..where teens can learn to cook restaurant quality meals for the family
You start way before it’s time to get cooking
You start the second you decide to cook dinner. Once you’ve decided on your recipe, you’ll need to check you’ve got the ingredients and equipment. Get on your feet, and check your cupboards. Add what you need to the shopping list, and get to the shops.
Once you’re home, organise what you need around you, and ensure all the equipment you’ll need is washed, dried and ready to go. Since you’re cooking, you can probably get help from other people to do some of these things. Use your team! You’re head chef, remember.
And consider starting cooking asap, rather than waiting until close to dinner time! In fact…
Give yourself plenty of time to succeed
OK, for every recipe, give yourself PLENTY of time. If dinner is to be served at 6pm, work backwards, and give yourself LONGER than what the recipe suggests. Read your recipe. Some recipes need starting the day before. Sometimes days before. And many need something marinated hours before or overnight. Give yourself the required time.
And don’t corner yourself when it comes to the actual cooking. It’s really easy to end up in chaos, stressed out, and presenting your family with a dinner that looks like you made it in the tumbledryer.
Remember this: many dinners can be made in advance, then reheated. You do not have to time everything perfectly with serving time. So long as it’s the sort of dinner that won’t deteriorate once reheated, then do not stress.
And many parts of dinners can be made in advance too. You do not have to do everything in the hour or so before serving up. Use time to your advantage so that you work at a calm and controlled pace.
Always START EARLIER than you think. So that you start in the calm zone, remain in the calm zone, and finish in the calm zone too.
When you turn the heat on, you turn the pressure on
Everything is plain sailing, until you turn the heat on. That’s when the storm can begin. So be ready for it:
ENSURE you have everything chopped, ready, measured out, and prepared before turning the heat on.
You do not want to be desperately chopping an onion and simultaneously trying to weigh out some flour, whilst something is burning away in the pan. Chef’s call this “mise en place” (there’s nothing like borrowing a bit of French culinary talk to make you sound even more of a pro). It basically means ‘putting in place’ or ‘setting up’. And you pronounce it like “meez on plahs” if you want to parade around the kitchen saying it to look good.
Look ahead at your recipe so you know what’s coming. Be ready for it. Then you can manage the situation whilst the heat is on in a calm and controlled manner. Set alarms/timers to do this (voice controlled as with Alexa, Siri or similar is a great way – and don’t forget you can often give timers a label like “Alexa, set chicken timer for 90 minutes” and “Alexa, set egg timer for 4 minutes”)
Oh, and…
Get the table set ahead of time
Why would you want to put yourself in a position where, with the heat on, under pressure, you then have to rummage around looking for clean knives and forks?
Get yourself, or someone to set the table well advance with all you’ll need on it. That keeps stress away. The only real exception is when you’re doing an oven dinner that gives you plenty of time to set a table whilst it’s cooking.
Manage your washing up
It’s a good idea to clear your sink/draining area and dishwasher before you start (or again, get someone to help you so you can focus on being chef).
Be mindful about using bowls, spoons, measuring cups and other utensils so that you don’t create unnecessary washing up. As in, if they’re not too dirty (say you’ve used one for salt), then put it aside to re-use. Don’t cross contaminate (see skill 1: staying out of hospital) but do consider what you can re-use.
When you’re quite convinced something is done with, get it in the dishwasher or sink. And try to clear up as you go, when you get moments to do so. Or, again, get some help from someone else to clear the decks around you.
Decide how you’ll serve up
Are you putting the dinner in the middle of the table for everyone to serve themselves? Or will you serve up on each plate in the kitchen? Will you take all the plates over, or ask people to get their dinner off you? It’s worth thinking this through in advance so that you and your family know the deal.
OK, those ideas should get you organised like a pro!