Before I starting writing about this topic, I’d like you all to know that I’m not a chef or in any manner related to hotel management or the restaurant industry but I believe cooking isn’t rocket science like it’s presented to most of us and for me, Anybody Can Cook – Even though my wife still disagrees with my cooking.
I’ve always found cooking as the most overrated talent or hobby. Anybody can cook dishes like an omelet or a sunny side up or even chicken for that sake, why make a big deal about cooking then.
Like everybody else in India, I grew up loving what my mother cooked and I still love what she cooks. I always figured that it must be very difficult to create a dish like that or how can anyone fry a fish so well.
The famous anybody can cook quotes still ring a bell :
Gusteau : [on the TV] You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What I say is true – anyone can cook… but only the fearless can be great.
See, the anybody can cook quote itself tells us it’s easy.
Table of Contents
Learn How To Cook For Beginners
First things first, you do not need any skills. You just need to know what to add where and know to mix well. There are two kinds of food you prepare. The one with spices and the one without spices. The one without spices is the dessert. See, it sounds simple already. In the movie Ratatouille, anyone can cook is a concept by itself.
Here’s a book I once ordered from amazon to learn cooking. An anybody can cook book with simple tips to get started quickly :
The one with spices – you need to learn to cut onions and tomatoes and any other vegetable you’re about to cook. In a pot, add oil enough to wet the onions and tomatoes. You can add potatoes if you wish to. Fry them for a couple of minutes.
People call it golden brown, I’ve never seen that color even after 10 minutes of frying, it burns up. So a couple of minutes should do. Add salt as much as you think is right, the easier method is to add less as you can add this later too.
Add all the powdered spices you see around on the shelves and in the fridge. Seriously, my wife cannot match my food because of this – nobody can guess what’s in there and it’s only getting better. Go for it. Anyone can cook ratatouille.
There is this ajino moto, or Maggi cubes that you get in the market, or even the spice you get with Maggi. This can create a magical taste. That is it. Your base is ready.
Add vegetables or meat to this along with water for it to cook for at least 15 to 20 minutes. The next time someone says how to cook chicken – tell them you’re an expert at it.
Anybody Can Cook Rice
How To Cook Rice Of Any Type? Rice is easy. Do the same steps you did above and boom we’re good to go. If you want to keep it simple, plain, and white – just wash the rice, add it to the pot along with water, add salt as much as you think is right and let it cook.
Let the water absorb and your rice is ready. Adding those powdered spices will make it taste like a pulav or a biryani. This works even better if you have a pressure cooker.
There are millions of cooking recipes online and in your mother’s purse that make the food special. Otherwise, they are all going to taste the same way. Different people cook differently. Watch a cooking video on youtube if you need help.
The cake is easy too. anybody can bake a cake – I’ll talk about it in a different one. Meanwhile, read this book to learn shortcuts to backing cakes :
Learning How To Cook At Home
Growing up I always thought Ramsay was the ghost in every episode of the Zee Horrorshow. Cooking was always a part of the plan but Gordon Ramsay gave that a push with his master chef episodes.
When I thought of experimenting with food in the kitchen, my mom always appeared out of nowhere and said I shouldn’t be wasting food.
A few years later, we hired a cook. The cook now was my target to understand why was she tagged as a cook at all? Is cooking really a skill or a talent that can make you sound like a chef.
Anybody Can Cook. When we began trying the taste of her hands, I was probably the only one monitoring the taste of the food.
After having eaten different food items for a few weeks of her hand and making a record of the taste in my mind for them all the day came when she asked for feedback. I wasn’t as eager ever for my own exam results as I was waiting to tell her about the food she cooked every day.
The Feedback
I imagined Gordon standing there and said, you’re doing great as a cook since the day we hired you however I haven’t seen any variations in the taste. Even though they taste delicious, they all taste the same so I’m assuming the spices you use are the regular ones.
Full marks on the presentation, you’re doing a great job there. Keep that up. The thoughts of someone of Gordon Ramsay’s age are different than those of my age.
All this I told her in the exact words mentioned above and in English. She smiled and went back to the kitchen thinking one of the two things, he’s either lost it or he’s loved the food and hasn’t eaten anything like this before.
I looked at my wife and she told me it wasn’t funny to fool around with a maid, she was just asking for feedback. 😐 I wasn’t kidding!
I decided to reflect back on what I told her just to be sure that I didn’t say anything wrong and good that I did. That’s when I realized it was honest feedback and the best part, what I was thinking all this while was right.
Even I could cook then! In fact, anybody could cook. anyone can cook gusteau!
All I had to do now was an opportunity to get into the kitchen and play around to know-how. Turns out my maid was a very good employee and didn’t take too many leaves.
She didn’t take a single leave that month keeping me deprived of the experiments I wanted to do. So I had to wait. This was the cooking game.
I’ve had bad experiences with cooking before and they included making a simple egg omelet and sharing a piece with my dog which he decided to dig a hole in the garden and hide it in instead of eating it.
He also refused to eat a chicken drumstick I fried with the best of spices and eggs similar to the ones we eat at KFC. I mean what kind of a dog refuses a drumstick.
My wife knew about this incident because my mom and she became a team very early and I have a different article about this too. She makes lovely cookies btw. Next up is to steal the cookies recipe sometime.
They loved laughing at my goof ups and they still do. cookingshooking is not for you they said always. So when the big day came, the day I was waiting for – the day she called in and said she won’t be coming in – I rejoiced. I stood up and told my wife, don’t worry about the food I’ll cook today.
My wife gave me the response expected but not with a pinch of salt. She said, no need please (expected), even dogs do not like what you cook – so please stay away (not expected).
I got this answer whenever I spoke about cooking not just from my wife, but my mom too. I had to win this cooking game. This would have been different from Gordon Ramsay’s wife I’m sure.
Patience Is The Key
But because the earth keeps revolving and things keep changing, I knew my chance to cook will one day come. Enters Lock-down 😀 – they’re all gone. Comes the way the household chores and I do it all without any complaints and my wife still does the cooking so we all can survive and the essentials we shopped for do not go waste.
At least that’s what she told me. So the only way was to go out of my way and plan a morning where I could wake up before her.
This couldn’t be achieved for a couple of weeks since I thought about it. I used all kinds of alarm apps including asking my office folks to call me at 6 in the morning. We all failed, until one day when nature called on a different line and a Sunday morning.
I decided this was an opportunity. Sorted me out, jumped into the kitchen and there I was in the middle of all the food and spices and I could cook whatever I wanted to with no restrictions or suggestions. You cannot be a cook without fire. Bring it on. It’s no big deal. Anybody Can Cook.
5 Acclaimed Secrets That Nobody Tells You About Cooking
- Onions, Tomatoes and Potatoes can be added to every vegetable or rice item.
- Gone are the days when our moms used to have a recipe book to note down a recipe, its all available on YouTube.
- Use Maggi’s Magic Masala or the masala you get inside the Maggi packets, it can make anything tasty. There is a reason its called the taste maker. Alternatively, use Maggi cubes.
- All those spices that used to require a mixer to be grinded are available as powders. Check your spice rack or fridge, you’ll find them.
- Eggs are great and nutritious etc. and take the lowest amount of time to cook. Flaunt your cooking with those when you start.
I could cook up a storm. I knew this was my only chance to be able to make a comeback if I wanted to prove my point. So I decided to make the best breakfast in the world. A Spanish Omelet. Now in India, Omelets do not have potatoes in it, in Spain they do apart from other odd variations.
Also in India, we follow well what they show us on YouTube. If you saw youtube cooking videos regularly, you would also agree with the concept of Anybody Can Cook.
I once had breakfast at Kenny’s in Goa and it was this same Spanish omelet I tried. If Kenny can cook, Anybody Can Cook. Now like most of the women in the world, my wife is also a health/figure-conscious girl and hence rejected the idea of having potatoes and onions dipped in oil and mixed with egg – my Spanish omelet. She tasted it though and said it’s good. SIX!!!
It was a no-ball, pitched full outside the off-stump hit for a huge shot into the stands. This turned out to be love without cooking fire. This changed everything and for a lot of reasons the lock-down has been a blessing in disguise. Hence Proved! Anybody Can Cook.
Benefits to Cooking at Home
I realized can cook and cook well. We all can do and it’s no big deal. I still love to create new items when my wife or maid is away. I insist with my wife sometimes, that I should be given the opportunity and she should rest.
Fun fact – did you know Gordon Ramsay’s net worth is around $220 million.
It’s a mental block for most of us who think cooking isn’t such a great idea for us but it’s just salt, chilly powder, turmeric, and other readily available spices in all the dishes. It’s as plain and simple.
Every spice in India is available in a powdered form, so if you’re cooking chicken – you use chicken masala, mutton has a mutton masala, and so on. Cutting onion is something you need to be careful with as the easiest thing to cut is your fingers. I did that twice so far and then you feel it’s just not right to cook.
I also happened to read one of the best cook quotes recently – The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude. — Julia Child
I’m sure Gordon Ramsay’s children will not grow up to be chefs. Cooking is not a talent, it’s not a skill and hence shouldn’t be bragged about like it is one.
It’s a hobby that you can make a career out of and literally everyone can just like learning to play the guitar or cricket. So the next time you visit any of the Gordon Ramsay restaurants – do tell him – Hey Gordon, Guess What – Anybody Can Cook!
Try cooking at home if you haven’t yet and prove to the world, Anybody Can Cook. Do share your comments in the section below and let me know how I can help with regards to marketing your business. I can also help cook great food and if I can cook, Anybody Can Cook.
And if you haven’t read ratatouille yet, here’s the last one for you :
