Even those who enjoy cooking and have practiced it as a hobbyist for some time can get nervous when cooking for someone, and especially someone they care about. While we may love what we cook, having someone react to it and confirm our beliefs is oddly nerve-wracking. Of course, it’s important to remember that we all have different palates, and so someone who may not be totally enamoured with a dish you’ve offered them might not necessarily signify that you’re a bad cook in any way – it might just be that they don’t like seafood.
Of course, enhancing our confidence is nice in any respect, and so is there a way you can achieve this without feeling as though you’re having to fake it? Well yes, cooks that take some time to measure and master a few basic principles can almost make every meal taste good and look nice, despite not always crafting the exact perfect meal for every single occasion. In this post, we’ll discuss what efforts those are, and how they’re relevant:
Use Umami-Rich Foods
Umami-rich foods are a great way to enhance your cooking and to make them more memorable. Umami foods are foods that offer an enhanced flavor profile by often being protein-rich or providing that beautiful taste that comes from amino acid L-glutamate – perhaps the purest form of this is in MSG. Umami rich foods (like soy sauce, fish sauce, certain meats and more) add that mouth-watering and deeply satisfying flavor that can really help elevate a dish. If you’re trying to impress someone, it can’t hurt to give them a little umami.
Understand Herbs & Spices
If you can spice food well then you’re already half of the way there, and you’ll be able to make the blandest meals taste good. From being able to adjust the perfect amount of the basics such as salting and peppering meat, to making sure your sauces are delicately balanced by little additions such as soy sauce or using naturally sourced herb leaves, the more you can experiment with herbs and spices, even if that means placing chives in eggs at the right quantities, you’ll be developing a more competent flavor profile. That can work wonders for any self-made cook.
Presentational Capacities
As Anthony Bourdain laid out exceptionally well in his book ‘Kitchen Confidential,’ learning basic presentation skills can also help your meals look and seem much more appealing than their simple stature. For instance, placing sauce in a squeezable bottle and making a few lines with it can work well, as can considering the height of the food mounds rather than just making everything look flat. From using like colors together or adding a garnish like tasty parmesan or rocket can always help. And of course, drizzling a little oil over a suitable dish always looks as if you have some worthwhile knowledge. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll end up curating cooking wisdom when prioritizing presentation. It’s not uncommon.
With this advice, we hope you can more readily enhance your confidence, even when facing the tough test of cooking for someone you care about and hope to impress.
*This is a collaborative post