Learning to Cook as an Adult

Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on July 30, 2026

As someone who has been in the kitchen my entire life I can’t imagine what it would be like to not know how to cook but I also know that there are people who do not have those opportunities and some who truly just do not enjoy cooking.

During the Covid lockdowns many people decided to learn how to cook, brush up on skills or even learn new cooking techniques. Since then even more people have turned to cooking at home to save money, know where their food is coming from or begin their journey in the kitchen for a variety of reasons.

Many people learning to cook start simple. Sometimes something as easy as a grilled cheese and soup heated up on the stovetop is a great place to start to get confidence built up before trying something bigger and more complicated.

Where To Start

Michael Zarate wrote a great article about learning to cook that is filled with awesome tips.

So, how do you start? Well, the most important thing to remember is that you’re learning to cook for yourself. The moment I became truly interested in cooking was the moment I stopped looking for a general guide. I started trying to find guides to make the kinds of foods I want to eat. The goal of becoming a good home cook is to make meals that you enjoy, or at least at first, to make meals that don’t feel like homework.

I had this revelation when I finally made perfect breakfast grits, and then after the first mouthful remembered, “Oh right, I hate grits!” Of course, learning recipes for dishes you may not like can expand your palate, and it’s an opportunity to try new techniques. Trying something new is a great idea once you’ve got the basics down, but speaking from experience, start simple: just try to put a few decent meals together each week.

5 Tips for a Successful Cooking Journey

In no particular order, consider these 5 pieces of advice that I’d like to offer, now that I’m a seasoned beginner Chef:

1. Start with WHAT: Ask yourself this: “What is it that I want to eat?” If you love pasta, start by learning to cook pasta dishes. If you want to have a burger, learn how to make a good burger. There isn’t one right way to begin cooking. Begin by learning to cook what you like, not what the Internet says you should make.

2. Don’t get fancy (yet): Focus less on the serious work of becoming a Food Network Star and instead learn what I like to call functional cooking. This is the sort of cooking that helps you put something you like on the table in a half an hour on a weeknight. (This is not the time to try to make duck confit with a Moroccan carrot salad! Keep it simple, folks.)

3. Try big-batch cooking: Consider making bigger dishes that can last you through the week. Lasagna, chili, a casserole, or anything else you can make in a big batch…start with these. You’ll feel great having something delicious ready to go on days when your schedule is too busy to cook.

4. Trust your instincts: Don’t be afraid to deviate from the recipe to make it your own. Many young people feel we have bad instincts about cooking because we’re still learning. If you think the dish could use more spice, more garlic, more salt…go for it. It’s your meal and improvising to make it your own is an important part of growing as a cook. A recipe can be a good starting place, but the benefit of cooking at home is you can play, try new things, and make it your own. How do you wish things tasted? Making those flavors a reality has been my favorite part of the cooking journey.

5. Make it fun: Let go of the intimidation that can accompany learning something new. Invite friends or family to cook with you, find a good music playlist, and allow yourself to be creative. If you lower the fear factor, you’re more likely to enjoy exploring this new skill.

Basic Cooking Food Safety

Any people feel that food safety has to be complicated and hard to accomplish. The USDA breaks it down into very easy to understand simple tips:

Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential in preventing foodborne illness. You can’t see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow the four guidelines to keep food safe:

• Clean—Wash hands and surfaces often.
• Separate—Don’t cross-contaminate.
• Cook—Cook to proper temperatures, checking with a food thermometer.
• Chill—Refrigerate promptly.

Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat at higher temperatures.

Ground meats: Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Poultry: Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Keep Things Clean

• Always wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food.
• Don’t cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. After cutting raw meats, wash cutting board, knife, and counter tops with hot, soapy water.
• Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.
• Sanitize cutting boards by using a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water.

With following these easy steps and starting small you are guaranteed to advance in your cooking journey as an adult. Follow Make Food Safe to stay in the know about food recalls, food safety tips and other fun food facts.