· Can you cook well?

Answer 1

The judgement on one's ability to cook depends on what the expectations are of the people for whom one is cooking. If these people are satisfied, say, with traditional English cooking - roasts, boiled veg, fried fish, suet pud, toad-in-the-hole etc, then one is a good cook. I don't have a lot of time for people who use jarred, commercially produced sauces, even if they have the name of a celebrity chef on them. Making a Bolognese sauce is well within the capability of the domestic cook. The range of these sauces - occupying the best part of half an aisle in my local supermarket, astounds me, as there is nothing more simple than making a basic marinade or Italian sauce. OK, Bearnaise, Hollandaise and other sauces of this ilk are more difficult - judging the amount of heat to prevent lumpiness and also to avoid curdling requires experience, so there is an excuse for selling these ready made.

I have been cooking for 32 years, and I am amazed and encouraged by the massive upsurge in culinary knowledge in many domestic cooks. I have dined in friends homes where the food has been of restaurant quality, and it has all been prepared by the lady or man of the house who cooks as part of the daily routine. I take my hat - indeed Tocque (Chef;'s hat) to such people. I can sniff out dishes where some of the ingredients have come from a jar.

I have also been served rubbish.

Along with the upsurge in the UK of interest in gastronomy and cooking in the domestic setting, there has also been a big downturn with quite a few people, who have resorted to the cardboard box and microwave, or, even worse, regular fast-food, the bulk of which seems to taste of nothing other than cooking oil.

There exists a mystique about cooking, often fostered by master chefs, by which everything must be served up in minute portions and accompanied by swirls of a mysterious liquid. I feel strongly that this puts a lot of talented domestic cooks off cooking. My particular Culinary hero, Anthony Worrall-Thompson, blew his chances of getting a Michelin Star by telling the Academie Culinaire that the style of cooking that requires this form of presentation - French Haute Cuisine, is now outmoded, as the influence of Indian, Persian, Greek and North African cooking on Europe is becoming important.

This brings me on to another point. The word 'Chef' simply means 'Chief'. It has now become a word to describe someone who cooks for a living - largely through Escoffiers' organisation of the kitchen brigade, in which one has the Chef de Cuisine (Head Chef), Chefs de partie - who are responsible for specialised areas of cooking, and the poor old Commis chef, who is under training and does a lot of the basic food prep. A contributor to this discussion -Chefgrille - has stated that she is no longer a chef because she no longer cooks professionally. Stuff and nonsense! Once a chef, always a chef.

There are many people who grace themselves with the title of chef, because they work professionally and have (minimal) qualifications, who are, in my book, cooks, and bad cooks to boot. Chef, to me, means someone with a passion for food who cooks for the love of it. Perhaps we should create a new category of 'chef domestique', to encompass the dedicated, untrained family cook who haunts farmers markets or grows their own veg, and can tell if a fish is fresh by the brightness of its eyes, and who can judge the quality of meat by looking at its marbling, the colour of the flesh, its resilience, odour and the colour of the fat.

No professional chef, with the possible exception of Michel Roux or Gordon Ramsay, is perfect at all aspects of cooking. My pastry is only reasonable, and when I give a dinner party at home I buy my desserts from a local patissier (I do tell my guests that the dessert has been bought in). My strengths are with grilling, roasting, sauces and jus, and shallow-frying. The same applies to you guys out there. If you cook, are keen about it, and try to expand your repertoire by reading cookbooks, and experimenting in the kitchen, then you are all good cooks. Cook to ****-up is a philological short step, but ****-up can equally lead to cook, and cook to chef.

Keep cooking, folks.

Answer 2

I like to think I can. I owned and cooked at my own restaurant for 9 years. My husband and family loves my cooking. So while not a real chef, I think I cook danged well.

Answer 3

No complaints so far- boyfriend thinks my cooking is fab. My ex hubby only ever grumbled that i gave him carrots and he didn't like them- but he never said in 22 years- however he never said that they weren't cooked well. My ex mother in law told everyone i was a fantastic cook- even better than the her other daughter-in-law who was a trained cook- lol. So guess the answer is Yes.

Answer 4

Yes I am a very good cook

Answer 5

There are not many 19-year-old boys who can honestly say "I am a better cook than my mother," but I am.

I cook everything from scratch and keep a pantry full of basic ingredients, as opposed to my flatmates who keep readymeals and tins of beans (OK I occasionally have beans on toast after a long day). I like to make curries (usually just make them up as I go along) and any other sauce-based dish (my bolognese kicks ***, takes about 4 hours to make though).

Cooking is fun. I think you have to enjoy cooking to be good at it. And I think you have to eat mostly homecooked food to be healthy. (And that's my first weight loss tip.)

Answer 6

Yes I can!
My brother even said I that if I was a cook, I would be one of the most successful ones!

Answer 7

I think I'm a very good cook, my mum was a cook all her working life, she taught me and she turned out some gorgeous cakes and pies. Love Ya Mum.xx

Answer 8

yes i'm a very good cook for a man .I love to make cakes i made 9 christmas cakes last year but i also like other cooking as well when you bring up six children you don't have much choice.

Answer 9

I'm an excellent cook. I have a knack for eating restaurant food and then being able to come very close to the same flavor when I make it at home.

Answer 10

I'd have to say I'm an excellent cook. Everyone loves to come ov er for my cooking.
I have to admit though, I've been a bit stumped lately - due to medical problems I've been having to cook NO sodium, & very low cholesterol foods.... there's sodium in EVERYTHING though, it's so hard!!!