7 Skills You Must Have to Cook Food Consistently

I know you’ve said this before, because it’s happened to many a restaurant –

• “Their food used to be great, but the chef left”.
• “They’re inconsistent. You never know if the food is going to be great or not.”

While having all of your meals taste exactly the same is probably not your goal, understanding cooking techniques that allow you to cook like a chef will help you to be more consistent. Being able to KNOW that your meals will consistently be good will reduce stress, eliminate fear of cooking and increase your creativity and joy in creating new meals.

No matter what your skill level,
No matter how often you do or don’t cookr
Or how many you do or don’t cook for,
Consistency is the key to providing something you’re proud ofr
Because, you’re confident in the way it will come out.

Over the years, when I’ve had the opportunity to interview chefs or cooks for jobs, I don’t have them cook their signature dish. You see, a chef has practices cooking their signature dish and that doesn’t help me to determine whether they are good cooks. So, instead, I want to see some basic skills.

So, I’m going to share with you the seven basic skills that I think everyone should have to cook food consistently in the kitchen and cook like a chef. If you already have all seven of these skills and cooking techniques, you can work for me. On the other hand, if you have only one of these skills, that’s fantastic! Why? Because I know you’ll want to add another skills and start on an educational journey.

I love when people seek out ways to better themselves! So, take a look at the list, add skills to your cooking repertoire, and better yourself in the kitchen. You can start cooking like a chef in no time.

Here are my 7 chef tests for Basic Cooking Methods:

1. Anticipate when oil is about to smoke
2. Develop color during sauté
3. Deglaze and reduce sauté pan
4. Thicken a liquid to make a sauce
5. Softly poach an egg
6. Roast a delicate item like fish
7. Tell when a grilled steak is done

Next, I’ll explain each and every secret to mastering all seven of these necessary kitchen skills for cooking food consistently. Master these techniques and you WILL cook like a chef.