Hey guys...

Hey guys, I started dating a chef recently and now realize that I never knew anything about food ever and I'm ashamed for ever thinking so.
I thought I knew good food before he came along but it turns out I have a peasants pallet and have been naive all this time.
Of course I'm learning little things here and there when I watch him cook, but I'd like to learn some new tips and tricks on my own when we're not together.

Does anyone out there have any culinary tips, meal idea's, links, etc for me? I want to cook for him with confidence some day.

Oh, and baking. He's not great at baking but he likes sweets so I'd like to try my hand in perfecting that, too. I just don't know where to start.

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Why treat cooking like an obligation? You'll end up hating it. Cook the food you like you the way you want and don't stress about impressing people, he's probably sick of hearing about food all day at work anyway.

As a chef who just started dating someone who knows nothing about cooking and wants to learn, just ask him. If he's actually a chef and not just some dude who works in a steak house, he loves it, and if you're interested in it enough to actually learn about it and do it with him, that's better than stressing out about it and trying to learn it quickly.

Cooking isn't something that you can just learn in a few months by reading books. You need to learn a few basic things, and then just get crazy and experiment and try new things. He'll know where to start, so just listen and learn from him, then think about what you like, and just go for it. It's mostly a trial and error kind of thing, once you know techniques and flavor profiles, you can do literally anything you want. It's why they say cooking is an art.

If you ARE looking to learn something without him, then focus on baking. It's more of a science. If you can read a recipe and follow instructions, there's really no way to go wrong. Anything you make is going to be delicious.

And as far as impressing him, if he's a chef, the only way you'll impress him is by showing initiative and actually WANTING to learn. He's probably had a better version of whatever you're going to make for him, but the fact that you're trying and he gets a homemade meal that he didn't have to make himself is going to be the best thing that happens to him all week.

Oh, Chef! Your post was so sweet it almost gave me a cavity. Thank you, I really needed that. He's really great and does say a lot of nice and encouraging things to me on this subject, but I always over think things and forget that he probably does appreciate the little things. He makes me feel so lucky when he cooks for me. I hope I can make him feel the same way.

He's a chef at a nice upscale restaurant in our area, and he's really passionate about food and his work. I've heard him say he considers himself an artist before, and I can absolutely gauge why. He teaches me things here and there when he cooks for me (I'm always watching him close by) but I'd like to brush up on some ideas and tips on my own that yeah, maybe I can impress him with later. For example, I tried making an omelette the other day for us and not only was it not fluffy the way I wanted but I think it was too salty. He said he was great but of course I'm sure he was just being nice lol.

As for baking, I actually am trying to dabble in it.. It's not going so well but I'm not too worried about it, I think that through trial and error I'll get it, just like with cooking.

Do you have any simple tips or tricks you could share that I can take with me next time I go to his house? I'm going to see him Thursday and I was thinking about giving him a break from cooking and making something for us, but as usual I'm nervous and feel shy.

Thank you again for the thoughts and good luck with your new girlfriend!

How are you ever going to get some replies if you haven't got the latest meme in the OP

i posted this same thing in another thread, but gnocchi..

youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_yGxQzXqU

i'm a sous chef, and i would be so ridiculously turned on if somebody made me gnocchi.. pasta is sexy, it's visceral, it's delicious, and it takes a little bit of effort even though it's not difficult.

make him gnocchi. also, learn the mother sauces.. learn how to utilize a roux, learn how to fix a broken sauce, learn how to make emulsions with both pan sauces and with cold dressings.. learn how to brunoise a shallot.

i think i would uncontrollably cum all over myself if the chick i was cooking with just effortlessly brunoised a shallot.. actually, fuck that, learn how to dice an onion.

you should start with learning how to dice an onion, learning about rouxs, how to do potato gnocchi and simple noodles, and learning the mother sauces.

>I have a peasants pallet

huh? what's that? post a pic of it

also: here are some flavor cheat codes

>sherry vinegar
>butter
>salt
>maple syrup
>lemon juice
>worcestershire sauce
>hot sauce
>olive oil

learn how to balance the flavors of your food, and 99% of the time you're going to need at least one of those things when putting the final touches on whatever you're cooking.

desu, it doesn't matter if you suck at cooking. i'm so jealous that he has a broad who is making an effort to cook for HIM.

this is emotional abuse, get out now OP

>I thought I knew good food before he came along but it turns out I have a peasants pallet and have been naive all this time.
I can never understand this kind if thing. I was useless at cooking for ages, and I damn well knew it. I don't understand how somebody could be so naively unaware of their own incompetence.

How skilled were you exactly that made you think you were good?

This guy gets it.

I'm a chef of 15 years. My wife could barely cook when we first met. Now she's amazing, she's put in effort to learn how to brunoise vegetables, can chiffonade with a nakiri like a champion, she has good knowledge of cookery theory and understands the finer points of balance and flavour and can make mother sauces better than some chef's I've worked with.
It is an absolute pleasure to come home from the restaurant and sit down to a beer and a meal she prepared. I may have to eat them alone at midnight and it may be reheated but I appreciate the level of effort she's put in to get to where she's at now. I don't know a chef who doesn't appreciate having a meal cooked for them.

You two sound so cute desu :3

But now I'm jelly and sad

Personally I love it when a girl makes me breakfast and coffee in the morning (actually more like 11:00) and I'm still half asleep and lazy
It's just so comfy

i feel you, man.. i'd probably shit myself with excitement if somebody just made me a peanutbutter and jelly or grilled cheese with campbell's shitty condensed tomato soup.

the ultimate irony of my life is that i work in a top 5 restaurant in a major american city, and my diet consists mainly of instant noodles/fried egg/scallion, frozen dinner gangbangs (when you buy like three frozen food items and eat them all mixed together like the sorry excuse for a human that you are), and pizza.

cheeseburgers were one of my most important food groups but i got ridiculously bad food poisoning from one last month and haven't gotten over being repulsed by them.

So... are you top or bottom in this relationship?

>the you can't fuck up baking fallacy

come on man, come on

Thank you! I might give that a try. I was thinking about buying a pasta machine because I really want to make my own pasta.

I was thinking until I did that maybe I could make some ravioli's or something too, Any suggestions for a creative filling?

Oh I'm also looking for some more tips, tricks and pointers for making really good chicken. The picture I'm posting is when we made tacos, I made the tortillas but he made the most amazing chicken. I love chicken so I want to make it for him sometime but I want it to be something creative other than lemon, butter and seasonings.

I'll also practice cutting! Thanks for the advice!

Thanks! I'll check out the sherry vinegar since I am familiar with everything else. What are your thoughts on flavored olive oils? I was thinking about picking up something new. And maybe um.. Truffle oil?

He loves maple syrup but I can't stand the stuff so I have no idea how i'd use it. Any ideas? I don't like the stuff but still willing to work with it.

I wasn't talking about just the food I make I was kind of jumbling every food experience I have ever had ever. He just makes super good food.
I mean I can cook food that I and others have deemed delicious before but it's just not anywhere near on par with his stuff, and his food is so organized and thought out it's admirable. I make really good macaroni and cheese because I add a lot of extra cheese, butter, some seasoning, and milk. He makes really insane mac and cheese because he does shit like add 3 cheeses to a milk and butter and [flour I think it was?]concoction mixed in with peas, spinach, bacon and duck topped with goat cheese. My mac and cheese was impressive to a pleb average joes like me

>my diet consists mainly of instant noodles/fried egg/scallion, frozen dinner gangbangs

lmao he talks about how he survives off these foods usually too. He has a strong relationship with spicy Ramen noodles when I'm not around apparently.

Thank you guys, and everyone, seriously! I really do tend to over think things so it's really encouraging to hear everyone in the same field feeling the same way about the situation. I hope everyone will continue to post pointers and tips because I think I'm getting some good idea's just from the conversation so far.

I think I'm going to be brave and make him something when I go to see him this Friday, and it really is a lot in thanks to you guys.

well then [spoiler]edward[/spoiler] you should really just kinda start learning from him, I guarantee you he'll teach you some if you hang around the kitchen on his days off

Do you let him fuck your ass?
Chef's palates are refined enough to enjoy your bitter ass fruits so why not let him?

baking is a lot easier than cooking.

You aren't mistaking plateing as cooking though, are you?

Pics like that always trigger me.

baking is to cooking like coloring by the numbers is to painting

millennial where can't cook what a surprise

millennial hater who can't write what a surprise

You're both pathetic.

t. pathetic pro

what the fuck is this thread

Moral support