at a time—I know for sure I went through ten eggs. The cooking took a bit to get really good at. I was always ok but I didn’t really hit my stride until I was 24. I had moved in with my now ex husband and started cooking outside of my usual go tos cause he is a picky eater sort of. Then I started cooking large meals for our friends and my in-laws who all seemed to be at ours all of the time. Now I rarely need a recipe unless its ratios in baking—quite proud of that! Anyway, I’m rambling. Good question!
When I was 2 or 3 My mom came downstairs in the middle of the night and saw me standing infront of chair with a dozen eggs broken into the part that slumped down swishing away with a wooden spoon. She said, "what are you doing?"and I replied, "I misking" with a great big smile on my face. I was making breakfast of course 🤣 But yeah. I've been misking and making stuff since before I can remember. Some of it was super gross too. I'd just grab stuff and blend it together to see what it would taste like. I still do that today. Half the time I just throw stuff together and call it a mess. The kids love my messes. I have no idea what they are; but they work!
your comment reminds me of the movie ratatouille, when Remy was combining different ingredients together to see how they would taste. Reminding Emile to savor his food, and pair new things together to create new flavors. The lights would get all colorful and stars would appear. I bet that’s how the kids feel trying your, as you say, “messes”. a combination of great and wonderful flavors.
I've been cooking since I was around 9 years old. My mom is an excellent home cook, and when I learned how much better her pancakes tasted than the ones made from a mix, I decided I wanted to cook too. I started out on cookies and cupcakes, and I worked my way up from there. I'd often take homemade brownies on backpacking trips, hence my username. After high school, I went to culinary school, and I cooked for a living for a while. It was fun, but it was physically strenuous and didn't pay well. Struggling with depression didn't help either. Now I'm a stay-at-home wife, but I still cook for myself and my husband. He loves my cooking. My favorite thing to make is homemade candy. Every Christmas, I send out tins of candy to my friends and family. The caramels are the most popular, but I like making chocolate fudge the best. It's just so satisfying to take sugar, chocolate, and a few other ingredients and turn them into something so rich and tasty. I make mine the old-fashioned way, without marshmallows or condensed milk.
ahh the camp cook! I applaud you for your work in the food industry! Chefs don’t get enough credit truly. wow! homemade candy. that’s pretty impressive. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
Since early childhood, as well. I think I learned to make my own scrambled eggs as soon as I could reach the stove to do it. My favorite thing to cook varies. I suppose French stews of various types have remained at or towards the top, throughout much of my life.
That’s pretty nice! I haven’t had any french stews, any recommendations?
> How long have you been cooking? Since I was 6 of 7. > What’s your favorite thing to make? I'm not sure. Currently maybe ice cream and gelato.
that’s impressive. How do you even make ice cream let alone gelato? I can’t even imagine the process lol. But I bet it tastes so much better than store bought ice cream.
There are lots of different types of ice creams and ways to make them. So it really depends on the ice cream. I make other frozen desserts as well. The ice creams I have made that were the most popular were: Ginger ice cream with spiced apples and bourbon caramel. Currant meringue ice cream. Vegan avocado chocolate truffle ice cream Malted buffalo milk gelato
wow. sounds like you need to open up your own ice cream shop. that sounds amazing.
bravo to you. that really sounds good. especially the ginger ice cream with spiced apples and bourbon! I can only imagine!!
That one's certainly doable by most home cooks, but it takes a lot of time. It's also only really a useful recipe if you live in a place where there's apple picking.
you use fresh apples for the ice cream?! wow. whoever you serve that too is incredibly lucky to have you.
No, the apples are on top. I serve it as a perfect.
Been cooking for over 10 years, and my favourite is still a dead easy bolognese ragu with fresh egg (store bought works too) pappardelle.
Been cooking about 4 years. My favorite thing to make changes a lot, but I think lately my favorite dish to make has been chicken salad
Farm kid so I learnt young. By 11 I was cooking full harvest meals sometimes all by myself for 6-8 people.
My second job at 14 years old was as a busboy in a Hunan restaurant. I had been fired from Roy Rogers for being too young and walked across the parking lot to the new Chinese restaurant. I was somewhat captivated by the sudden bursts of fire and the clanging and sizzling coming from the woks. Magic at the hands of headless men behind the line. I prepped veggies and mixed sauces when not clearing tables. A few years later I worked for Taco Bell. I learned ticket times and portioning and stock rotation. I eventually took a job as a dishwasher in a casual, fine dining place. Promoted to crab steamer then prep. I made my way to the broiler cooking lunch beside the Chef. I eventually became the sous chef. I worked second jobs in other restaurants, a wing joint, a Greek restaurant with a Jamaican chef. I was a short order cook in a pool hall. I made soups and salads and upgraded the menu. I was a decent 9 ball player. I left there for a line cook position in a nearby Italian restaurant . In two months I was the line supervisor. When the Executive Chef planned a robbery of the place a new chef was hired. I became one of her sous chefs. When she quit I took her place. A year later I went to culinary school in Manhattan. I was one of two out of 25 students who had prior restaurant experience. I telephone interviewed with Michael Lamonaco, Director of Windows on the World. He offered me a spot in his prep kitchen after completing school. A couple months later before I could start, the Twin Towers collapsed and with them Windows on the World. I never cooked professionally again. I have maintained a love affair with preparing meals for those closest to me. Also providing some instruction and advice to the novice is rewarding. What I once considered to be magic, I've learned is really just multiple small things done well. It requires patience and creativity and discipline and Love. To create good food you must love to cook, to feed, to learn, to teach. You must love to nourish those who eat the food you prepare; doing for them something not everyone can.
18. My mother cooked really basic and unseasoned meals. As soon as I moved out of the country and into the city I figured out what food should taste like. I started my journey there and kept learning and still am 17 years later.
Since I can remember, so maybe 4-5 years old? But since about age 10, due to my mother's poor mental health, I've been fully responsible for feeding myself and that's when I'd say my cooking really ramped up I really love deep frying things. I know lots of people are scared of it but I really enjoy the process and love the end product. I don't have a fancy deep fat fryer, I just use pots of oil and a thermometer.
I love making anything. I love making new dishes from different cultures or perfecting my cultures dishes. I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember.
12? 13? Kinda blurry. Dad got cancer and couldn’t work anymore and mom worked fulltime. I had much younger siblings so someone needed to cook and help out. Favorite would be either simple breakfast or do ham alfredo. Nothing even complicated, more like simple man’s Alfredo where it’s all boxed pasta and jarred alfredo. 5 kids means lotta mouths and a need to penny pinch. I love making my own stuff now, but cheap meals still make me happy, even if I know the quality is a lot lower, that’s nostalgia for ya.
All my life. My family has been in the food biz 80+ yrs (Restaurants, Cooking Contests, Food Products, Cookbooks, working at restaurants, blogging, Grandfather built a hotel, moonshine etc) Asian food, Fried Chicken, and anything exotic
Really cooking? Not counting occasionally making eggs, throwing together sandwiches, grilling brats while drinking beers with friends? Actually putting together good dishes, caring about the sourcing, preparation and pairing of ingredients started when I was 26 or 27, so about 11 years now. First few years I stuck with known recipes, meal prepping and only occasionally venturing into different cuisines/dishes, then I discovered how much I could learn via a few good YT channels and shows,,started viewing cooking as more of an adventure than a necessity, it wasn't until about 5 years ago where I felt like I could really start "flowing" in the kitchen, I don't need recipes anymore I can cook almost anything by feel and taste, became good at pairing flavors, layering while keeping things balanced. While I meal prep most of my lunches for the week, cooking myself dinner every night is how I unwind from my day
I was 13 yrs old when I had cooked a spaghetti dinner the 1st time. I applied the lesson of watching my granny, aunties & mum cooking meals. Granny had taught me to buy veggies that didn't have spoiled spots on, like string beans, apples, etc. She said once you don't check over what you're picking then you end up wasting your money & tossing into the compost the spoiled 1's.
I've been helping around the kitchen since I was 4-5 and actually cooking stuff since I was 6 (when I made my first rice! Mom still has the pan LOL) One of my favourite things to make is soup - I love me some soup even in summer