Have you ever wondered how a chef can be told to cook with a few ingredients and they can pull together a dish without using a cookbook? How is that possible? It’s possible because there are chef secrets that we use in cooking every day. They’re the same chef secrets that I teach in my online cooking classes. If you think about it, I’m sure there are many things you can do very well without having to look for instructions each time you begin.
Think about it. Each time you get in your car to drive somewhere, do you have to take out the owners manual and figure out how to operate the vehicle? No, you’ve done it before.
If you’re a golfer, do you bring an instructional video with you to review before each shot? No, you’ve internalized the steps you need to take to make your best swing. Is it always a perfect shot? No, but you’re always trying to improve. How about if you did have an instructional DVD with you on the golf course? Then, would every shot be perfect? Still no.
So, why do people think if they have a recipe book, every meal will come out perfectly? In fact, you still need to practice, to know the basic cooking methods, the chef secrets that I’ll share with you for creating amazing meals at home. These are the same secrets that students of Web Cooking Classes are using every day.
My first secret to learning how to cook, whether from a book, or cooking online will change the way you think about cooking forever. When I’ve taught this first secret, it has given everyone a sense of freedom, and an instant reduction of cooking stress.
So, what’s the first secret? Recipe books don’t work. They don’t work because the cookbook that you’re reading doesn’t know the size of your ingredients, the altitude in which you live, the true temperature of your stove/oven or how you like your food cooked. Only you know how you like your food to taste and only you can see signs while you’re cooking to understand what to do next. This is why you don’t see chefs pouring over cookbooks. They already know this secret.
Whether you take cooking classes online or in person, make sure that you’re learning chef secrets or basic cooking methods and not recipes. Once you learn these chef secrets, you will understand the basic cooking methods you need to create delicious, healthy, exciting meals every night of the week without having to look at a single recipe!
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Great video. I love the enthusiasm humor and message. So glad I bought your program – probably would have attended your webinar and bought it sooner if I’d seen this video. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Ron!
Thank you for your kind words. You will improve your cooking when you change your focus to repeatable METHODS over written instructions. I’m looking forward to taking this journey with you.
I once attended a cooking class with Julia Child. Someone in the class asked if we would get the recipe. In her famous manner, she said, ” if you were paying attention you wouldn’t need a recipe!” I still bought all of her cook books but that is one lesson I will never forget
Hi David!
Even though Julia published a LOT of recipes, her focus was usually on METHODS. When you know HOW to cook, WHAT you cook is entirely up to YOU, not a recipe.
Great info! That explains why I can follow a recipe to the letter and produce an epic FAIL. I remember being taught in school that cooking is a science, therefore every step, measurement and ingredient has to be very exact. I wish I knew years ago that it was art. I might have liked it then.
Hi Lois!
Successful cooking involves METHODS, not written instructions. The METHODS give you confidence to create instead of just cook.
I joined the webcooking classes to further enhance my self taught methods of cooking and expand my options by increasing the number of recipes I cook by method rather than recipe! My husband always loves the food I come up with by using what we have in the pantry and fridge and making what I believe will be good combinations of tastes and flavors into creating a meal…. Hands down, always his favorite! Now I know this is a legitimate and worthwhile method of cooking and my confidence and free range cooking has expanded 10 fold again after joining this cooking series. Thank you Chef Todd! Mary Jane
Hi Mary Jane!
The real keys to cooking are NOT a list of written instructions and how LONG to cook something, it’s found in examining the HEAT, the types of heat, the EFFECTS of heat, and the QUANTIFIABLE observable and measurable cues in cooking so YOU have control.
i want to do it , but i am waiting to come up with the money . i am 79 years old and love to cook . i learned so much from the free video i watched i will do this ,, takes time , thanks for the video .
Hi Phil!
Cooking is an empowering skill. It’s social, it’s healthy, and it’s rewarding when you have the confidence to CREATE instead of just cook. Written instructions might show you how to cook one thing, but reliable, repeatable METHODS empower you to cook all things.
When the time is right for you, I’d love to welcome you as a member of WebCookingClasses.
I really love your videos, you have so much energy and they are so informative! I am a family of 4, all boys ok young me. However, I hate cooking . I don’t really hate it but it’s soooo time consuming that it’s not my most favorite thing to do. When I make a hit that the fam loves, I’m excited about it and it makes me want to venture out and cook more. Other than that ugh. do you have any suggestions for some quick meals?
Hi Whtif!
My suggestion is to learn HOW to cook. Continuing to look for written instructions on “quick meals” means you have to re-learn cooking with every recipe. However, when you are able to duplicate the METHODS of cooking, then you can change the ingredients every night for an endless number of original dishes.