The 5 Best Kept Secrets I Learned in Culinary School That Will Make Your Food Taste Better Than Ever
Right about the time I turned 30, I wanted to do something different with my life so I enrolled in culinary school on a whim. Call it a quarter life crisis, but I wanted to cook, so I left personal training and fitness industry behind. Food is integral in health, so I fooled around the kitchen often and had always cooked, albeit not very well.
So in early 2020, I shipped off to the Culinary Institute of America, where things were going well, until the entire world came to a halt. I had only been enrolled for a short while and barely scratched the surface when we all were sent home to wait out what was next. I ended up not returning. But what I did learn, during those first few month, has been invaluable to my success as someone who can cook pretty well having come from zero experience.
Take these secrets and run with it.
And like always, if you find this article helpful please share it with a friend or leave a comment. I like hearing your feedback and try to respond to everyone.
1) Salt
What was once a foe in diet culture, is now your friend.
Don’t be afraid of it.
Pre-salt your food, especially! The earlier you start, the better it’ll be. Salt deeps and concentrate the flavor. If I’m cooking a steak, I’ll season the night before and if it’s chicken, I’ll do it about an hour. Give the salt time to work it’s magic.
The best kind to use is kosher coarse sea salt. Iodized is too concentrated and easy to overdo.
2) Acid
If salt starts the race, acid finishes it.
Adding a few drops of lemon directly to your broccoli as it comes out of the oven or lime to a sizzling steak will give it that extra pop and brighten the flavor.
This is a game change and such a simple hack.
3) Fat
Makes bland food become exciting. Boring chicken breasts taste like heaven, cooked with a small amount of butter ontop.
Use olive oil for low heat on the stove top, avocado oil if it goes in the oven.
Start the cook with it. Turn up the flame, add a few drops and swirl it around to cover the pan. When the oil starts to dance and jump, then add the food. You’ll hear that beautiful sizzle. Thats when you know you timed it right and it’s going to be good.
4) Good equipment
A sharp knife, a large cutting board, and the right tools make all the difference.
Simple, well made equipment is all you need. Use steel cookware and cast iron. I use a global 8” chef knife as recommended by Anthony Bourdian. It hasn’t failed me since and it’s inexpensive and easy to maintain.
You don’t have to spend a fortunate or have a closet full of nonsense. That’s marketing for you.
5) Patience and an open mind
You will burn things, add too much of this and not enough of that. Some things might end up inedible. It’s ok.
Cooking is a skill, an essential one at that, so learn, experiment, and practice.
Everyone can do it. Everyone can cook.
Eventually the concepts will start to click and it will start sense. You’ll start to pull things out of the oven that will surprise you.
I made this?!
Keep at it and keep learning. Don’t be afraid to break the rules and try things along the way. You food will always be a work in progress.
I really do love cooking. Hopefully this article conveys that passion nad inspires you to get into it. Food brings people together. It’s often healthier than what you find in a restaurant and much cheaper too. So have fun with it. And above all top your food with love. Try to never eat alone. Share the gift.
