by Teresa Little

Created on: February 28, 2010   Last Updated: August 25, 2011

Considering our choices of already prepared food, restaurants, fast food chains, meal replacement bars, and just add water recipes, you don't have to cook in order to eat. However, true cooking is a craft and can be considered an art form. Like any craft one needs to learn the technical aspects, but also have a little talent in order to truly master the art of cooking.

Cooking involves the entire process of the meal from plate presentation to the taste and creative blend of the foods involved. Think of your favorite meal. Does it look appetizing on the plate?  Taste the richness of flavor, the way different elements combine creating morsels that melt in your mouth.  You feel sated, satisfying your hunger and your taste buds.

Watching parents or grandparents create our favorite meals can inspire some into the kitchen even if it is to help peel a potato or stir Mom's chicken noodle soup. Learning this way, especially as children, not only creates wonderful memories and tighter family bonds but provides a natural setting and pleasant way to approach food. In this manner family traditions and heritage add value to cooking lessons.

If cooking with family is not an option, there are numerous other avenues available from formal training at a culinary school to the recipes found in your local grocery store. The how depends on you, your style of learning, and your budget. It is best to keep this mind when preparing to find a class, cookbook or local television show to learn from.

If you choose to take a cooking class, check out the local grocery store or community center to see if they offer classes. Grab a friend or your significant other and make a night of it.  Prefer something closer to home, grab your remote. Television offers as many cooking shows as they do movies. Find a show that interests you and start watching. On a good cooking show the chef will explain why they are adding certain ingredients or using a certain method. And if the written word is more your style, head to your local bookstore or library. Make sure you are comfortable enough with the instructions given to buy the ingredients and head into the kitchen. Yes, eventually we all end up in the kitchen.

It is never too late to learn to cook nor is there a best way to learn. Cooking is like anything else. It requires trial and error, timing, a bit of luck, dogged perseverance and remembering why you wanted to do this in the first place. Have fun. Have a passion for either being in the kitchen or for creating scrumptious combinations of food. Sharing a meal with family and friends makes it worthwhile, whether it is restaurant quality or a leftover stew. Bon appétit!

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