Chef/Cook/"Foodie".. that is the question..

I've always been meaning to ask this question since I've been a member here.
I know we have some actual chefs on the forum.. and those who simply like to cook which falls in line to what one would consider themselves a 'foodie'.

I like to cook.. I don't love to cook as much as I used to when I had a family to cook for.
If a recipe inspires me, I'll make it.. but I won't go out of my way to do so unless I feel like it.

Perhaps the thread makes no sense whatsoever.. but I am curious about the cooking background of the folks here.

Me: not trained specifically other than what Mom and Grandma taught me.
A sometimes home cooker.

I cook for my family. Inspired by mom and self taught with her help and the help of PBS giants.

lilbopeep said:

I cook for my family. Inspired by mom and self taught with her help and the help of PBS giants.

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that's one..

Anyone else?

well, as many of yinz know, i went to culinary school, & the focus began w/ the simplistic, then plenty of classical French food, & w/ the last class focused namely on molecular gastronomy, sous vide cooking, etc
we took many relateds from math to spanish, business management, pop literature, hospitality law, ethics, wines.......
i have 2 get some stuff accomplished, re-enter 4 my last few daze, study as i have the vast majority of my days, take my CEC,
-until then i shant call myself a 'Chef' as yet, i call myself a professionally trained Chef-to-be, prayfully!

luvs said:

well, as many of yinz know, i went to culinary school, & the focus began w/ the simplistic, then plenty of classical French food, & w/ the last class focused namely on molecular gastronomy, sous vide cooking, etc
we took many relateds from math to spanish, business management, pop literature, hospitality law, ethics, wines.......
i have 2 get some stuff accomplished, re-enter 4 my last few daze, study as i have the vast majority of my days, take my CEC,
-until then i shant call myself a 'Chef' as yet, i call myself a professionally trained Chef-to-be, prayfully!

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Thank you sweets!
I knew about you being schooled Aubrey, but I wasn't aware of the specifics.

I have absolutely no formal training, I simply enjoy cooking, and always have. I had some good mentors (grandmother and mother). I am not religious in a conventional sense, but cooking for people I love is almost spiritual in nature for me, i.e., an "offering." Not sure if that makes any sense to anyone. Hours spent cooking are almost always pure enjoyment for me. I am known among our friends as a good cook, and that makes me really happy.

You are a fabulous cook Karen.
I was thrilled when you came back here after you'd been gone for a while.
Every single thing you make truly makes my mouth water, and like you.. I get the biggest joy cooking and sharing it with others.
Agnes, next door for example.. and when I prepare things to take in to work and for family holidays.
Other than that.. there's not a whole lot of sharing going on around here.

Thanks, Sass. I love looking at your creations, as well. I know it takes extra spirit to cook for one...I was single for 25 years before I married Jerry six years ago. I still cooked a pretty decent dinner for myself almost every night (although sometimes, I confess to eating popcorn for dinner.)

I'm not schooled either. I'm just a home cook. Taught by my Mama. My grandmama passed away before I had the privilege of meeting her. I like to read a lot of cookbooks and have learned from them as well. I just love spending time in the kitchen "playing" with food.

My mom took a part time job when I was in high school I was responsible for dinner on the nights she worked. Then in the summers, I would cook supper for Dad and a friend after their Thursday golf game, got to be as creative as I wanted. I watched lots of Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet.
Then, during a summer after my freshman year of college, I cooked for a custom threshing (wheat) crew. I did that for about a month, breakfast (hot and cold, and dessert), dinner (noon) out in the field (casserole, bread, dessert), lunch (4-ish) out in the field (sandwiches, dessert), and supper (10-ish, when they came in from the field, meat potatoes, vegetable, dessert). I cooked in a travel trailer with no airconditioning. And the boss man (who owned it all, and would occasionally show up) wanted home made bread. At least he was O.K. with frozen dough. There were 11 boys on the crew, average age was 16, and that was only because the foreman's age of 19 skewed the number higher. yep. With brand-new, state of the art John Deere combines.
Then back to college, music, married, teaching, children, music, more college, teaching....... quit teaching, music.....
Then, during our first year of "empty nest," I moved 2 hours away to live on a college campus and did 2 semesters of cooking school.
I already have a masters degree, and didn't need more degrees, so didn't finish out a certificate. I couldn't stand the instructors, and after working in a restaurant during first semester as a prep cook, and pantry, I ruined my feet and realized I'm not going to do restaurant work. and I missed my husband!!!
Now, I teach adult education at our local community college, doing classes that combine music and cooking. I match the food with the musical theme. I give a music appreciation lecture while demonstrating and weaving in appropriate cooking techniques. They've started scheduling two sections, so I see a total of 40 adult students (20 in ea class). Each class meets 3 or 4 times (4 in the Oct. class, 3 in the Nov. class).
I cook for family and friends.
I also love cookbooks. I have quite a few, love the old ones, especially when former owners have written in the margins! Love the old church ones, too, when everyone was Mrs. His Name.
I have lots of success, as well as plenty of flops! I, too like to play and experiment with food.
Oh yeah, 2 of the 3 kids are back in the house, at least they are in college. Son will be leaving this week for his school a little over 2 hours away.

Home cook here too. Wasn't particularly inspired or adventurous...
Until my wife decided her fibromyalgia was due to a systemic yeast infection.

So we embarked upon 90 days of yeast free eating... which meant we didn't
eat anything that had yeast, no vinegars, pure spices only, almost ALL condiments
were off limits, no processed foods at all. HUGE restrictions in what we could eat.

Caused me to have to actually research and plan tasty meals....
And it ignited a little fire in me to try new cuisines and revealed a true love of
cooking in me!

So now my wife, a great cook, only gets to cook occasionally.
And her fibromyalgia went from almost life-debilitating to infrequent, minor
flareups!

No formal schooling here either - just two parents that LOVED to cook, including a mother who LOVED watching all the old tv shows - feverishly scribbling down recipes (since this was pre-VCR era) & who read cookbooks like most folks read novels.

I inherited both the love of cooking shows & became a hard-core cookbook collector (have literally hundreds now). In addition, when I first started dating my husband-to-be, he was (& still is) a non-red-meat eater, which pushed me into trying & developing tons of different recipes for poultry, seafood, & vegetarian dishes so as to avoid the boredom that can sometimes rear its head when one is restricted from something. And I have to say, no boredom here (although I will sometimes enjoy a steak when we dine out - lol!).

I guess I'm a "foodie", since I'm always up to try pretty much anything, but that connotation seems sort of snobby these days. I guess I'm just someone who's passionate about food & cooking - just like some folks are passionate about tennis or golf, etc.

Very interesting to read what you're all sharing!

Yo, Breezy!

I'm a self-taught home cook. My mother always did all the cooking, and I never paid much attention (wish I had though). I first became interested in cooking when I got out on my own. Betty Crocker taught me a lot , and I've learned a lot just from trial and error.

I'm a home cook also. I learned the basics of southern cooking from my mother, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Those ladies all taught me how to have patience in the kitchen and how to love creating meals and recipes - how it's something that truly comes from the soul - if that makes any sense.

Sometimes, I like to branch outside of my southern roots into other areas of cooking, but those roots are always there, guiding each meal.

I think that one must be a foodie, of sorts to be either.

My mom did all the cooking while I was growing up. Then the Air Force cooked for me. On to my first marriage and my DW did all the cooking. I remember trying to cook once and she heckled me (Good naturedly) till I gave up.

Through the single / dating time in between > cooked all my own meals and they were OK. I got more interested. There is something special about making a meal for people and having them like it. It is a driving force. I learned to be creative and got a lot better from being on NCT. As I said in my spotlight. All my culinary heroes are here.

A good home cook has an awful lot to offer. They do not have to make each meal taste like the last one that they made like that. I keep reading and I keep trying and I am getting better thanks to you all.

adillo, cooking in your own kitchen is a gesture that speaks volumes in a great way- i luv feeding people. i see a misconception & a genralization, though.
the food prepped/cooked by a pro or a student isn't bound to a single recipe unless working w/ certain pastry & items like ganache that u expect a certain consistency from. often, we were allowed to use judgement rather than recipes. when u get familiar w/ a recipe, it's instilled into a person & instinctual & tweaked & that.

Just a home cook here and still learning.

Growing up, I learned things from my grandfather (a great cook), my grandmother (a great cook), mothers of friends, even my Bosses! I worked in a few restaurants growing up as well, and learned from the Chefs. Countless books, TV shows, and lots of trial and error put me where I’m at now. And as I said, still learning! I’m always talking to whomever will chat with me about food, how they cook, what they cook, etc.

Of late, I’ve been blessed to know and work with people from all over the world, so I’m always quizzing them about how food is cooked in their homeland. Germany, China, Africa, Italy, India, Mexico, France, The UK, if they cook, I’m asking them about it! And it’s wonderful since they all LOVE to talk about the foods and the culture of their homelands. It’s amazing how food really does bring us all together!

Like just about everyone here, I have no formal culinary education except the School of Julia and Graham. Mealtime was a big deal growing up, during the week as much as weekends. Pitching in was a requirement and I would always rather cook the meal than set the table. Funny thing was, you had to do both. I actually love setting a table nowadays, too.

I was lucky enough to actually get a job in foodservice in the very early 90s. I had absolutely no experience doing anything professional, just talked a good game to the chef. She liked me and hired me. She was a recent CIA graduate and was impressed with my ability in the kitchen, particularly my ability with sauces, gravies, roasts and desserts. I learned everything I could from her, and she was happy to teach. I soaked it up like a sponge. Our paths parted professionally shortly after but I took everything I knew and talked up another good game to another company. I kept talking and they kept hiring or promoting. I got as high as I could go without that piece of gilded paper, though. I had the title of executive chef but could never get corporate chef or regional chef. No one was ever going to give me the upper hand over 'educated' chefs, not in the corporate world, anyway.

Besides, I always wanted my own restaurant. Ever since I was 10 years old, it's what I wanted. So, after 9 months Red Gravy is still open and if I make it another three I will have passed the first huge hurdle of 'most restaurants fail in teh first year'. I don't wear chef whites any more. Honestly, I was never all that comfortable wearing them. Nowadays, I wear a tee shirt and either capri pants or a skirt. I have aprons from Pier One. My hair is usally up in some big bun. My feet are probably the most professional thing about me....Dansko clogs all the way; even when wearing a skirt.

I don't believe there is any benchmark for a person's abilities, nor is there a term that will fit everyone who enjoys being in a kitchen. I'm neither a chef or a cook. Those don't define me. I'm a person who loves to cook and loves even more seeing people pleased with my craft. Broke and stressed out defines me just as much

Magnificent thread, Sass....it's been great reading all the responses.

I'm an enthusiastic home cook, as well I've taken a few cooking classes at local kitchen stores - one in my town is owned by a woman who studied at Le Cordon Bleu - and I've learned a lot from reading cookbooks and watching food TV shows, but I don't have chef training. I do read cookbooks like novels and I save more recipes than I could ever possibly make. It's a hobby, right??

Like many of you, I get a charge out of cooking for my friends and family. I just wish I could do it more often. Most of my family lives out of state.

Just a home cook. When Paul and I first got married he told his mom that he'd have to do all the cooking because I couldn't cook a thing. I'd cook and he'd say "this isn't how my mom would make it"... Now adays though... he says "you do this so much better than my mom". Most of the family agrees with him. Either I've really improved or she's forgotten everything she ever knew.

Mostly I do comfort foods and Greek type dishes. Wild game is also high on the list of my favorites now.

Still don't bake very often. It's a science and cooking is an art. I love art... don't have time for science.

lilylove said:

Still don't bake very often. It's a science and cooking is an art. I love art... don't have time for science.

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Amen! I'm with ya' on that one!!!

me, too. technically, i can bake like a champ. realistically, tho, i despise baking. weather variables, weighing ingredients, using various flours as per item, lingering nearby the ovens to check on said items. nope. not 4 me; i'm toooo non-technical. give me a pan, a pot, some spoons, a fully-stocked kitch, then i shall cook.

I took a cooking job at the age of 14( I was an illegal hire), complete commissary type setting, preparing bulk sides for the line, a lot of baking and boil in the bag type stuff. . .I have been on my own since 15. . .kitchen work was one way to make sure bills were paid, and I got to eat that day! Well, 20 years later, it is what I love to do, what I still have a passion for, and what still feeds my belly and pays my bills. I now oversee the Culinary Operations for 11 Units in N.W. Washington D.C., and 1 in Philly. I have had partnership/ownership in 3 of my own places, ran 3 Crowne Plaza Hotels(Banquets and Catering), the trade has taken me all over the place, from Amsterdam to Hawaii with a lot of stops in between.

My mom was a grad of the Culinary Institute of Switzerland, so cooking and being in the kitchen was always a way of life. I never thought I would end up doing it for a living though. I think I was supposed to take over my dads business, but that is no longer an option, and both my folks are pleased that I have found something that makes me happy at the end of the day.

I am more of a foodie, I love when I get the chance to cook for those I love, but , more often than not, a good Thai delivery feeds me the best. Though, as of late, fruit, cheese and amazing bread has been such a nice break.

I started out cooking under my Mother's watchful eye in my early teens. I had to learn how to do something, after my Father passed, and my Mother worked nights, someone had to feed us. Luckily it was frozen food that could be easily microwaved or baked until done. I learned how to make scrambled eggs, French Toast, pancakes, etc.

In the Boy Scouts, I learned how to cook over live fire with cast iron pans, mess kits, and the ubiquitous "hobo pack".

In my early 20's, I still hadn't left the nest, but had realized that I was shortly going to be out on my own, and really needed to learn how to cook. I bought a few cookbooks and started learning.

Once I moved out, it was either cook or starve. A hungry belly is a really good motivator! My cooking increased dramatically. So did watching cooking shows.

After I was out on my own, I realized I actually LIKED to cook. I was always trying new/different stuff at home, and bringing the results in to work for my lunch. One of my co-workers told me I should go to culinary school and get a degree, then start working in a "real" restaurant (I had been working in fast food for years).

So, when the opportunity came, I started formal training. I quickly switched from fast food to a Cajun restaurant, and it all started snowballing from there.

I still like to cook. I may not be quite as adventurous at home as I used to be, as the kids don't really like "weird" stuff. Of course, if I'm not working at night, I'm usually cooking dinner at home.