Episode 12
Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to Episode 12 of the Beyond Nourished Podcast. This is the place to be to learn how to be a better, more efficient health focused-cook in just 10 minutes or less.
My name is or Rachelle Girardin. I've been a holistic nutritionist, private chef and business owner for the last ten years.
Just in case being a better cook happened to be your 2022 New Year's resolution, and even if it wasn't, this podcast episode is perfect for a beginner cook and even a wonderful review for any intermediate or advanced cook.
I know that when I was creating the episode and thinking it through, I realised that there are so many things that I remind myself to do to make sure that I have an efficient and smooth kitchen experience.
The other reason that I wanted to do with this podcast today is that about a month ago, I was teaching a private cooking class to a very beginner cook who did a four-part cooking series with me. She had actually sought me out a few years ago because, at the time, she had been through a very traumatic kitchen incident involving hot liquid that left her and her young child with some serious burns and an extremely tainted cooking experience.
I was just reminded of how important it is to bring in these little tips in our cooking experience to make sure that we are not only being efficient but that we're also being safe. So whether you're a beginner or advanced cook, stay tuned for these next four tips.
First number one, you want to have read your recipe ahead of time. I know that you guys have heard me talk about planning and being prepared ahead of time, and the first thing that you can do is just read your recipes before you start cooking.
Everyone can benefit from this because even if you are a veteran cook when you're making a recipe for the first time, you're actually quite amateur at that moment with that recipe.
It's really important to have a humbling experience when you're approaching a new recipe. Even if you've made hundreds of recipes before, this one is new so make sure that you give it a read-through. When you do this, you're allowing yourself to know 1 - how to be prepared, and also 2 - you're allowing your mind to start visualizing the unfolding of that recipe and kind of the process that you're going to be doing.
Some recipes take hours to complete if there's cooling time or refrigeration time or setting or rising time, and it's just really good to have your head wrapped around a new recipe before you start.
The second tip is to gather all of your ingredients before you start cooking. We call this mise en place, which is the French word or translation for “putting things in their place” or “everything in its place”. This also includes equipment, so this relates to step one - making sure that you read your recipe ahead of time is also going to allow you to know if you have all the proper cooking equipment. This is everything from mechanical equipment to just the right bowls and pans and parchment paper - whatever it might be. This really allows you to gather everything ahead of time and make sure that you’re setting everything out.
This isn't just meant for TV-style cooking, it's very purposeful in a well-run kitchen because you make sure that you have everything and you don't have to run back to the grocery store. You also eliminate having to do a lot of pointless trips around the kitchen by being organized, which is going to speed up your cook time. And lastly, it just allows for you to be in the moment more without having to worry or get stumbled up by something that you weren't expecting because everything is at your fingertips, everything is ready for you at that moment.
Now for tip number three. As a general rule, I recommend that people - beginner to advanced - cook on medium heat to medium-low heat. This is not only safe, but it really allows you time to make better decisions in your cooking process because you're not so worried about things burning.
The exception to this rule would be when you’re boiling a pot of water or when searing meats, which are typically done on medium-high heat.
Cooking on a lower heat helps prevent burning and ensures that you're keeping the integrity of the food. I have a rule - just slow and steady. That way you're just setting yourself up to have more reaction time and you're allowing yourself more time to make decisions along the way. But again, going back to the second tip - having your mise en place all done will really allow for a smoother cooking experience. You've got everything, you're not running into the next room to get a pan that you need or the nuts from your pantry or whatever the case may be - you've got everything there so that your cooking can be seamless from start to finish.
Bad things happen when you cook at high heat. I can tell you that just a few days ago, my partner scorched an egg on our pan, which could have been prevented had he been cooking over medium heat. I happened to call him over to have a quick chat - it was just a few minutes, but it was enough time for that egg to just completely sizzle. So remember, you're not only holding the integrity of the food, but you're also ensuring yourself just a little bit more breathing space to make sure that you're not making any mistakes.
Lastly, tip number four is just to slow down, breathe, relax and enjoy your cooking experience. This is all part of bringing in more presence into your cooking experience and allowing for a lot more joy to be brought from it. You'll be taking a lot of the stress and a lot of the worry out of your cooking, and just be able to enjoy it - which is what this is all about!
I hope that you've enjoyed these tips today. Again, if you're a beginner or an advanced cook and you feel you still have room to learn, you've got only one month left to sign up for our Holistic Chef Certification and Business Training course.
As a token of my appreciation to you guys listening today, if you DM me on Instagram or send an email to hello@beyondnourished.com I have an exclusive offer available for my podcast listeners.
Simply mention that you've been listening to this podcast and that you’re interested in taking the course!
As always, thank you so much for listening, please share this episode with someone who you know is just getting into the kitchen and might enjoy a few beginner tips. Have a great day and I’ll see you in the next episode.