The Humble Start on a Lifelong Culinary Journey
There are plenty of practical reasons for learning how to cook: saving money, controlling what you eat, knowing precisely what’s in your food. But I’m in it for the impractical. I love making a 27-ingredient mole negro when a craving strikes, hosting half a dozen friends on the fly on a weeknight, transforming peanut butter into a four-course meal in under an hour just for kicks.
Every good cook first masters the basics, like correctly holding a knife, salting your food and getting to know your pans and burners. It might not seem exciting, but we all have to start somewhere. That’s why the team at New York Times Cooking and I have spent the past year working on a brand-new video series to help you learn to cook, whatever the reason.
There are plenty of reasons to embark on your culinary journey, be it practical or whimsical. But we all must begin with the fundamentals, honing our skills and knowledge step by step. With patience and dedication, even the most mundane tasks can pave the way for culinary adventures that ignite the senses and bring joy to the soul.