Dear Vixen,
I want to learn how to cook. I'm interested in both cooking and baking. I don't really want a career in the field. I just want to learn how to do it better. I've thought about going to cooking school or taking lessons. I don't know where to start. Can you give me any advice?
Wannabe
Dear Wannabe,
There are several ways to get cooking experience and knowledge. You can spend lots of money or virtually no money at all. You can go to school full time and live on the campus of a beautiful culinary institute or you can open a cookbook and gain experience while getting dinner on the table. The choice is yours.
The best reference I know for those who are considering cooking school or even just taking a class is Shaw Guides. Their cooking school area has the most comprehensive list of cooking school opportunities in the world. Take a look and see what your local options are first.
If you were pursuing a professional food career I'd advise you to get the best quality training you can afford because it will help you get a solid foundation and help you get a job upon graduation. This means that if you have the money and the time, do your best to get accepted at one of the big fancy places (CIA, CCA, and the like). If you can't up and move to another city for a year or two, then you may be able to find a local cooking program at a university or city college. You should strive to find a program that offers a certificate, degree or other proof of well rounded training.
But if you aren't looking to pursue a career in cooking but simply wish to learn how to cook based on the French Technique (as opposed to simple homestyle cooking), you should consider taking a few cooking courses at a culinary school or from a chef who offers such classes. Most professional programs will allow people to take a few classes of their choice rather than completing the whole program.
For those with limited time and budgets, I'd encourage the - ask a friend method. Buy a few good reference cookbooks and read them (see previous article on essential cooking reference books). Then ask a grandmother, aunt, cousin, mother, friend or other acquaintance, whom you know cooks well, whether they'd be interested in helping you learn more about cooking. Pick some recipes you want to try and tackle the menu together. This can be a very effective method of learning. Especially if one of you has enough experience to help the other with
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