Before they got married my father sent my mother to a beginner’s cookery course. While the chauvinism is deplorable (they should both have gone!) I understand why he did it. As a student I remember being invited round to a supper party in a friend’s flat. After the third bottle of wine she said ”Does anyone know how to cook spaghetti?” One of the men suggested baking it. Cooking is really a basic life skill – more important than reading or writing.
Learning to cook will help you understand world cultures, customs and flavours. You will learn skills like eating healthy, budgeting your money, and cleaning. Home cooked is less expensive than eating at restaurants, fast food joints and school cafeterias, so you’ll save some cash. And it is far better for you and the environment than prepared meals laced with antioxidants, preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners, colours and bulking agents. and full of ingredients that contribute to Global Warming such as palm oil.
Cooking is a fun way to relieve stress after a hard day of school or work. Preparing fresh foods will put much-needed nutrition into your diet and increase your energy and quality of health. Even while you are learning how to cook you will be having fun, and making memories that you will keep for the rest of your life. “But I don’t have time to cook!” I hear you say. We will teach you 15 minute dishes that take no longer to cook than microwaving a “ready meal”. And the satisfaction of eating a meal that you have cooked with a friend is beyond price.
There are certain ‘must-know’ cooking skills that are the cookery basics for beginners. Perhaps the first one is how to turn on the oven! Not a joke. I offer private cookery classes in people’s own kitchens. It is amazing how often I have been in a fab kitchen designed by someone like Rhatigan and Hick, with a completely unused La Cornue or Aga, or a Miele oven.
Within two hours I will have taught you how to make a delicious autumnal supper of Chilli con carne (or a vegetarian version, chili senza carne!) and Apple and berry crumble (which comes with a gluten free variation). https://www.dublincookery.com/beginners-cookery-course/