..where teens can learn to cook restaurant quality meals for the family
Heat is good…
..but in the right doses. Burning things, your food, your body, and your house down is bad. So ALWAYS pay attention to sources of heat around you. Turn things off when you’re done. Don’t walk away when heat is on. (OK, the exception is an oven, but even then you must set alarms to check in). In fact, setting alarms and obeying them is a great way to manage heat whilst you’re cooking. Get into the habit of doing that with your various devices using voice control. And always confirm with your eyes that the alarm is set correctly.
Keep flames down low by default. Don’t put hot things near things that burn. Don’t leave handles of pans sticking outwards where you can knock them as you walk past! That’s a quick way to get a pan of hot oil all over yourself.
Don’t taste food straight off a high heat either. And don’t forget, hot oil is just as bad as flames! Cover pans with lids to stop oil spitting in your face! And don’t pour water into a pan of oil unless you want it to go nuts and crackle and spit oil all over your eyebrows. You’ve been warned.
We strongly suggest that you involve your parents to supervise at least when you’re starting out. Better than getting burned.
Blades are good…
..but your fingers don’t like them so much. Here’s a thing; knife blades can’t cut your hands if your hands are behind the blade or well away from it. But it can if you curl your fingers under it, or fail to move them when chopping! Go slow and concentrate when learning knife skills. Use your finger nails as guards. And if ever you dry a knife or wipe a knife clean, ALWAYS wipe down off the blade so that it can’t cut you. You probably want to get cooking, but you’ll give yourself a major headstart if you watch the video below on knife skills before you start (and watch it again after practicing – that second watch through will make a huge difference to your learning). Note: We look at knife skills specifically here but it’s so important it’s worth covering here too.
Raw food is good…
..when it’s supposed to be eaten raw, but some food is only good once introduced to the right amount of heat! Until it’s cooked, it could just be the thing to poison you and your family.
So use separate chopping boards for meat and things you won’t cook (and especially keep raw chicken away from other foods!)
And wash your hands frequently, with soap. More often than you think. Cross contamination is called that because it makes people cross! Well, it’s not but it should be.
Perhaps it’s obvious, but this eludes so many people, just because you can’t see germs and bacteria doesn’t mean they’re not there! They are there. Manage it.
And cook chicken through so that it’s no longer pink in the middle and so that any juice inside runs clear (like water) when you cut it open. Don’t eat raw chicken. There are better ways to impress people. I made that mistake once myself. Goes down as the worst 24 hours I ever had.
You need to get clear on this safety factor, so please watch the video below to help nudge it firmly into your pro chef’s brain.
Electricity is good…
..except when it’s bolting through your body because you left it plugged in, and touched it with wet hands. Mixers and electric blades are good. Except when you’re clearing the blade with one hand and accidentally lean on the button with the other.
Always unplug when not using. And NEVER put your fingers in an electric blade or motor when it’s plugged in. That’s silly.
Allergies. They’re not good.
You probably know if anyone in your family has any allergies or food intolerances. If not, find out. You don’t want to upset anyone by including a spoonful of their poison. Your goal is to put huge smiles on everyone’s faces. That’s more than possible to achieve, and as a determined chef, you are responsible for rising to that challenge like a pro!