Is it enough is want to cook...how come..?!


Question: Hi all! :)..ok well, I want to be a chef one day..thing is although my cooking is good, I feel like I'm not creative. I can read recipes, follow through and everything's alright but I can't seem to make up my own stuff and that sort of frustrates me..sometimes when I do come up with a good concoction, it turns out ok..like when I play around with similar spices and try to associate the flavors and smells together. I want to be a chef and I begin to doubt if I'm making the right choice because aren't chefs supposed to know what goes with what?..and atleast be able to make their own creations. It sucks even more cause I want to be a personal chef in the near future to sort of "test the waters" since I've never done restuarant work before. Am I not meant to be a chef? I know I have the love for food and I'm willing to learn...it's my therapy almost(haha)...but is that enough? How do I improve this...dilemma? Thanks much!


Answers: Hi all! :)..ok well, I want to be a chef one day..thing is although my cooking is good, I feel like I'm not creative. I can read recipes, follow through and everything's alright but I can't seem to make up my own stuff and that sort of frustrates me..sometimes when I do come up with a good concoction, it turns out ok..like when I play around with similar spices and try to associate the flavors and smells together. I want to be a chef and I begin to doubt if I'm making the right choice because aren't chefs supposed to know what goes with what?..and atleast be able to make their own creations. It sucks even more cause I want to be a personal chef in the near future to sort of "test the waters" since I've never done restuarant work before. Am I not meant to be a chef? I know I have the love for food and I'm willing to learn...it's my therapy almost(haha)...but is that enough? How do I improve this...dilemma? Thanks much!

don't give up!!!

Any chef will tell you....It's a CONSTANT learning experience.

The possible combinations of ingredients are in the MILLIONS!!!

Just keep trying new things.
In time, you will learn enough combinations to be a personal chef.

Don't dwell on mistakes....learn from them..

I think you will do just fine..
Just don't give up...

Another good tip..........Take a nutrition or dietitian course to get an idea of where to start as being balanced with your ingredients..

EDIT>>>>>>>>>
I like ks's answer...........he hit some real good points.
another thing I did ( and still do) it practice plating!!!
it adds a huge amount of that "creativity" you are concerned with...

Even if I make a skillet dish for the kids I try to plate it up as fancy as I can.........if their friends are over (and they usually are) I get 4 chances to "see" different food ,on different plates and with different garnish.

I find different sizes, colors, and shapes of dishes at thrift stores. Good food can suffer from bad plating and bad food can succeed if it looks good

have fun...


good luck!!!

Well a chef should be able to see vegetebles and meats and create stuff naturally once u master that you can to anyything :D1good luck

Im with ya! Cooking to me is also Theraputic. You enjoy it, you got the basice, I say you should run with it. There are schools that will help you determine what compliments what.

Creativity will come, I dont ahve much myself but I work with what comes to me. I dont think its so much about creating new recipes as it is putting your own spin on some already good ones.

welll i dont know much about this, but like an artist or a writer,

your not creative at first because you dont have enough experience (technique?) under your belt.

im sure everybody is like that...thats why you go study the culinary arts or any other art and they teach you the skills so you can use them.........you know like creative writing classes and drawing/painting I

get some basics and when the inspiration hits you youll know what to do and how to make it.

Give yourself a break. Yes, cooking is creative and an art, baking is more like chemistry, you need to follow recipes exactly. It will come with practice and experience. Working in a restaurant will help-we all have to start somewhere.
I am a Chef and many of my cooks start where you are. I suggest getting a job in a restaurant (And No fast food is NOT a restaurant) I also suggest reading a lot of cooking magazines. One professional periodical that has a lot of information for chefs is Food Arts Magazine it is geared for chefs. If working in a restaurant pans out for you, I suggest looking into Culinary school. Please get some experience in kitchens prior to attending school. school is expensive and this is a difficult industry to work in. Good Luck

i love to cook also,and had NO experience, i landed a job at a nursing home,so that really helped to expand a whole different light on cooking. i am now enrolled in college to become a certified dietary manager.look into cooking classes.try to attend public food shows,anything that has to do with cooking will help.im still learning, and dont give up,the sky is the limit!!!! learning is a never ending thing.

I've never had a formal cooking lesson. As the oldest grandchild, it was my task to help grandma market and cook for 3 generations. Was buying and cooking by the time I was 10.

Became a journalist, travelled all over the Philippines and later, around the world. Everywhere I went, I spent all free time hanging around the public markets and sidewalk restaurants. Met and talked to the locals, learned enough of the local language to converse with the cooks.

Spent all I could spare on cookbooks and magazines in secondhand shops. Bought good kitchenware from departing expatriates. Went to fishmarkets, farmers' markets, fishing villages. Followed published recipes to the letter, then devised my own variations.

Became a consumer columnist, then a restaurant reviewer. Learned that very few food writers (in the Philippines) could cook. Amd very few cooks could write well.

Entertained a lot at home and became quite known for my own favorite recipes. Soon, I was getting paid to travel and conduct cooking lessons. Even was a guest chef at Bloomies in the DC area.

I still wake up at 4 a.m. to visit my favorite fish and vegetable markets 3 times a week. Everyday, I experiment with old and new dishes.

Am 64, and not about to quit. Will be marketting and cooking until the good Lord takes me to that Great Big Kitchen in the Sky.





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