When did you get serious about cooking/food and drink? And why?

[Toothlessjoe]

Everyone in this forum seems to be passionate about cooking, and their food and drink. Why? What made you get serious about food?

For me, I was sick of not being able to cook and had enough money to eat out a lot of the time. Slowly I appreciated a taste for restaurant styled and quality food. I wanted to recreate it at home, so I started to learn how to cook. My tastes changed and now I love foods for their flavours, colors, their quality etc.

Couple this with thoroughly enjoying shows like Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen, here we are today.

What about you guys?

[Monkmaster]

After highschool, I basically started thinking that once I move out I'm going to have to start cooking for myself. Started watching the Food Network more often, examined meals I'd order at restaurants/payed attention to the head chefs at restaurants I had worked at.
I put a lot of effort into the appearance of dishes even if I'm just cooking for myself, but the family really looks forward to days in which I prepare the dinner.

[i poop in your cereal]

I never did and I most likely never will. I lack the motivation to learn it, I'd rather just order something that someone else made.

I don't belong in this thread but I'm really, really bored.

[MunkeyQ]

I haven't really ever been serious about food, but I rarely, if ever, buy pre-packaged meals.

It's mostly stuff like mash, veg and meat of some sort or a simple salad.

[reallystupidstuff]

I had just quit heroin and I was trying to go legit. The only job I could land was a dishwashing job. After a month or two I learned that the executive chef I worked for was married, had a boat and was only 6 years older than me but he started out washing dishes too. So I took more of an interest in what the cooks were doing and just kinda moved up the ranks. Now I am a linecook in my first year of culinary school

[Mantikore]

i was six years old. at that point, all i ever did that was close to cooking was chop up and mixed vegetables, put a piece of cheese between bread, or pour milk onto cereal.

anyway, one day, my dad was making a simple butter cake. i decided to help. the next day, i decided to do the recipe again, this time on my own.

the cake was a complete disaster.

i dont know, i could have gave up cooking right there, or keep pressing on. Im sure you can guess which option i chose.

that was the day i learned to appreciate cooking, and the day i learned the difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit :rolleyes:

[Dog]

Well, I think it started when I realized that I could make all of my favorite restaurant foods at home. I think the very first dish I made was gumbo, which, as it turned out, was actually pretty damn hard to make. I also made tiramisu, and then I started to figure out how to make dough-based foods. For a while I just looked around the internet for different things I liked, and more recently I bought a cookbook, and subscribed to Cook's Illustrated online.

Cooking is actually one of the few things that I enjoy doing sober (besides getting drunk, harhar). Sometimes I spend practically all day preparing food, and it doesn't even seem like work.

I'd love to get a job in a kitchen somewhere, but since I don't have any culinary-school experience, I don't see that happening.

As for drinks...I took a bartending course with the intention of getting a job, but never followed through on the latter. The course was great though, and it really expanded my tastes as far as alcohol goes. I feel sorry for the people whose liquor knowledge consists of rum, vodka, gin, and whiskey, mixed with pop or juice.

[Joxide]

I've never been very big on alcohol - I was bored of going out, getting wasted and losing all my shit before I even turned 18.

With food, my mum always messes up the cooking. I just decided to start cooking for myself. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. It also gives you a sense of satisfaction if it's really good.

[Frank]

I grew up helping my mom do things in the kitchen. I'd help make large amounts of home made sauce to freeze, help with dinner, frost cakes, canning every thing under the sun (carrots, pickles, pickled green beans, green beans, preserves, apple butter, jams, apple sauce, beets, jellies, you name it, I've canned it) Cooking has been an everyday thing for me since I can remember.

[Euda]

At some points in my youth, I had to learn how to cook, or else I wouldn't eat. I asked people about different types of food and tried to cook it as best I could. Every now and then I'd get requests for me to cook certain things that I'd never heard about or seen before, so that helped to expand my tastes.

As I got a bit older, I learned how to cook from girls I dated, friends, relatives, and a cookbook here and there.

I guess the thing that motivated me to cook was my enjoyment of warm meals. Beyond that, there were the times where I lived in hotels and wasn't able to cook. After eating at a restaurants for months, you really appreciate a home-cooked meal.

[Dr. Awkward]

I've pretty much always enjoyed cooking. Ever since my parents trusted me enough to cook on my own I've experimented with recipes and all that, and I cook dinner for the family two or three night a week. I don't think cooking is something I want to really go into as a career but I've always enjoyed it and probably always will.

[Frank]

I don't think cooking is something I want to really go into as a career but I've always enjoyed it and probably always will.

I've been seriously thinking about taking some culinary classes once I get done with my current schooling. I don't know...I'd probably go with what I'm learning now as my career choice (forestry and wild life conservation) but I'd still love to learn how to cook like a pro, even if I never used it as a career. I feel sort of the same way about what I'm learning now, I don't know if I'd like to do it for the rest of my life.

*dies due to uncertainty*

[Dr. Awkward]

I've been seriously thinking about taking some culinary classes once I get done with my current schooling. I don't know...I'd probably go with what I'm learning now as my career choice (forestry and wild life conservation) but I'd still love to learn how to cook like a pro, even if I never used it as a career. I feel sort of the same way about what I'm learning now, I don't know if I'd like to do it for the rest of my life.

*dies due to uncertainty*


Professional cooking can be extremely competitive, and unless you go for the higher level I don't think it pays terribly well. That's always something to keep in mind.

If I ever turn it in to a career, I would definitely want to do something like open a breakfast place or a cafe or something.

[EssJay]

After highschool I got more serious, going beyond things like pancakes and pizzas. Alot of people seem to like my cooking, so I guess that's why I kept doing it, I enjoy it when people like things I've made. I've been told that I make brilliant chicken curries and excelent bolognese and pasta dishes.
My only complaint I have about my cooking is that I seem to use more utensils making something than I need. I just have this thing with needing clean stuff while I cook, if a spatula falls on the floor then I have to put it in the dishwasher, I can't just rinse it off with a little detergent and use it again.
I'd like to try and branch out and learn some new dishes, but the only problem is that I can be a bit of a fussy eater, so finding things that I could make and would actually eat is a bit of a problem.

[k4aic]

Uh..when I got sober off opiates (been into that game for 4 years pretty much non stop)..so when I stopped getting high...IDK I guess now I focus my energy and attention on productive things, like cooking. Just something else to do I suppose.

[nuclearrabbit]

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7562/c0bf85e2ea74vr6.jpg
I started mixing my own drinks when I joined the army.

[Monkmaster]

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7562/c0bf85e2ea74vr6.jpg
I started mixing my own drinks when I joined the army.

What do you call that one?

[Toothlessjoe]

What do you call that one?

Reminds me of an Adios Motherfucker.

[nuclearrabbit]

What do you call that one?

Blellow. It's a mix of blue and yellow.

[Monkmaster]

Blellow. It's a mix of blue and yellow.

:facepalm:

[Euda]

Oh, I started learning how to mix drinks at parties when I was rather young. People liked showing a kid how to mix a drink.

It took me a good long time to learn how to appreciate, and mix, a drink that wasn't overly liquor-flavoured and my tastes still lean in that direction.

[Kwinnie Bogan]

What do you call that one?

Transistorine, it's made outta Listerine and Manual transmission fluid. 8%.

[lostmyface]

i started getting serious when i was 16. my folks passed away and i went to live with my next of kin, my uncle, who could not cook toast let alone dinner for himself and his young nephew.

my mom had taught me alot about cooking, and my dad had shown me a bit about baking and grilling, so when i arrived in my new situation and found my uncle could not cook, i took over the responsibilities in the kitchen. it gave me something to do during the first months after their passing. and i like to think that i keep a bit of them with me when ever i make a dish one of them taught me.

[xoctopusx]

When I first started smoking pot, I started cooking...food and weed, seem to go hand in hand.