Learn to Cook

Every recipe starts with prep, and prep starts with a knife. Learn to hold a knife properly, the claw grip for safety, and the three cuts that cover 90% of kitchen work: dice, slice, and julienne.

If you can cook eggs well, you can cook. Scrambled, fried, poached, and boiled — each teaches a different fundamental: heat control, timing, and knowing when to leave food alone. Gordon Ramsay considers scrambled eggs a litmus test for any chef.

A thick-cut steak, properly rested, is one of the great pleasures. The technique is simple: screaming hot pan, good seasoning, butter baste, and patience during the rest. Thermometer optional but revelatory.

Cooking over fire is primal, satisfying, and a completely different skill to kitchen cooking. You're managing heat zones, dealing with smoke, and working with less control — which is exactly the point. Simple food tastes incredible over flames.

Proper BBQ is not grilling. It's low temperature (110-135°C), indirect heat, wood smoke, and patience. The result is fall-apart tender meat with a bark and smoke ring you can't get any other way. Start with pulled pork — it's the most forgiving.

Flour, water, salt, yeast. Four ingredients, infinite satisfaction. A simple white loaf teaches you about gluten development, fermentation, and oven behaviour. Once you can bake bread, you understand cooking at a deeper level.