Improve in the kitchen and learn
the Culinary Arts

Unfortunately, my dear mother has never possessed any culinary skills whatsoever. In fact she could even manage to burn an ice cube that woman. She couldn't, and she still can't, boil an egg, bake a potato, or even make a sandwich that looks appetizing. If anyone ever needed introducing to the culinary arts, it was her. Alas, at 93 years, I don't think she'll be enrolling at the America culinary institute any time soon.

My sisters and I, on the other hand became very interested in the culinary arts at a very early age. Perhaps it was because we wanted grow up on more than instant mashed potato, baked beans on toast, home cooked chips, and all those other quick meals that do more harm than good to growing minds and bodies. Developing culinary skills is for anyone who is really passionate about food and cooking and who is committed to becoming a truly skilled cook.

I think we both had good reason to break away from our mother's example, but I will say that she always tried her best bless her heart. My sister joins the Academy of Culinary Arts in Europe next year, whereas I'm still looking at the various culinary colleges around the world before making any applications to enroll.

BACK TO BASICS

Making meals and being a cook is two completely different things. For years, when I was an enthusiastic learner, I used to slavishly follow recipes, but one day realized that isn't what cooking is about. The culinary arts is knowing about blending ingredients and using different cooking methods. I continued to collect recipes but began to do my own experimenting. If I don't have ingredients, I now know how to adapt with substitutes.

There are a set of ingredients that you should never run out of. These are the ones that form the basis of the culinary arts you favor, whether they be cuisine from Mexico, Italy, Spain, China or wherever. For example, if you like cooking Indian food, you should never be without garam masala, the blend of spices we all know as curry.

Not everyone wants to go to culinary arts school, nor do you have to in order to become a great cook. I would say that learning by trial and error in your own kitchen is a great teacher. Sure you will make mistakes but it doesn't matter so long as you learn from them. However, if you do prefer a more structured approach to the culinary arts, there will be many cookery classes available in your local area. Actually my passion for food actually took off when I went on a cookery vacation to Italy. It was absolutely fantastic as I was able to combine a sightseeing holiday with learning cooking skills. I knew immediately after this trip that I just had to get into a culinary college somewhere and feed my passion with more of the same.

I guess there is no excuse for not learning to cook these days, although many working folks claim they are just too busy to care. There have never been so many cookery books and articles in magazines. Today is the culture of the celebrity chef and there is an entire TV channel dedicated to the subject of food.

We're told however, that a lot of us are watching these programs and reading the books, yet we're actually cooking less than previous generations. Everyone is busy, busy, busy, and many people have stopped making meals from scratch and grabbing those quick convenience foods from the freezer. Yes, it's true, the culinary arts are being neglected in kitchens devoted to ready meals and processed food. To add to the problem, schools are not teaching the next generation about nutrition and how to cook proper meals anymore, as the culinary arts seem to have been dropped off the national curriculum making culinary education a thing of the past.

Originating from the UK, I'm aware that British food has a bad reputation. It's true that we did tend to over boil vegetables and everything and were a bit unadventurous in the kitchen, but in my country's defense, I think that situation has improved greatly in the last 10 to 15 years. The influence of the culinary arts from other countries and our desire to eat at restaurants more has educated us at last. I think the state of the British food scene has never been better. In addition to embracing the food from other lands, we recognize the culinary arts of our own traditions. We have some great dishes from the English regions, Scotland and Ireland too. We have simply re-learned how to present them properly. Bonn appetite!