5 Tips To Build Culinary Confidence

We all like to picture ourselves as a Masterchef finalist, rustling up elaborate dishes with flair, wowing all who try our culinary creations and perhaps even receiving a compliment from jolly old harsh-but-fair-and-that-bit-too-smiley Gregg Wallace.

The reality though is that the kitchen can be a daunting place and many of us lack the confidence to achieve our gastronomic dreams.

Belle About Town spoke to Nick Orme, co-founder of kitchen tech brand Njori. The Njori Tempo is the first pack-away smart induction cooker and its creator promises it enables you to measure, monitor and regulate temperature to compose perfect meals, every time.

Nick told Belle that during his years as a designer of kitchen products, he’s learned exactly what makes life in the kitchen easier. Here’s his five tips towards kitchen confidence…

Key equipment

There are so many kitchen gadgets and gizmos that claim to work miracles, but actually clutter up cupboards and are too much of a faff to use regularly. I’m a firm believer that everything you own should be functional and practical. Arm yourself with the right equipment and your confidence in the kitchen will grow.

Every kitchen should have a few hard-working pans: a wok, a heavy-bottomed frying pan, a cast-iron casserole dish, such as Le Creuset, a milk pan with a pouring lip and a couple of saucepans with lids.

Sharp knives are another kitchen staple. There’s nothing more frustrating or dangerous than a blunt knife. A knife should be a pleasure to use and treated with respect.

One gadget I can’t live without is a temperature probe. It’s a game-changer when cooking meat. If you’re going to treat yourself to a good-quality steak or free-range chicken, you want to be sure you are cooking them to perfection and not obliterating the meat, which is so easy to do. A probe can help you gain confidence when cooking slow-cooked dishes like pulled pork, too.

Weighing scales are another essential. Though it’s tempting to be all Jamie Oliver and chuck in a pinch of this or handful of that, his confidence comes from years of experience, and for many recipes, the difference between a few grammes added or omitted could be catastrophic.

Tip two: Keep stock of pantry staples

There are some key ingredients your cupboard should never be without!

Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil is top of the list. It will give your dressings and sauces a depth of flavour you can’t achieve with cheaper oil.

Vinegar is a versatile ingredient: a good-quality balsamic for its thick sweetness that pairs perfectly with tomatoes and mozzarella; sherry vinegar for its pungent, nutty flavour that works well in marinades for meat and fish; cider vinegar for salad dressings and coleslaw; and good old Sarson’s malt vinegar for cooking poached eggs and for Friday night fish and chips!

I think people shy away from seasoning, perhaps put off by health warnings about too much salt, but my advice is to be brave! Maldon sea salt flakes stand proudly on my kitchen counter, as does a mill of fresh black peppercorns (ready-ground pepper loses flavour quickly) – there is very little that can’t be improved with a good three-finger pinch of these two ingredients. I’ve also taken to growing herbs on the windowsill.

Other cupboard staples I advocate are tins of Italian tomatoes, anchovies, tuna, black beans, butter beans, chickpeas, olives and rice and pasta! Even with nothing in the fridge, you could cook up something spectacular with just a few of these pantry staples.

Tip three: Be prepared!

Something I’ve learned the hard way is to take time to prep before you start cooking. I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve begun before getting to the bit where it says, ‘now leave in the fridge overnight’, when I was hoping to serve it to friends that evening!

To make life easier, prep all your ingredients, too. All that fiddly peeling and chopping can really swing the balance if you leave it to the last minute and have something already frying away in the pan.

Lastly, make sure your kitchen is clean, tidy and clutter-free before you start. There’s nothing worse than having a hot pan in your hand and no clear surface to put it down on.

Tip four: Practice makes perfect

Confidence comes from repetition and practice. Get cooking as much as possible and keep recreating your favourite recipes. Even the best chefs have a handful of go-to recipes that they cook on repeat. The more you learn how to cook a dish, the less you’ll need to rely on the recipe and soon you’ll be adding your own touches.

Another thing that helped my confidence as a home cook was to start with simple recipes before I moved onto more complex ones.

Tip five: Take note

Taking notes is something I’ve learned to do since we’ve been developing our own Njori recipes. Keeping a record of adjustments to timings, measurements and ingredients has really helped me perfect dishes and gain confidence when cooking them. I find noting temperature crucially important, especially when it comes to trickier cooking methods, such as sous vide or deep frying.

My last piece of advice is to try recipes you love and then tweak them to your own taste. Experiment and taste, taste, taste as you go! Play with flavour and follow your senses – and enjoy!