PrintCook the Book: Win a Copy of 'Cook with Jamie'
This week's Cook the Book volume is Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie. I've admired Oliver's work over the years; I mean, what's not to like? Not only is he a good cook, he places education and betterment at the heart of his mission, whether it's through his Fifteen foundation and restaurant or his attempt to bring better school lunches to Britain's kids.
Cook with Jamie carries on that tradition. And even though it's Oliver's seventh book, it's the one he says he feels he should have written first, since it's a "basics" book. It's textbooklike in size and heft, with beautiful photographs and handsome type design—so much so that you'd almost feel bad about staining the pages as you cook from it.
We'll be featuring excerpted recipes adapted from Cook with Jamie over the course of the week. The first one will be along shortly. Until then ...
Win 'Cook with Jamie'
Anyway, as is always the case with our Cook the Book feature, we've got five (5) copies to give away. All you have to do to have a chance to win one is answer the following in the comments section below:
Who taught you to cook?
Winners will be chosen at random from among the commenters, and comments will be open until noon ET, Monday, February 25. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
Comments are closed: 669 Comments:
I did! Although I had influence in early adulthood from European friends who were all very much into cooking and hosting dinner parties at home. They inspired me to learn more than the type of semi-homemade stuff my mom always made. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just approach cooking at home very differently now and I thoroughly enjoy it, whereas my mom did not, really....)
Jeana at 2:54PM on 02/19/08
My mom and one older sister really got me into cooking. There were also a couple pros, particularly a man named Gus Pappas in Columbus, Ohio. For myself, I've always found Greeks to have the most common sense when it comes to seriously creative cooking. Greek-owned family restaurants are always the best!
LunaPierCook at 2:55PM on 02/19/08
My mother - Her intent was to help me learn the importance of following directions, since my report cards kept coming back with these comments...
She did her best, but to this day, I'm a fairly extemporaneous cook, although, my report cards did improve! (my lab work never did, though, somehow organic chemistry just doesn't take well to extemporaneity)
Kervana at 2:55PM on 02/19/08
Grandmother. Everyone else in the family was a finicky eater so the only way I could be adventuresome in my diet was to beg her to go through cookbooks with me. She still sends me recipes now that she's mastered the interweb.
vonnegut82 at 2:56PM on 02/19/08
I learned to cook through watching my father in the kitchen and helping out wherever I could. In my immediate household the men always did the cooking, and I always liked to put my own spin on things. Whether it was watching how to make pancakes or a more elaborate family brisket, I always watched in awe. Now my father gets to sit back and let me and my younger brother take over the kitchen during family get togethers and holidays.
ginsbera at 2:59PM on 02/19/08
I sort of taught myself with help of cook books and PBS cooking shows. It has been a wonderful 40 year learning experience that continues to this day.
Colorado Jim at 3:02PM on 02/19/08
My own damn self, unfortunately...
dksbook at 3:03PM on 02/19/08
my grandmother, mother, father & the Frugal Gourmet
kevlney at 3:03PM on 02/19/08
My fiance, although I've now surpassed him.
eater at 3:05PM on 02/19/08
My parents, and every kitchen boss i've ever had.
bobfole at 3:08PM on 02/19/08
I learned a lot of cooking by trial and error, but my grandmother was certainly an inspiration and someone to watch. I relied on the Betty Crocker cookbook in middle and high school to teach me the basics of technique, and I watched the Frugal Gourmet and Yan Can Cook on PBS to learn more. Grandma's recipes are many of our go-to comfort and special occasion foods as well as the basis for many yummy desserts!
jmoilanen at 3:08PM on 02/19/08
I learned through the power of observation, plus a LOT of trial and error. First, I watched my mom cook. She's a great cook but didn't let us kids help her that much. Then I watched my dad try his darndest to be a gourmet, with many failed attempts. Then I lived on my own and HAD to cook. And then my brother went to culinary school, sparking lots of tip trading and cooking together.
ShawnElizabeth at 3:12PM on 02/19/08
my mother and grandmother are great cooks. they taught me a lot. also other cooks on lines where I worked.
intheyearofthepig at 3:15PM on 02/19/08
Trial and error, Food TV, & Cooking Light magazine.
My family is full of bad cooks.
jamiephoto at 3:16PM on 02/19/08
I've been lucky enough to have been raised by a good cook, and I'm dating an excellent cook. So I have been observant my whole life! Once I started working in the restaurant industry I got the opportunity to see professionals at work as well! Overall, I believe that trial-and-error have been the most effective :) ps. I'd love to win that book.
hungrychristel at 3:17PM on 02/19/08
Simple cooking: My Scandinavian immigrant grandmother. Gourmet cooking: My Cordon Bleu-educated other grandmother. Health food: My organic/natural foods-obsessed mother. Overall cooking techniques: stints as prep cooks and an internship at Chez Panisse!
sugarandspice at 3:18PM on 02/19/08
My mother taught me the very very basics. Otherwise, self taught.
feep at 3:18PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me to bake, but I'm a self-taught cook.
threedogkitchen at 3:19PM on 02/19/08
myself and cooking shows.
marieinla at 3:19PM on 02/19/08
My mom started the job; my husband kept it up. He's still teaching me to cook.
therealpotato at 3:19PM on 02/19/08
My mother supplied the basics. Otherwise, I did a lot of reading.
Christina at 3:21PM on 02/19/08
I learned from watching my mom & grandma cook when I was young, then i became obsessed with the food network and taught myself by trial and error using all the tip's i gained from them.
Jadie15 at 3:21PM on 02/19/08
Like many others, my mother taught me the cooking basics. As a child, while all my friends were drinking kool-aid and eating frozen pizzas, my mother was teaching me how to can tomatoes from the garden or make a bechemel sauce. At the time, all I wanted was to enjoy a bowl of Capt'n Crunch with my friends instead of the quiche lorraine I ate for breakfast. Today, I wax nostalgic about those early cooking lessons whenever I fuss around the kitchen at my mother's house. I still consider her the best cook I know.
ltrain023 at 3:21PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me the basics, but then gave me free reign in the kitchen to experiment and teach myself.
amma123 at 3:23PM on 02/19/08
I learned the basics from my mother, but when I was ready for more complicated cooking I turned to books and now the internets.
blossomtostem at 3:23PM on 02/19/08
reading magazines
musicalpandibear at 3:24PM on 02/19/08
The internet and food bloggers!
Inaya at 3:25PM on 02/19/08
Mom - but in the sense that she couldn't cook one iota, so if I wanted anything good at home I had to make it myself.
chcannon at 3:27PM on 02/19/08
My mom got me started, by showing that fresh healthy food can be prepared on a budget. Then I started diving into cook books, and I've just kept on learning.
ride&cook at 3:28PM on 02/19/08
I originally learnt to cook from my mother. My earliest memories are making 'bounty' bars or oatcakes (more like an american flapjack). We did of course graduate onto far more healthy things, and I still maintain the bolognese she taught me is the best I've had (the secret? more tomato than you expected and simmer till it doesn't taste of beef any more). The sauce vinaigrette she taught me still has everyone begging for the recipe (I'm far too honest and always admit how incredibly simple it is). But not least of all, she taught me that I could cook, something far too many people seem to have missed out on.
sarahdlr at 3:28PM on 02/19/08
TV. Seriously I learned to cook by watching TV and occasionally reading cookbooks. I first remember watching Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet and Martin Yen on public television with my father (which is a little strange since my father did not start cooking all his kids moved out of the house).
Blueliner78 at 3:29PM on 02/19/08
My mother taught me a couple of basics and a couple of specific recipes (hello, matzah balls), but for most of what I cook I had to teach myself or ask other people about their techniques. It's a process.
Stufsocker at 3:29PM on 02/19/08
self taught
awtane at 3:29PM on 02/19/08
Had to teach myself, but I had the internet to help.
mmiller at 3:29PM on 02/19/08
My father pretty much taught me how to cook. I remember Saturday afternoons would be spent watching cooking shows on tv, this was before the Food Netowrk was around. I think we'd mostly watch shows on PBS. Also my grandmother to a certain extent taught me how to cook as I spent a lot of time with her growing up. She'd always be cooking or baking something and I could often be found there right beside her helping out. Oddly enough, my mother wasn't the best cook.
lunge at 3:29PM on 02/19/08
Mostly self-taught with a little help from PBS chefs (think Jeff Smith, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin) and the original Food Network lineup (Mario, Bobby, Cat, Jaques Torres, and NOT Emeril!)
charm city cupcake at 3:29PM on 02/19/08
Mostly from my mother, she taught me interesting things and I learned self defense cooking at the time.
lysrian at 3:30PM on 02/19/08
As probably everyone here, I got majorly trained by my mother and by my grandmother. Not that they really wanted to....I absorbed their moves and flavors. Plus, Monferrato hills and a good presence of artisanal food (including the preparation of it: salami, bottling wine etc etc) made me a complete Piedmontese....with a southern Italian spike.
poodle at 3:31PM on 02/19/08
Mostly myself but with a lot of help from mom
bsuqb12 at 3:32PM on 02/19/08
I can barely contain the excitement about this giveaway!!! I love jamie, and his new show on the Food Network is amazing!
I think I gpt the basics from my mom, but my mother in law was an incredible cook and I think I owe her a lot!
amysahba at 3:33PM on 02/19/08
Self taught, with help from The Joy of Cooking.
karen r at 3:34PM on 02/19/08
My mother -and Julia Child. My mother isn't a very good cook (pork is cooked until it's leathery to kill trichinosis (sp?)) but we had fun in the kitchen. Then, when I was a young adult, I bought Julia's The Way to Cook and made her coq au vin. It was a revelation.
Stephanie at 3:35PM on 02/19/08
The very bare bones were taught to me by my mom, but my real trial by fire was when my then husband & I bought a deli in my mid 20's. I was making gallons of soups and all sorts of salads daily. I did become quite the short order cook as well, working the egg specials! But now I've become more intuitive in my cooking, not following recipes anymore and becoming a more adventurous cook. The internet, Food Network, and my lovely cooking magazines have been a great help!
outinwoods at 3:36PM on 02/19/08
My father was in the restaurant business, my mother, a stay at home mom who loved to cook and bake. I always loved cooking with my mom. She got me started with lots of the basics (she always loved Craig Claiborne & The New York Times Cookbooks...I still use them to this day!). I just became more interested in trying new things & addicted to collecting hundreds of cookbooks. I'll never outgrow my need for food!
hanak at 3:36PM on 02/19/08
My mom and dad introduced me to cooking. I learned some from watch food network (back when it had actual chefs on it). I learned from just doing it, too. Then a couple of jobs in the restaurant business, and some useful information from my brother. Which is to say, that I gathered information from many places.
jbramley at 3:39PM on 02/19/08
My former roommate. I moved into his apartment while I was in college. We got along great. He loved music, photography, and food. I was still in cooking infancy at the time, scared to cook anything--"How do I know if it's done?" I would say.
He was no great chef, but he enjoyed making simple things: venison sausage with a vegetable or two; pasta with a killer homemade meat sauce; a snazzy version of a tuna fish sandwich. More important than any tricks of the trade, he got me on my feet and in the kitchen, working with meat, fish, vegetables, wine, flour, oil, and whatever else was in there.
We don't speak any more (the dude stole my girl and lied about it), but I'll always be thankful to him for getting me over my food fears to just cook.
knaak at 3:40PM on 02/19/08
I "learned" first from my mom and dad, but watching the frugal gourmet and Ming Tsai's original series on Food Network (east meets west) made me think wonderful and different things about food, and ultimately the classics (using knives properly, learning the building blocks and not just cooking to a recipe).
glutton at 3:40PM on 02/19/08
Mostly self taught but my Grandmother was my inspiration. Unfortunately she died before I was old enough to really learn to cook.
sel123 at 3:40PM on 02/19/08
As a child I remember being taught how to cook by our house maid/cook, but I also watched my grandmothers and mother cook and bake. I stopped cooking since. The past couple of years, my boyfriend and I, inspired by the Food Network shows, have been teaching ourselves to cook by cooking for our family and friends.
gourmeted at 3:41PM on 02/19/08
It started with my mom, but I ended up picking most of it up on my own after moving away to college.
dbrackst at 3:42PM on 02/19/08
alton brown
arbeck at 3:43PM on 02/19/08
Pretty much self taught, thru books, magazines and television.
mnsteph at 3:43PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me basic baking, my dad basic cooking, and the rest I learned on my own.
jcrisco at 3:46PM on 02/19/08
My mother!
KAS423 at 3:46PM on 02/19/08
I learned a lot from my parents, both of whom cook and bake. I've increased my knowledge through reading and watching some TV, and getting inspiration from what I eat outside my home.
woodenspoon at 3:47PM on 02/19/08
Grandpa taught me to chop & saute onions - from there on out I absorbed all I could from anywhere I could.
maialisa at 3:47PM on 02/19/08
My mother let me mix 'potions' when I was little. The wet or dry ingredients that needed mixing and stirring or sifting. Then I graduated to sous chef veggie chopper.
After that, it was self-taught by watching, and reading, and trying everything new that I could.
kitchengeeking at 3:47PM on 02/19/08
my sweet mom who does not measure anything.
ynot4me at 3:49PM on 02/19/08
Learned by doing, it's the only way. Self taught, I guess.
foodiegirl at 3:51PM on 02/19/08
My mother and my friend carrie.
rosasharne at 3:51PM on 02/19/08
My mom, and myself
jknepfle at 3:52PM on 02/19/08
My mom and dad taught me the basics. I learned the rest through trial and error, and learning from everything around me: television, cookbooks and magazines.
akamonty at 3:53PM on 02/19/08
My mom and my grandmother, who was the producer of The French Chef.
kdjmom3 at 3:53PM on 02/19/08
Alton Brown. Now, my grandmother. We're going through what the Koreans call "bride lessons."
acidspit at 3:53PM on 02/19/08
Mom & Dad
salty at 3:55PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me how to cook. She's the best!
Judy0077 at 3:55PM on 02/19/08
I learned on my own, old fashioned trial and error. My mom died when I was 9 and my dad didn't cook.
gladstone7272 at 3:55PM on 02/19/08
My dad had something to do with it, as did my sweetheart, t.v., and books and internet, of course.
ironstef at 3:59PM on 02/19/08
My mom laid the foundation - and I learned from there once I headed off to college!
blgrimes at 4:00PM on 02/19/08
I learned the basics from my Dad, and became a meat and potatoes cook-- but it was the farmer who grew our CSA share who taught me about ingredients, and how to not ruin them with too many flourishes and sauces.
BipolarLawyerCook at 4:00PM on 02/19/08
I taught myself through trial and error amd then of course there's Rachael and Sandra and Jamie and Paula and all of the other Food Network chefs. It's amazing the things you can learn by watching these shows.
jenni_purrr at 4:02PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me how to cook.
osugrad at 4:03PM on 02/19/08
Self taught all in an effort to win over a gal who could really cook. She went with somebody else, but at least I can still cook.
reflecto at 4:04PM on 02/19/08
I've learned what few cooking skills I have now from trial and a ridiculous amount of error. However, my parents provided the basics and I wouldn't really appreciate food as much today if neither of them did.
einscheusal at 4:05PM on 02/19/08
Actually I learned most of what I do from Rachael and Alton...my food parents you could say. Now that would make for an interesting family dynamic!
AddiE at 4:05PM on 02/19/08
Nobody! I am a microwave cook. Would love this book for ANY pointers!
kayte71 at 4:05PM on 02/19/08
My mother, myself, epicurious.com, Joy of Cooking, and Cook's Illustrated. Still learning, but from more sources.
Marilyn at 4:05PM on 02/19/08
my husband and myself
MajaMeza79 at 4:07PM on 02/19/08
Mom, and the internet.
voodooconstant at 4:08PM on 02/19/08
My mom
vrtish55 at 4:11PM on 02/19/08
Food Network taught me how to cook!
swankygirl at 4:12PM on 02/19/08
mom
leegwebb at 4:14PM on 02/19/08
My mother was only a so-so cook, so in self defense I taught myself and am now cosidered by friends and family to be an excellent cook.
CarolHarrity at 4:15PM on 02/19/08
My grandmother taught me to cook when I was a little girl. She had an old wood stove and was an amazing cook.
gypsy58 at 4:15PM on 02/19/08
my med school roomie, Taz, taught me some mean curries and a general appreciation for the slow food movement
mazzio at 4:16PM on 02/19/08
my grandmother taught me how to cook. she didn't measure anything, so I learned very young, to take good notes.
emkaye at 4:16PM on 02/19/08
My mom got me started as a kid, but for the most part I'm self-taught. Food Network, the internet, and my bf have been huge resources for me.
erichan726 at 4:16PM on 02/19/08
my sister
mverno at 4:17PM on 02/19/08
my mom mostly taught me!
spliffster at 4:17PM on 02/19/08
My grandmothers, both from Sicily, taught me to cook. That's why I prefer to cook from scratch than buy something frozen, or make something from a jar/box.
dbaxgirl51 at 4:18PM on 02/19/08
I got tired of eating scrambled eggs and dirt on scout camping trips and took over. Since then I've learned from a whole bunch of different sources.
Xtevan at 4:19PM on 02/19/08
I'm self taught. If this cook book can make me a better cook, I'll cook you dinner.
missdeb1 at 4:20PM on 02/19/08
My mom and grandma were large influences, but I think I mostly learned a whole lot experimenting on my own.
pcrackenhead at 4:20PM on 02/19/08
My mom. She's one of the most fantastic cooks I've come across, so I was really luck to spend time in the kitchen watching and helping her out as a kid. She always had a flair for fresh, healthy and (mostly) simple meals.
MayaBruck at 4:20PM on 02/19/08
My aunt annie. Taught me recipes that can not be duplicated.
Marty Boom at 4:21PM on 02/19/08
self-taught in a family of gourmet cooks... had to overcome my fear of their criticism in order to secretly start cooking on my own.
i8alot at 4:23PM on 02/19/08
my mom
carusoc at 4:24PM on 02/19/08
my mom, in a way, because she cannot cook -- and so i learned what NOT to do to become a good chef!
Michele811 at 4:24PM on 02/19/08
A combination of my Mom and the Food Network!
kangatron at 4:24PM on 02/19/08
My mom & Betty Crocker!
drunkykitty at 4:26PM on 02/19/08
my mom and lots of books/cooking shows
missmicker at 4:28PM on 02/19/08
Although I got some inspiration (and a couple of recipes) from my parents, most of what I know about cooking I taught myself.
sidebernie at 4:33PM on 02/19/08
both my mother and my father.
hrwalf at 4:36PM on 02/19/08
Alton Brown is my Master.
teancom at 4:36PM on 02/19/08
My mom, grandmother, and the Food Channel have all contributed to my still-continuing process of learning to cook.
amwhiteh at 4:37PM on 02/19/08
Myself with the help of many, many cookbooks and later on the internet.
joanne117 at 4:37PM on 02/19/08
My parents! My father taught me things like how to make a perfect roux, and my mother taught me baking and juggling cooking times to have everything ready at once. Both love to cook and encouraged their children to participate.
JellyPA at 4:38PM on 02/19/08
Pierre Franey
ess12 at 4:38PM on 02/19/08
My mom and my junior high home ec. teacher.
jeejouis at 4:39PM on 02/19/08
I learned as a teenager from watching my best friend's Lebanese grandmother.
anyang at 4:39PM on 02/19/08
my mother worked, so I learned from my Grandmother
bison61 at 4:42PM on 02/19/08
Honestly I learned from watching Food Network, my Mom hates to cook :)
ooodaisymaeooo at 4:42PM on 02/19/08
My mother. She cooks for a living. My best memories are cooking with her on the weekends and at the holidays.
HitchChic at 4:45PM on 02/19/08
I owe the most to my grandmother. She taught me an appreciation for simple ingredients, and how they work together. And she taught me to experiment (and not fear the occasional flop), to make a recipe your own.
khlib at 4:46PM on 02/19/08
Mom, when I was younger and lived at home. I still use a lot of the skills and techniques she taught me, but I've also picked up quite a bit from watching Food Network and good ol' Martha.
bipolarbear at 4:46PM on 02/19/08
My grandmother. She was a great and adventurous cook.
Betsy B at 4:47PM on 02/19/08
Luckily, both my parents. they were separated but no matter which one i was with, i was expected to help at least by cutting something or helping prepare.
Tenbucc2 at 4:49PM on 02/19/08
My mother taught me how to cook.
rffoodie at 4:50PM on 02/19/08
My mom....
cam00023 at 4:52PM on 02/19/08
Food network!
Truculence at 4:52PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me the basics of cooking, but my husband really taught me how to cook with spices and different types of meals.
peg42 at 4:53PM on 02/19/08
My mother and grandmother both taught me how to cook. What great memories I have.
schwandner at 4:54PM on 02/19/08
mom
trial & error on my own
foodinmouth at 4:54PM on 02/19/08
Partially, it was my father, partially just stumbling around in the kitchen and following recipes until I gained some experience; I didn't really start cooking on a regular until several years after I left home.
Nicholas H at 4:59PM on 02/19/08
My mom, dad, and grandmother. All three taught me to love food and ,especially, the importance of cooking together.
dbrooksismyhero at 4:59PM on 02/19/08
My grandmother and myself both knowing that I would have to learn in order for my father and myself to survive since my mother was always in bed with the "brown bottle flu" as I was growing up.
Hunnyoil at 4:59PM on 02/19/08
My mother. She was an amazing cook, despite the fact she couldn't boil water when she married.
Allan at 5:02PM on 02/19/08
My mother taught me to applicate delicious food through a lifetime of making me and taking me to said food. By I think it was my father that taught me combination of fire and ingredients to make sustenance.
OneEyedMan at 5:02PM on 02/19/08
Mostly from my mom. Well, all the basics from my mom, followed by a ton of trial & error, obsessive cookbook collecting and blog reading!
Peasantwench at 5:02PM on 02/19/08
Julia Child!
laur_uic at 5:03PM on 02/19/08
my mother and the joy of cooking
skim at 5:05PM on 02/19/08
I don't really cook so much as I bake, but I taught myself to do that. Mom never kept sweets in the house when I was growing up, so if me or my sisters wanted "something cakey," we had to make it ourselves. On the bright side, I'm a big hit at potlucks.
maryofdoom at 5:06PM on 02/19/08
I learned a lot from my parents, but I have mostly taught myself through trial and error.
Eroca at 5:08PM on 02/19/08
Growing up I cooked with my mom, dad, and grandmothers. Between all of them I learned all sorts of recipes and tastes. The college years was just trial and error as are my 30s.
HMcChezz at 5:09PM on 02/19/08
My mom did, both by exposing me to TV cooking shows (like "Yan Can Cook" and the "Great Chefs of..." show), and by letting my sister and I cook with her. She also subscribed to Bon Appetit magazine back in the day and saved all of the issues, which I would pore over religiously. And I read (and still do) her Silver Palate cookbooks like they were novels and subjected my family to the recipes from them over and over. I would find a favorite and then make it day after day, till my family begged for a change.
Junie at 5:10PM on 02/19/08
My mother started teaching me to cook when I was a toddler to keep me out of her hair. By elementary school, Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) and Julia Child had an influence. Both the first book I checked out of the library, and the first book I bought for myself, were cookbooks.
geekbearinggifts at 5:12PM on 02/19/08
Mom and Julia Child
happybites at 5:13PM on 02/19/08
My mom sparked my interest by letting me cook at a young age. She was working full time when I was nine, so she'd make something that involved me sticking it in a preheated oven before she got home (like marinated chicken or pork) and adding water to a boxed side dish. Then I graduated to browning meat and making spaghetti, to inventing my own recipes (which is when she started eating cereal for dinner...thanks for the vote of confidence).
She doesn't really like cooking, so she encouraged me when I took a liking to it, mostly because it relieved her work load a bit. After my initial experiences, I'm self taught. Ok, and the Food Network helped a lot.
LizNYC at 5:13PM on 02/19/08
I did, using an old Meta Givens cookbook.
lovetoeat at 5:15PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me to bake, but I taught myself to cook.
My dad taught me how to turn hamburgers into hockey pucks on the grill and call for pizza. Mostly I do not follow his culinary example . . .
Mizbee at 5:15PM on 02/19/08
Believe it or not, I learned how to cook from the Dom DeLuise videos "Eat This, It Will Make You Feel Better!". I also used the cookbooks he wrote as guides.
cdziuba at 5:18PM on 02/19/08
Mom all the way - didn't want to let me go to college without at least being able to scramble an egg.
mbcorwin at 5:19PM on 02/19/08
soupy sales
bhgrossman at 5:22PM on 02/19/08
First my mother, then myself.
linda at 5:22PM on 02/19/08
nothing like learning next your mother (mind you, only barely able to see over the counter) to learn how to cook and decorate an angel food cake to perfection :)
tlinjang at 5:23PM on 02/19/08
My mother taught me to cook. Problem was, she wasn't a very good cook.
patschraier at 5:24PM on 02/19/08
My self by trial and error.
thotfulspot at 5:25PM on 02/19/08
The internet! Okay, and my mom.
surplusj at 5:27PM on 02/19/08
My mom had a hand in it, but I took it up several notches and learned a lot on my own...internet, cookbooks, cooking classes and trial and error!
tkln at 5:29PM on 02/19/08
my nona
46137 at 5:30PM on 02/19/08
My mother, refined by me!
ostergard at 5:30PM on 02/19/08
I grew up in a restaurant with my family. My grandfather was the cook and I loved to watch him. My grandmother taught me many home style recipes but mostly I just started trying recipes and taught myself.
drala625 at 5:31PM on 02/19/08
My awesome gourmet cook mother who learned from her awesome gourmet cook mother, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, and necessity when I got married and then had children.
PerkyMac at 5:32PM on 02/19/08
My mother, then my college roommate made some improvement. Since then I have been self-teaching with the food network and, of course, the interwebs.
ScienceandtheCity at 5:32PM on 02/19/08
mom and dad.
ekuhns at 5:34PM on 02/19/08
Pretty much every woman in my family but my mother!
LiveToEat at 5:37PM on 02/19/08
i taught myself through trial and error when i got marrie3d, my mother hated to cook so i barley knew how to cook kraft macaroni and cheese which was my first meal
shirley26 at 5:37PM on 02/19/08
I'd love to say my mom or grandmom but I largely ignored what little they tried to teach me when I was young. It wasn't until I got older, developed my own interests and discovered Good Eats and the zen of Alton that I think I really start my journey of learning how to cook.
digitalburro at 5:38PM on 02/19/08
Food network all the way!
bianca34dw at 5:38PM on 02/19/08
We had dinner every single night, homecooked meal at 5:30 PM. ALWAYS at 5:30 PM. I think my mom taught me menu planning and importance of actually SITTING down to eat as a family. But I think I taught myself more to cook through trial and error.
midgepingleton at 5:39PM on 02/19/08
My mom and my husband.
deedleweedle at 5:40PM on 02/19/08
My mom & dad. I was making coffee for dad at 2 years old - well I filled the tea pot, put it on the stove, and fixed the coffee pot. I'd wake dad when the coffee tea pot started whistling. (He'd have to pour the boiling water.) Then we'd sip coffee together.
marlenec at 5:44PM on 02/19/08
My great grandmother (Baba Anna) taught me to cook and to really appreciate the talents of home taught chefs. She came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Hungary and became a busy caterer in New York through the 1920s to the 1950s. Her specialties were chicken paprikash, hungarian goulash, stuffed cabbage, sauerbraten, noodles and cabbage, cold sour cherry soup, and palicinta (dessert crepes filled with pot cheese and apricot jam). She even catered an embassy party where Eleanor Roosevelt was the guest of honor and Mrs. Roosevelt made a request to meet and thank my great-grandmother for her amazing food. Baba Anna was truly an inspiration and my heroine, in and out of the kitchen.
mayapapaya at 5:45PM on 02/19/08
My mum
ShelleyJ at 5:45PM on 02/19/08
my mom laid a very strong foundation and I built it up by reading and experimenting.
PattiA at 5:45PM on 02/19/08
My mother taught me how to make pie crust. The rest I learned on my own.
KarynMC at 5:46PM on 02/19/08
My mum, myself, and far too many cookbooks.
zamboni at 5:49PM on 02/19/08
What an amazing response! I think I can credit a mishmash of influences for teaching me to cook. My mother probably deserves some credit, though I can remember how hard she laughed when I heated up tomato juice one day and called it tomato soup. Now I've come far enough to start with a roux, then add the tomato juice...
Charcuterista at 5:54PM on 02/19/08
Both my parents taught me and in the last 10 years darn near every chef on that food channel has taught me a little bit of something.
buteeful at 5:57PM on 02/19/08
My Mom started me cooking when she started working fulltime, I would make sure dinner was prepared and ready when she came home.
She also really appreciated that I had a hot meal waiting for her.
mommy4five at 5:57PM on 02/19/08
My mother, grandmother, and many good cookbooks
tsegada at 5:58PM on 02/19/08
Self-taught with lots & lots of trials & errors, but man has it been worth it!
JEP at 5:59PM on 02/19/08
Mom by watching and helping.
Dad by instruction and tests.
ricedream24 at 6:00PM on 02/19/08
Mama, of course
louiseb130 at 6:01PM on 02/19/08
Nobody, my boyfriend tries, but I am still rubbish in the kitchen...that is why I need this book!
kmg852 at 6:01PM on 02/19/08
Betty Crocker taught me to cook. My mother was a busy mom and did not have time to teach me much but she did when she had the time...I owe my current talent in the kitchen to Ms. Crocker...
lesilk at 6:01PM on 02/19/08
Mostly self-taught, but a lot of my greatest recipes come from my mother.
GoldenEel at 6:05PM on 02/19/08
My Mom - and I still have [somewhere!] my Betty Crocker Junior Cookbook to prove it!!! Well, I think I still have it -- but I do have my 97 year old great aunt's copy of Joy of Cooking....
52katein at 6:05PM on 02/19/08
i mostly taught myself, but my mom was always (and still is!) available for problem-solving. the best of both worlds...
laciscott at 6:07PM on 02/19/08
My dad started my culinary education, and Le Cordon Bleu finished it.
slashchef at 6:20PM on 02/19/08
myself
rosidentevil at 6:25PM on 02/19/08
mostly myself, though lots of Food Network watching several years ago helped (to some extent).
icecreamsandwich at 6:25PM on 02/19/08
I think I learned from a combination of my grandmother, mother, and myself!. A lot of what I know what based on trial and error. The Food Network also taught me a lot!
susieqt111 at 6:25PM on 02/19/08
My mom and Graham Kerr, the galloping gourmet.
Vanessa at 6:26PM on 02/19/08
I had to teach myself. My mom didn't have time.
And my husband helped a little, too.
mizchild at 6:31PM on 02/19/08
mom
kelboyd at 6:32PM on 02/19/08
My father taught me to bake and my mother taught me how to cook
plhill2000 at 6:42PM on 02/19/08
MOM!
LINDALSHOT at 6:47PM on 02/19/08
Self taught and some help with a few food tv shows
daveg227 at 6:50PM on 02/19/08
Me myself and I. I learned a lot from my mother, but most of what I know came from books, observation, and trail and (much) error.
dikaryon at 6:51PM on 02/19/08
food channel :)
hungrykat at 6:54PM on 02/19/08
Jamie did. The first time I ever considered cooking as being something exciting and delicious, and started considering the preparation as important as the result itself was watching The Naked Chef.
And afterwards it was the internet. What's not to love about food porn?
sweetieBird at 6:55PM on 02/19/08
i taught myself.
agordon10 at 6:57PM on 02/19/08
my grandmother taught me to cook. My mother couldn't cook a lick.
teechbiz at 7:00PM on 02/19/08
I didn't know I was learning how to cook but just being in the kitchen talking with my mother as she prepared dinner rubbed off on me. Thanks, Mom.
elaine nan at 7:07PM on 02/19/08
My mother, grandmother and an almost constant stream of food literature.
jhoefl88 at 7:08PM on 02/19/08
my mom and grandmother
PoignantTuna at 7:09PM on 02/19/08
No one I tought myself thru gookbooks, tv, and asking question
loveis at 7:11PM on 02/19/08
My mother, foodtv, and way too much food literature, even though my father always told me not to.
kyechin at 7:12PM on 02/19/08
My father, and a neighbor boy who thought 1 1/4 cups water was supposed to be 11/4 cups water! That was a messed up cake...and I learned how NOT to read fractions!
Teahlo at 7:13PM on 02/19/08
My mom taught me some although my former husband taught be the most and then I learned by experimenting.
neneelynn at 7:29PM on 02/19/08
sadly, the Food Network.
christianne at 7:33PM on 02/19/08
my mama taught me!