What separates actually "good" cooks, and cooks that just use simple, good recipes? I've started to cook for my family for the past few months and have gotten high praise for it, everyone calling me a great cook, but all I do is find simple and easy recipes (pick related) that require no skill beyond cutting an onion and measuring seasoning. So, I don't think of myself as a good cook because anyone who followed the recipe would get the exact same results, but at the same time, it's clear I'm making good food. So, what separates amateurs like me following recipes from actually good cooks? Is it just a matter of learning advanced techniques such as baking bread and growing your own ingredients? Or is it simply a matter of learning to complete more demanding recipes (in whatever way that may be)?
>>7641383
Good talk anon
>>7641378
I don't think having a firm grasp of basic cooking techniques using simple recipes dismisses a person's standing as a good amateur cook. Nobody's going to shit on someone who consistently cooks very good, simple meals.
>>7641428
I don't expect to get shit on, I'm just not aware of what really separates amateurs from pros, if I kept doing what I'm doing I don't think I'd be any better even after 10 years, so there's clearly a different level we're operating on.
>>7641383
Whoa there aspie
>>7641445
The issue is going so far to point it out and make a big deal out of it when it's pretty insignificant. No worries though, angry people gonna be angry.
>>7641383
>my writing is flawless in any language.
It's a scale I think. If 1 is a horrible cook and 10 is a great cook then you are maybe 3 or 4? The difference imo is mostly speed and consistency. Knife skill, multitasking, ability to control heat and time, etc. Also great cooks are able to create brand new dishes from scratch.
I'm in the same boat as you so this is just my limited knowledge speaking.
>>7641378
The difference between a cook and a chef is following instructions vs. writing the instructions.
Normal ppl: omg dis recipe looks so complicated but look @ all dese expensive ingredients it must b gud
Cooks: I'm not doing all this what the fuck is the paprika even for
Good cooks: I remember doing this before and ill do this instead
Chefs: better make up some story aboot the paprika or they'll think I'm just a cook
>>7641438
>if I kept doing what I'm doing I don't think I'd be any better even after 10 years
Of course you would.
>>7641438
Amateurs make food.
Pros convince people that they're not amateurs.
>>7641378
using good ingredients properly to make tasty meals makes you a good cook
after that its just a cock measuring contest of who can be the most arrogant picky condescending douchebag who trys to follow/create trends to impress other faggots into thinking you are magic
a lot of people say /ck/ is all shitposting but in real life its just a bunch of faggots doing the same thing
>omg i can't believe he used sugar instead of agave
>wow he must be a really good chef he used a torch to brown my dessert
>>7641438
Oh, that's an easy distinction then. Pros make money cooking. They are fairly consistent with cooking whatever's on their menu all day long, every day, juggling various dishes under time pressure. Home cooks can slowly plot out and execute increasingly more challenging recipes with very good results, but they don't have the stress and pressure of doing it for a living. It's all in the practice, the deep understanding of how cooking works, your expanding culinary vocabulary. Personally, I find cooking non-professionally a hell of a lot more fun.
>>7641478
It's especially disgusting when you realize complexity and novelty plays so much into perception (whether we like it or not) that even shit like coconut oil can have its own fad.
Fucking coconut oil. Bet you ten to one people who swear by coconut oil don't cook more than once every 3 months.
The difference is results, not necessarily the steps it took to finalize the dish.
Even if you prepare a meal that has very few steps, ingredients, and technical ability, if you consistently produce good results then I would say that's a good qualifier.
>>7641461
>i remember coming from a simple home
>but my grandmother would always splurge on paprika for our simple meals
>the aroma takes me back to childhood memories of nana slaving in the hot kitchen for hours
Forget the recipe for a minute. Say you and Marco Pierre White have a cook off. Same exact recipe, same exact ingredients. What would be the difference? 1 would be speed. The dish that took you an hour to cook may only take him 15 minutes. 2 would be consistency. Cook the same dish 10 times and you might nail it once or twice. He would nail it 9 times out of 10.
That's the ability to cook alone. Then there are other responsibilities of a chef. The biggest one would be maximising taste while minimising cost. If you can't do this, you can't be a chef.
>>7641497
ill believe anything at this point. faggots out there paying hundreds of dollars for a bottle of grape juice because it looks fancy and came from magical dirt in france.
real life fine dining food industry is far more meme than even /ck/ thinks.
>muh anti-griddle
>muh handheld smoker
>muh exotic ingredients that cost a bunch but don't really add anything to the meal
>muh sour beer
high end dining/food culture is just people trying to feel not plebian and getting price gouged for an "experience"
sure sugar in your coffee tastes better but thats what a normal person would do. i am going to import some exotic beans a monkey shit out of its ass and drink it black.
>>7641516
>good cooks can make their food cook faster in the oven by magic
>>7641521
>nice things are a meme!
This is what the poors actually believe.
>>7641524
>cooking is just putting food in the oven
>>7641461
i love paprika i'll put that shit on anything. smoked paprika is even better.
like a little paprika, onion powder and pepper is the only seasoning you will ever need for ground meats.
>>7641445
Not to brag, but I earned the highest score out of my entire high school on the English finals. I typically aced every German test I took as well. Language is certainly not a challenge for me. Yet, somehow, I manage to refrain from going ape shit on people who spell a few words incorrectly.
Also, *hell. You're not referring to the biblical place, but rather a generic concept of torture. Fucking retard.
>>7641541
his recipe requires 1 hour in the oven
there is no way to cook it in 15 minutes
learn to read nigger
>>7641546
>order desert with gold flakes on it
>the gold really makes it taste better guys
>>7641535
>drinks bottle of vinegar flavored beer than cost $20
>you just won't ever apperciate nice things like me
>>7641551
Most recipes require a lot of prep, not just the cooking time itself.
Of course the actual time in the oven would be the same for two cooks. But the more experienced one would get the prep work done much faster.
>>7641551
Are you a retard? Who said anything about 1 hour in the oven?
>>7641562
I think he's referring to the OP image
>>7641557
you could be one of the best chefs in the world and be used to being a home chef who only cooks for 1 rich guy and has slower knife skills because there is no reason to rush.
being a prep cook for 40 years and being able to cut onions really fast (ive only cut myself twice this month!) doesn't mean shit about how creative/capable you are in preparing meals
>>7641562
>cook for 1 hour at 350
OP this is a good example of why most people just eat ramen here on /ck/
their ADHD kicked in before they could finish the 4 line recipe you shared
>>7641571
>doesn't mean shit about how creative/capable you are in preparing meals
Nobody is disagreeing with that anon.
>>7641573
Yeah because this thread is about the recipe in the OP.
>literal retard
>>7641571
>strawman
>>7641555
Apparently not, since you seem to think sours just taste like vinegar, which is pretty retarded.
>>7641578
>Say you and Marco Pierre White have a cook off. Same exact recipe, same exact ingredients.
>Same exact recipe
what recipe requires over an hour of prep time? one that requires you to grow the plants from seed?
>>7641584
knife skills =/= good chef
>>7641586
you should put some warheads in your sour beer it really takes it to the next level and is really classy
>>7641588
How fucking thick are you? Fast prepping and multitasking save a bunch of time. He could be chopping everything while waiting for 3 pans to heat up. Meanwhile you are still peeling the fucking garlic.
>>7641597
Maybe if you added them to your bitter poverty tears they would be less salty.
>>7641613
>if you make it faster it tastes better
>>7641622
if the guy can't cook it 10/10 times he is a fucking mediocre chef
I've honestly never used a recipe in my life. I just cobble things together and they're delicious. I'd think being able to just do that without instructions or recipes is the sign of a good cook.
>>7641490
i mostly agree with this.
pro cooks (line bitches) are the ones who pop speed to forget about their aching back and soles, while they hurriedly chop and prep whatever some asshole orders. time, time, no time.
great home cooks know their audience, make what they can at a leisurely pace, and sometimes take a sip of their liquid used for deglazing.
chefs bend the audience to their whim, study what flavors go well together, and ultimately make recipes that don't cost the restaurant too much money in waste.
>>7641633
What I've learned from making chicken 1000 times is that it always tastes good no matter what you put on it pretty much. So I would agree with you but only if you're making something more complex than "raw ingredients + oven + seasoning"
>>7641624
Not him (I'm >>7641633), but the whole speed thing is why I know I would fail like fuck in any of those televised cooking competitions despite being confident that what I cook would taste as good or better: I have certain health problems that mean I might have to take my time and rest between steps of cooking. While I can make some fuckmazingly tasty foods, it may take me 3× longer than it would you to put it together.
>>7641646
Well, I made up a pulled chicken dish a few years back inspired by cochinita pibil. I'm making it tonight for Cinco de Mayo. I use 750ish g of boneless thigh, some garlic cloves, homemade achiote-flavoured chicken lard, various dried chillies (1 each pasilla, ancho, chipotle, guajillo habanero and serrano), homemade onion salt (just dried, minced onion that I blitz with salt in the blender until powdered) and pineapple juice.
I also created my own wheaty-corny tortilla-likes to go with it using masa harina, strong flour and vital wheat gluten. All made up myself. Is that complex to you? I don't really think it is, but you might. What's considered complex may vary person to person.
>>7641548
>tssssssssssss
>>7641655
Actually those shows aren't about cooking. The same way American idols isn't about singing. If you have an interesting story you might have a better chance of going further.
>>7641617
Underrated banter right here
>>7641551
he said to forget the recipe.
looks like you're the one who needs to learn to read.
>>7641588
You forgot
>Forget the recipe for a minute.
>>7641698
Yeah, but they're timed. I couldn't do in an hour what they do in 20 minutes.
>>7641378
I think its okay and even good for beginners to use their measurements but it is my belief that a really good cook can just eyeball that shit. Besides you should be tasting your food (especially ribs and sauces) before cooking or during so you know what to add/takeaway. If you cant taste something and tell that it needs more/less sugar, mustard, salt, etc., then imo you are an ameteuer/shit tier chef
