Can you cook?

SoliD said:
6 to 7 with a 4 for presentation!
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That's probably the level i'm at. We always cook things from scratch (well probably 95% of the time anyway) and it generally tastes nice, i could do a roast/curry/chilli etc without a recipe and then there's the simpler stuff like homemade salmon fish fingers and garlic potatoes where it's mainly just seasoning and cooking.

I'd say i'm probably on the level of "reasonable pub food". You're not getting foams or impressive looking food, but more well cooked, and enjoyable food shoved on a plate. Even when i try and arrange things it doesn't look right.

Where i really fall down is when having to do variations for different people. Like sometimes my wife and i will have one thing, but my daughter will want some parts of what we're having and then some other stuff. That's where my lack of organisation skills make everything turn into a huge crapshoot!
 
4?…the most involved thing I think I make is probably frying some onion and carrot then adding mince :p
I’d say most of the things I cook you could still identify the individual ingredients when it’s cooked…it’s not like I’m blending things etc

Bought a load of spics, onion/garlic granules etc a few months ago tho….that makes a big difference, used to just put a plain chcken breast in the oven and wonder why it wasn’t that nice!
 
My mum taught me to cook right from when I was little. She taught me how to cook elements of recipes and why things work they way they do. I do have some recipe books but most often I make my own recipes based on experience and what I have in the fridge/cupboards. I can make pastry, bake bread and cakes too but that’s from recipes as more precision is required (though I will vary ingredients).

I’d say I’m pretty good. There are a couple of people in this thread who have underrated themselves a bit as I’ve seen a lot of pictures of their food on social media and it looks delicious (ok, I’ve not tasted it but you can normally get a good idea from pictures of food that looks consistently good).
 
10 with the motivation i.e dinner party.

8 generally when I have to cook for the other half.

6 if I'm cooking for myself i.e. steak + vegetables + sauce

I was a classically trained chef about 10 years ago. Got all the background, knowledge and techniques just lack the motivation nowadays. :rolleyes:
 
7-8 for the odd course, but generally 5-6 I guess. Every now and then I surprise myself, but definitely lack the finesse and speed/consistency for anything like restaurant quality (of a decent venue anyway)
 
BUDFORCE said:
You know what, Bisto finest onion gravy. I finely chop and onion and slowly fry it so it caramelises, then whack in some of this and boiling water.

Yes, you can make better yourself, but honestly for the effort I don't think it's worth it.
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But you're already doing the most effort part by chopping and caramelised the onions!
 
I was put off cooking at secondary school. Teacher only cared about how food looked, never tasted what we made so I thought what's the point.

Did eventually teach myself how to cook a few basics like stews, curries, pasta dishes and roasts but I'm definitely no more than a 5.
 
Pigeon_Killer said:
I was put off cooking at secondary school. Teacher only cared about how food looked, never tasted what we made so I thought what's the point.

Did eventually teach myself how to cook a few basics like stews, curries, pasta dishes and roasts but I'm definitely no more than a 5.
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If the class were all spitting in each other's food like some of the yobs at my school I can well understand why they might be reticent to sample it. Not ideal though if you have a class of sensible pupils.
 
Muban said:
Well yeah, I do have lot of ramen. But with fresh veggies, egg, gyoza or meat. Not just a brick of noodles out the packet :cry: Not going to lie I do love some good ramen.

How cheeky @Rotty and there was me saying you underrated yourself, you and @Raymond Lin
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I say that mainly because of this video.


I thought I know enough about Ramen, then you see Joshua Weissman, who is a professional chef, now a YouTuber Chef, who clearly can cook and has the skills (for western cooking), tries to cook ramen but he makes A LOT of mistakes. If a Top rated Japanese Ramen Master rates that ramen, I think it would get a 1/10. There are ramen shops that would not open if the broth isn't up to scratch that day. Josh's broth by Japanese standards are not of standard, same as the tare and his pork. I think my ramen passes my own palate and probably most people, but if 10 is restaurant, as in a Japanese ramen shop, then mine is nowhere near that level. Plus, I've never made the noodles from scratch yet. That's a whole other skill.

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I do however think I know a bit more about it than Josh.
 
I see what you mean, though I’d be more than happy to have your ramen. Interesting video, Josh does seem to make quite a few mistakes (even from a westerners point of view (when he is adding the aromatics, how he rolls the pork, that not all his ingredients are hot when he adds them). I can forgive the toppings to an extent as I often add non traditional toppings just because I like the flavour. I’m sure his ramen isn’t horrible by any stretch, but not that good either.

Though I wasn’t just talking about the ramen, you guys both cook other things very well too.

I think a key thing for anyone cooking is to learn the basics and then experiment and have fun. I love the experience of cooking, not everyone has time granted, but I do try and make time for it. That said sometimes I’m just happy with good cheese and crackers :D
 
Ahleckz said:
8 I reckon. I’m pretty good, we cook pretty much every dinner from scratch. We very rarely ever repeat dinners. I’d be confident I could do a good 3 course, good looking, dinner.
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I'd go here, too. Can give me anything and I'll find a meal in there without recipes etc. I could easily do a number of 3 course meals, but I have gaps with deserts as this is something my wife does. I would need to consult recipes on this side, but would be happy to and always produce very good results when I do, I just don't know it all in my head!
 
6.5. Self taught. Picked up methods and tips from various sources - family, school, tv, books, YouTube etc.

Cooking can be described as rustic, chunky and flavoursome.

Want to cook more Thai and other SE Asian food. Though combination of living alone, difficulty of obtaining some ingredients etc are annoying me.
 
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