How/where did you learn to cook?

[RonB]

Did ya learn at home or in a culinary school, or somewhere else? Did you learn from your parent(s), another relative or someone else?

Both my Parents cooked, but both were raised poor on farms. For the most part, they ate what they raised, caught, or shot. And they both learned to cook everything well done. Within those parameters, they were both good cooks. And they sorta specialized with my Mother doing most of the cooking since she did not work.

I learned from them both by watching - neither one used recipes, and they cooked by sight, taste, and experience. That's the way I learned to cook, and I cooked my first full meal at 15. I did broaden my horizons when I discovered cookbooks, and the internet was a whole new world. Since I retired, I have done most of the cooking, and my wife is happy with that.

So, how about you?

[Attjack]

In my kitchen just messing around.

[DaveD]

My Mom made sure I could do some basics, enough to be self-sufficient. Then cable TV cooking shows during the 80s and 90s, then my lovely bride when we got together 24 years ago.

My Mom was a fantastic cook but because of my Dad's very limited tastes until later in life, the range was narrow, meat and potatoes and canned vegetables (this is 1960s to early 70s). My Dad had a couple heart attacks in his mid-50s and really gained a new perspective after that, on just about everything, and that gave Mom license to experiment. She had a good, but not great, batting average My sisters also became very accomplished, and especially one sister's Italian husband was an absolutely amazing cook.

I thank them all!

[nunyaz]

I learned cooking the same place/way I've learned most everything else ... TSHK - The School of Hard Knocks

Childhood memories (for me) are few and far between, with cooking memories even more rare (no pun intended!) ... I do vaguely remember dad grilling (okay, CHARRING ) and mom (stepmom, really) made a pretty mean potato salad and they both made awesome homemade (from scratch) pizzas on occasion but *my* cooking skills (or lack thereof) are mostly self-taught, trial and error sorta learnin' (except for the recent refinement of my pit skills, thanks to you brothers! ).

[Panhead John]

And sisters! 👍

[RonB]

Panhead John - Hey John, have you had an operation you have not mentioned??

[Elton's BBQ]

RonB Touche!

[Jfrosty27]

Watching my mom.

[JustKyle]

I learned a lot from my dad. He grew up poor and he could make a meal out of a few things. As far as my bbq skills, those were more self learned. Dad bought a smoker when I was a kid and never could get it right and I decided to try and figure it out. That’s been 30 years now and I didn’t have internet or books to help me, I just figured it out. What I didn’t learn from my folks, was a lot of trial and error on my part and few nights of $5 pizzas when I screwed up too bad.

[Oak Smoke]

Your description of poor and well done hit home for me. We had 3 crop failures in a row. We ate what we raised, caught, and shot. I learned the basics at home by watching. Good grief it wasn’t done if it wasn’t fried. We fried hamburger, catfish, squirrel, frog legs, quail, and half the vegetables we raised. After I headed off to college I learned to cook on a very tight budget and that you wouldn’t die if you ate something that wasn’t well done. Then my former wife and I had a talk after we had been married about a month. She hated cooking, but didn’t mind cleaning the kitchen. I became the family cook for the next 23 years. An old copy of the Joy of Cooking taught me how to cook and saved us all. If there was a recipe that called for me to braise something it also showed what braising was and how to do it. It was as much a how to book as it was a book of recipes. It honest to goodness shows how to skin a squirrel on page 515. That’s the kind of in-depth instruction I needed. My next big leap in cooking was after coming here.

[Mosca]

I had one of those old “Joy” cookbooks, it showed how to kill and pluck a chicken! This was early ‘70s, the edition was late 50s or early ‘60s.

[TripleB]

“Joy of Cooking” was my first cookbook too.

[CaptainMike]

Learned the basics from mom and dad. Mom was the day-to-day cook and her meals were fair to pretty dang good. Dad was a heavy equipment operator and was off for most of the rainy months and he started pushing on the boundaries of ordinary 60's and 70's cuisine during his down time. He pretty much charred everything on a charcoal grill, but that was in direct correlation to the rate and quantity of Coors Banquet consumption. They both made pretty good food and I cook many of their meals still today. I left home at 18 and was a bachelor until 39 so I just built on what I learned from the folks and my own experiences along the way. Working/living at a fire station also brought my game up a lot. And then I found this site and all of you!!

[Bad Hat BBQ]

This is a great thread...enjoyed your post.

[Davek8282]

---

---

I took home economics in junior high (one of the few boys in the class which was the whole idea) from there as both my parents worked I prepared a lot of the evening meals. It was all pretty basic meals until I had kids and then had to expand my horizons. We also joined a theme cooking night club. Pick a country and then everyone made a dish from that country, if you were the host you prepared the main entree. That took thinks up several notches and from there I have progressed steadily. I have grilled for a lot of years but only started with real BBQ in my later years.

[nunyaz]

Davek8282 - WOW! How could I have forgotten Home Ec in High School?? Especially when the 'lab group' I was in (with two girls) bombed on the cake ... I was out sick, and the girls 'forgot' the flour 😳!

[bbqLuv]

I'm homely, I mean I learned at home.

[GolfGeezer]

Great question. It assumes I’ve actually learned how!

I blame my initial launch on the US Army. First thing I learned or was forced into were the food limits I grew up with. If you wanted food, you ate what you got. Then some stints on KP duty to start opening up my mind to the how’s, the what’s and the array of tastes and preps. Obviously Army food is not something I’d care to revisit now, but it really was the door the the wider universe. After active duty, and being sort of drifting in life at that time, I got a gig working in the kitchen of a summer camp I had attended as a kid. Learned a bunch more there.

it was only after that I started trying my Mom’s limited recipes, and then ideas from menus I had worked on. Pretty much self taught after that.

Now, back to your question: have I learned to cook? I think I’m getting there. Maybe by the time I’m 80….

[Mosca]

I knew a guy who learned how to cook by being assigned that duty in the army. When he got out, he opened a well regarded catering business.

[Panhead John]

A lot of people don’t know this but……..As a young adult I spent 2 years at The Culinary Institute of America. After graduating top of my class, I then moved to France and honed my craft at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris for another year. After moving back to America I opened my first restaurant, Gramercy Tavern in New York City. Now that I’m retired, I’m passing along a lot of my skills to my son, George Santos.

Actually I learned a little about cooking from my Mom growing up, but most of my cooking was self taught, along with trial and error. In my early 20’s, a friend of mine’s dad taught me how to make a roux and a Cajun gumbo. He himself was a genuine Cajun, named Melvin Comeaux. My first grill was an Old Smokey..and I always had one until probably about 2010. I quit using them after I bought my first Weber Kettle, which I still have. I’ve had a few cheap offset smokers over the years, along with a few gas grills. Like many of us, I also learned a lot from recipes in cookbooks and sometimes adjusting the recipe to my tastes. As most of us have, I’ve learned a hell of a lot right here on AR. I’ve always liked to cook since I was in my early 20’s, but nothing beats grilling or smoking outdoors!

[JCBBQ]

“my son, George Santos” Bwahahaha

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Great story...key word story

[Clark]

You didn't say where you learned how to serve up such large quantities of BS.

[smokenoob]

Back in the late seventies I learned from googling recipes and youtube videos while I was developing the beta version of the internet. We called it the World Wide Wait (WWW) back then.

[CaptainMike]

You must be Panhead John 's lovechild.

[Panhead John]

He’s my other son, Jerry Santos.

[AdequateEatin]

My mother use to be a chef. Growing up from a very young age she had us helping in the kitchen, then when my sisters and I got old enough (about 12) she made each of us cook dinner once a week. We could cook whatever we wanted as long as it was a balanced meal. We would provide her with a grocery list at the beginning of the week and she would buy all the ingredients we needed. I absolutely despised it in the moment but I quickly learned to appreciate my parents for making us do that the second I went to college and saw how bad of cooks everyone there was. My mom loves to remind us that she had to sit through a ton of terrible meals while we were learning to become better cooks.

[efincoop]

Both. My earliest memories are of my dad cooking meals. He was medically disabled from working due to a construction accident resulting in a severe head injury. He had a background of food prep from his time in the naval reserve. Soon after his injury my mom would prep meals for him to "finish"... heat up in most cases. As he continued to recover he began making simple meals on his own. We had a Charbroil kettle which my dad did really well with. That was my introduction to grilling. As I got older I cooked with my mom in the kitchen learning different family recipes.

Fast forward to adulthood and I had the opportunity to attend a local culinary program at a local community college and my skills definitely broadened and improved. I started a catering business with a friend and trained chef.

Once I got interested in grilling and BBQ the learning process continued. The journey has never stopped and cooking is still something I enjoy to this day, learning and sharing what I have learned with my kids, family & friends. Those are the best memories... sharing what I have learned with others and making memories through food