Honing your skills

  First off, a big shout to my man Aaqib in Bhabua in north east India. He reached out to ask for help to improve his cooking as it sounds like he wants to be a chef one day. At the moment he cooks for his (very lucky) family and is looking to expand his repertoire. I've given him some challenges which he say's he's going to take on. I'm looking forward to sharing pics of his creations. We're all behind you, Aaqib.

Stay tuned for updates.

  Back to your cooking journey though. I've posted a couple of simple recipes for you and encouraged you, (and any friends you managed to herd into the kitchen), to have a go. Remember that these recipes are simple because I want you to use them as a place to practice with flavours.

Supper, (a selection of dishes I've meddled with).

  Something I've found when I support people who think they can't cook is that the thing they really need is confidence. While it would give me unfathomable pleasure to come round and cook with you every night, we both know it's not going to happen. But there is something you can do without me that I absolutely guarantee will definitely boost your confidence and what I'm about to play might sound like a familiar tune.

  Here it is, (and at the risk of sounding like a stuck record), you need to practice adjusting the taste of your food and get used to the strength and effects of different ingredients. The two recipes I gave you are quite plain and they both give you the opportunity to play around. Use them as a blank canvas and add different things just to see what happens. I'll give you more recipes to play with but I wanted you to be clear about what the exercise is.

  The funny thing is that you already have every reason to be confident because this is a skill you've been practicing for years without thinking about it. You know how much milk or sugar works in your tea or coffee. You know what you like on your toast or in your sandwich or even how to embellish a cooked breakfast, burger or portion of fish and chips. I'm asking you to do exactly the same thing but to try different ingredients. 

Kirk out

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