By: chef ssentongo Geoffrey
In order to get the benefits from cooking, we need to make it a fun activity. This is not as daunting as it sounds.
In my experience as a chef, cooking becomes fun when we become proficient at it. Learning the basics such as simple knife skills and foundation recipes allows us to relax and enjoy the experience, rather than just wanting to get to the end result.
The end result, ie the meal served on the table, is one part of the cooking process. If we go into it with the attitude that we have to cook in order to feed ourselves we will struggle to enjoy it.
- Learn a few simple recipes that you can replicate time and time again
- Cooking any dish for the first time is likely to be difficult, don’t be discouraged. Try the same dish again a week later and you’ll be amazed how much easier it becomes.
- Put a wet cloth under your chopping board to stop it moving. A board that is slipping and sliding around is my absolute pet hate, and a recipe for frustration. Find more tips on our chopping board article here.
- Invest in one good knife. You need not rush out to buy a whole set of expensive knives. One good quality chefs knife will cover you for 90% of situations. Victorinox are a good quality budget brand which I would recommend (linked to their website here)
- Get other people involved. Others do not have to actually help with the cooking but just being there in the kitchen for a chat makes the whole experience much more communal and fun.
In my opinion the communal aspect is really important. If you are slaving away in the kitchen whilst others are sat in front of the TV it is highly likely cooking will feel like a chore.
Chatting whilst cooking makes the whole evening special. The long slow cooking process becomes the process with the crescendo being enjoying the meal itself.
Does Cooking Make You Happy?
As a chef it will come as no surprise that cooking makes me happy. I find the whole process incredibly cathartic. No matter what kind of day I have had at work, it is my chance to slow down and take some time to do something I enjoy.
Do Most People Enjoy Cooking?
In my experience, most people enjoy cooking to some level. Many find cooking to be a therapeutic and enjoyable experience and discover taking pleasure in the simple things in life is a great route to happiness.
I asked some friends and family why they did or did not enjoy cooking. From my very unscientific survey I discovered some similarities in the two camps of people.
Some of those asked simply have no interest in food, whether cooking or eating it. This group of people are happy eating for sustenance and nothing more.
How Chefs Make Cooking So Much More Fun
Cooking is an incredibly divisive activity. Some people love spending their time in the kitchen, whilst others find it a monotonous chore.
You may feel that in order to become a chef you must find cooking to be great fun. In reality, before you start learning, the odds of cooking already being the love of your life are quite long.
Is Cooking A Hobby?
Cooking is no different to playing a sport or learning any other type of activity.
Cooking is a hobby because it is a set of skills that need to be learnt in order to progress and enjoy ourselves. Those that do not enjoy cooking tend to shy away from it, in the same way as any hobby which we start and discover is not for us.
Some may argue that as we have to cook in order to eat, cooking is not a hobby but rather a necessity for survival. This may have been better argued years ago.
With the increased availability of quick ready meals and doorstep deliveries those that do not want to cook can get through entire weeks avoiding the kitchen with surprising ease.
Having spent around 15 years working as a qualified chef in high end restaurants, my mission is to use this experience to help others as they begin their career in catering!
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