I love to cook. More to the point, I love to eat (and let’s face it, cooking often leads to eating). I love the careful preparation that goes into cooking, the ceremony of sitting down to a nice meal, the smells and sights and most of all, the fact that meal-times usually involve people you care about.
Some days (and there is no pattern here), I’m an AWESOME cook. My meals look, smell and taste incredible and I’m smug! BUT more often that not, I serve up meals that are (as my husband once pointed out…and only once), ‘pedestrian’. Which is gracious-speak for ‘only just edible’.
I’m not sure why I’m so hit & miss, though one thing I have nailed down is that I’m NOT good at sweets – of any kind. I think it’s because I have some kind of aversion to measuring. And as you know, most baking requires precision – where as I have very little patience and like to throw stuff in willy nilly… (Which I guess explains my hit-and-miss meal results)!
I also love going to cooking master classes. Again, mainly because at the end of them, you get to eat – usually a variety of taste sensations prepared by some fabulous chef. And you have the added bonus of being able to learn, and hopefully re-create these extravaganzas at home.
Just over a year ago, my husband forked out quite a lot of money as a birthday gift for me, to do a Greek cooking course with a high-profile chef. It was for 2 hours, for 4 consecutive weeks and I was excited! Off I went, salivating over the list of dishes we’d be whipping up.
Turns out there were 9 others in the group with me… a Greek Nona and her 8 daughter-in-laws (yes, 8)… who WILL learn to cook for her sons! I have to say, they were annoying. They talked over the chef non-stop, and basically didn’t want to be there. At one particularly memorable moment, the Nona leaned over, slapped the chef on his arm, and said ‘that’s NOT how you make Dolmades’.
What’s more, I wasn’t able to hear or see much, and only got to taste the dregs of each masterpiece created. Sadly, I wasn’t seeing any Greek feasts being whipped up in my house as a result of these classes.
After the 3rd week, the Nona told me that they couldn’t make it to the last class, and so they had cancelled it. I found myself talking to the chef (in a slightly high-pitched, winey voice) about the miserable time I was having and how I had arranged a baby-sitter for the last class so I could go, and by the way – did he realize how hard that was for a Mother of 3….!
The lovely chef told me not to worry – that class for me was still on, so I got to spend a few hours with him & his team in their busy kitchen, learning lots. And let me tell you, I have had quite a few successful Greek feasts in my house, and always get lots of homage which is – let’s face it – AWESOME.
But this got me thinking; Chefs take a lot for granted. After spending years in a training facility or doing apprentices under the watchful eye of seasoned head-chefs, they absorb a LOT of information and heaps of handy little tips & tricks. No wonder their meals rock!
So I decided it would be awesome if I could film these top chefs whipping up masterpieces from their restaurants in a masterclass format, and put them on line for people to watch – free of charge, as if you were there. Of course, nothing can replace a live masterclass but let’s face it – we can’t always afford the time or money to go. So just over 12 months ago, with the help of some amazing chefs, very long hours and my brilliant little team, we launched www.chefmasterclasses.com.
The most awesome part about having this website (besides the delicious food on set of course), are the great tips I learn from the chefs along the way. And given that it is the season to be jolly, I thought it would be a good idea to get some clues about how to carve a roast turkey..
How To Carve A Turkey from Chef Masterclasses on Vimeo.
Nerida Conway is a true entrepreneur and the creator of (most recently!) ChefMasterclasses.com, an online hub where Australia’s top chefs share their signature recipes in video masterclasses.
Do you have some great tips that you can share?
Comments
35 Comments so far
loading...
Great article! Hey, sometimes the tips need to be a little bit more targeted to the specific cooking activity – like baking. After lots of trial and error and Christmas baking I have come up with some hints and tips to take the guess work out of baking (especially during such a busy and let’s face it, stressful time). Check out my blog – might find something you fancy in there! http://www.gingerbreadqueens.com.au
loading...
So, this isn’t an article on cooking tips but an advertorial for the author’s business.
I have a website that contains tips on how to cook also.
loading...
Agree – could this please be renamed “A wordy advertisement for a website of videos that may show you some cooking tips, however these 12 paras contain no cooking tips whatsoever.”
loading...
Dessert? Eton Mess!
Easy peasy – squash up things like Mars Bar, Crunchie, M&Ms, with ice cream and hard meringue smashed up. Combine. Everyone laaaahves this.
loading...
Sounds like something you could get at Cold Rock..
loading...
that’s not eton mess.
eton mess is like a mushed up pavlova
loading...
I found this article a bit annoying as I was hoping for some good tips.. In any case I dread cooking. My husband is very fussy – no fish, no salad, no soup.. I am fussy and I have a 2year old who has both our genes. I have tried numerous cooking courses, books, apps, friends, family for help but it is just not getting any easier. I am uninspired. Any advice would be welcomed please..
loading...
me too! I read it because twitter told there would be brilliant cooking tips. Not so much…
loading...
small point but it generally annoys me bc they used to say it on MasterChef all the time too…. BUT in greek, the word for grandmother is yiayia. Nona is the italian word…
loading...
ok usually I hate people who are about to do what I am, but its Nonna – can’t let my nonna get upset for not spelling it right!
loading...
(Can’t believe i am do this either…) but maybe George calls his yiayia – Nonna. I doubt that if George did calls his Nonna yiayia that he would have used Nonna on Masterchef.
loading...
http://www.chefmasterclasses.com. This looks like a great site and I can see I’m going to have to bookmark it. On the iPad since I don’t have a laptop.
If you’re using the iPad, Donna Hay’s magazine is also brilliant as is ABC Foodi. You can use ‘recipe mode’ for these apps. So helpful!
I am a very hit and miss cook. But I think that has more to do with my mood and how interested I am in what I am cooking…
loading...
Make sure you heat your frying pan up until as high as you want it before adding food. Also, DO NOT add olive oil or any oil until just before you put the food in the frying pan – olive oil, especially, turns toxic when it is heated on its own for too long!
loading...
Brilliant tips! One of the most frustrating things about having flatmates is watching them cook and make these simple mistakes!
Sick of them telling me that i need a new pan… My pan is better than teflon, just use it properly! :endrant:!
loading...
So when do you add the olive oil??? confused!
loading...
Just before you add your food in – after the pan is hot! So heat the pan, add the olive oil and immediately add the meat/veg/whatever!
loading...
This isn’t exactly a cooking tip, more just a handy hint – but before you use a lemon, microwave it and you will get at least double the amount of juice. So awesome!
loading...
Clever! For how long, and what % power? (high, med hi?)
loading...
Hey Elky,
For a whole lemon I usually zap it for 20-30 secs – just depends on your microwave settings! Try it initially for 10 second intervals
loading...
can someone please give me tips for melting chocolate i just can never get it to work…it always ends up rather lumpy………………….
loading...
I always use the microwave. Have never had a problem. Just make sure you use short bursts of 30 secs and stir after each burst. It won’t be melted much after the first 30 secs. I do it on
medium high. Make sure no moisture drops on to the choc as that makes it seize. Good luck!
loading...
cheers thanks for that!
loading...
Yes to all of the above, but also – always use a metal spoon. Not wooden, and not plastic. Must be metal (ie just a dessert spoon from your ordinary cutlery set.)
loading...
To add to the above, only melt about 90% of the chocolate, then stir it and the rest of the chocolate will melt in the residual heat.
loading...
Use a double saucepan, or make your own by putting a bowl of chocolate over a saucepan of boiling water and stir constantly. Won’t take more than a few minutes to melt…
loading...
The main thing that will make chocolate do that (it goes all grainy and into a huge lump) is water getting in. NEVER use a wooden spoon (they hold on to water), only metal, make sure the bowl you use is dry, short bursts in the microwave is good but be very conservative until you’re used to doing it. As in, 10 seconds. You’re not cooking it, you’re melting it.
loading...
I am the same. Love cooking but cannot bake to save my life. Is their any desserts out their that do not require the use of a measuring cup?
loading...
Rocky Road:
Chop up some lolly snakes and marshmallows.
Melt some chocolate – put it in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Use a metal spoon only. Don’t let the water touch the bowl.
Mix it all together, spread onto a lined tray – into the fridge, then slice.
loading...
Trifle!
With mango. Mmmmm
loading...
Halve peaches, take the stone out, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, shove under the griller until the top browns. Also works with pineapple slices, but they are better in the oven in a pyrex dish to catch the juice (mmmmmmmm……….if they’re sweet pineapples, don’t bother with the sugar).
Or baked apples – take one unpeeled granny smith per person, and core half way down each (so the seeds are out but you can’t look through it – an apple corer is a very cheap way to go if you’re careless with a knife). Sit it back on its base. Score around the ‘equator’ (ie, cut through the skin but not the apple). Stuff the hole with a sliver of butter then jam/ currants/ dates/ sultanas/ chopped nuts/ brown sugar/ cinnamon/nutmeg/ chocolate (urg, but whatever takes your fancy) or anything else that you have and like. Sit them upright in an ovenproof dish. Cook at 180 degrees/160 fan forced. Depending on the size/ripeness of the apple, they could take 30-60 mins. They’ll be cooked when the skin of the top half starts to lift and the apple underneath looks a bit fluffy. They’ll probably also be volcanically hot, so don’t be afraid to wait before you eat them. Easy as, relatively healthy, great in winter and makes the house small fabulous.
loading...
Wow I didn’t know about this site. Living at home with an overbearing mother who insisted she do everything for me really didn’t help me when I moved out on my own. I slowly taught myself how to cook some “decent meals” (just not sustainable eating takeaway EVERY night!) but its great to put my lappy up on the bench and follow a video. I am slowly starting to be a masterchef 9never thought i’d say that)! but this is GREAT! Will be checking it out later… NOM NOM NOM
loading...
My Mum was the same. I’d ask to help her in the kitchen and she’d reply “You’re just in the way! Go watch the Simpsons with your brothers” Now I am pretty lousy at cooking. I can bake alright though..
loading...
What a great idea! Can’t wait to visit the site and pick up some tips.
loading...
A greek grandma is Yia-Yia, not Nonna!
loading...
I bet , if you could have, you would have reached over and slapped Nerida Conway on the arm and said
” A Greek grandma is called Yia-Yia, NOT Nonna ! “