Become Your Own Top Chef

Yesterday around 7pm, I sat down to rest my soles after a long day of recipe testing, thinking I’d take ten. I ended up reading through the whole book, called “Writing Yoga” by Bruce Black.

It’s a really encouraging read about journaling, yoga as transformation and in general how writing can help you face your fears. I started to think about how his words related to the “fear of cooking” and how getting over your fear of cooking is much like getting over the fear of a lot of things – bungee jumping, public speaking, and writing.

I know since I’ve gotten over my fear of two on the list, maybe bungee jumping off a bridge will be on next year’s list. In today’s blog, I’ll share some of his insightful tips, so you can go from “flop chef” to “top chef”!

“Come Out Of Your Shell, Even If You Don’t Think You Have One”

There’s a great part of the book when Bruce tells the story of when he first started yoga in his 50’s. He noticed himself coming out of a shell that he didn’t even know he had. A lot of people are gourmet cooks and just don’t know it!

How do you know that you’re a great cook in hiding? First, do you love homemade, well prepared food? Do you love fine dining and tasting new ingredients and flavors? Do you savor home-made dishes that your parents or grandmother used to make? Then recognize that you can be a happier, more complete person if you learn to cook – so start researching recipes and take the first step.

“Be Yourself”

Staying true to yourself really translates to the kinds of food you love and your personal taste. So if you’re a steak and guacamole man – by golly that’s what you should try to cook! Keep it simple and set yourself up for success, so don’t pick a recipe with 100 steps right off the bat.

Over time, you will develop your own flavor and flare for cooking, be able to cook more advanced dishes, and even figure out how to personalize them and change up ingredients without compromising taste.

“You’re Not What You Think You Are, But Something More”

This is my favorite quote from the book and it immediately popped right off the page. Great cooks aren’t born, they are made by spending time in the kitchen. Sure, some people have great palates, are good with their hands, and have real intuition when it comes to cooking but cooking is a skill to be learned through practice, just like any handy craft or sport for that matter.

Start by cooking three meals weekly, no matter what and do your grocery shopping for all recipes in advance so you won’t waste time or rely on that old excuse, “I don’t have the ingredients!”