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Only if they’re teaching.
Or, if you have a big enough kitchen.
And, maybe two stoves.
Two kitchens, that’s what’s needed. Two whole kitchens next to each other, then you can cook together.
Don’t fucking tell me how to chop onions, I’ve been chopping onions my whole life. I don’t care what you saw on YouTube. And, yes, I just cracked an egg on the edge of the bowl, do you SEE any shell in the egg? No. Because I’ve been cracking eggs that way longer than you’ve been alive. Go grind sea salt, or something, leave me alone.
In some parts of Asia nice homes have two kitchens. A show kitchen and a used kitchen. Sometimes the used kitchen is outdoors.
Rich people having extra shit they don’t use is a global phenomenon
Hey everyone, here’s my show house!
Does anyone live in it?
No, it’s the show house. You think we let poor people have housing?
“summer home”
Don’t fucking tell me how to chop onions, I’ve been chopping onions my whole life. I don’t care what you saw on YouTube. And, yes, I just cracked an egg on the edge of the bowl, do you SEE any shell in the egg? No. Because I’ve been cracking eggs that way longer than you’ve been alive. Go grind sea salt, or something, leave me alone.
That’s a toxic spouse. I’m guessing the criticism reaches beyond cooking technique.
I was joking, but I see now this isn’t a meme community, so maybe I over stepped.
👌
Blink twice if she’s reading this over your shoulder.
Crack your eggs on a flat surface, and they’ll split cleanly around the equator. Crack them on the edge of the bowl if you want to blast a hole in one spot and end up with shell in your eggs half of the time.
That’s how it works on paper, but in reality, 98% of the time the membrane holds the shell together, and there’s no problem. The other two percent of the time, I just pick the eggshell out, easy-peasy. No one cracked their eggs this way until some TV cook showed it, and people who never cooked decided it was superior and different and good. People who’ve been cooking with eggs for decades don’t bother with this, because it’s a non-issue.
I used to do it on side of the bowl, then switched later, so have years of experience with both. I don’t remember where I learned it, but it definitely helps.
My wife and I have both worked in a kitchen, when we are both in the kitchen it works really well, but there are discrete tasks and we don’t hoverr over each other or any of that shit. And we call behind and turn pot handles in and put towels on hot handles and keep knife blades turned down. All the little things.
You ever find yourself saying that shit in a store? Can’t tell you how many times I almost barked behind into some old woman’s ear on accident. I’ve never done it, but I’ve been close.
I work in construction now and I still do it and its still a very useful habit.
I’m thinking of bailing on the industry. Full of fools full of themselves and half baked chefs. Hours suck, workload is sometimes stupid and you either work at a decent place with dicks and assholes or a shitty place with decent people. Or somewhere in between. No winning.
I’ll be honest though fuck construction dunno how you made the switch, good on you.
Last I checked, everywhere is looking for tradesmen. It pays better than a kitchen but the conditions can suck a lot worse. And its infested with some of the stupidest motherfuckers I have ever met. Some of the very smartest to. Pick your poison.
Been eyeballing jobs that offer to pay tuition. Maybe an apprenticeship as an electrician or something reliable
I did that. Can recommend. Trust no one, test everything and you’ll be fine.
There’s a school near where I live called Williamson College of the Trades which offers three-year courses in Carpentry, Electrical, Landscape Management, Machine Tools, Masonry and Power Plant work. Cost is $140 per year (not a typo) since all students get scholarships to cover the normal tuition. I squandered my youth on a liberal arts education long ago, but if I were starting out today this is the place I would try to get into. Somehow, they still have to recruit to get enough people to fill their available positions.
My brother is a chef with similar gripes about the industry. He finally found a job running the kitchen for a retirement community. Set salary, full benefits (including four weeks of vacation), and he’s home by 8 o’clock every night. He’s been there four or five years now, and he wouldn’t dream of leaving.
Might be something to look for?
I’ve considered it people refer to those jobs as “retiring” which is pretty funny but they’re always very reliable
I do it in IT
I’m an avid bicyclist, and I constantly find myself in stores saying “on your left” when I walk past people. I’m sure people are confused, but then it seems like nobody knows what that means on a bike path, either.
Imagine not wanting someone cutting the vegetables and watching the pots for you
Having worked in a kitchen, cooking with others brings out the most toxic version of me.
Why are you slicing carrots like its a salad? You’ve seen a bowl of gumbo, right? Do you need me to show you how to cut a carrot?
The same is true of my family, “you said slice, what you actually wanted me to do is chop” still elicits a feeling of disgust.
Bullshit, I love it when my partner hangs around the kitchen while I cook. We get into all sorts of silly discussions or deep philosophical debates.
I especially love when my child is in the kitchen because I have the chance to teach them new things, or they tell me about their day, or vent their frustrations, or tell me a cheesy joke ect.
Only grumpy assholes wouldn’t want other people in the kitchen and frankly I don’t care what grumpy assholes want.
I have a tiny “one-butt kitchen” and I would also be uncomfortable using a sharp knife with anyone crowded over me as close as in the picture. But I love(d) cooking with my kids even if we had to spill over into the rest of the apartment, and now when they visit I “sous-chef” by washing and prepping the vegetables ahead of time, making sure they start with all clean dishes and an empty dishwasher to put the used ones in, and making delighted noises about how much more beautiful their dumplings are than mine, that kind of thing. And later I rearrange the dishwasher to my liking/best efficiency, because it’s only when you have all the dishes that you can really determine the best arrangement.
Oh my God! One of my absolute fucking FAVORITE things my son does is he really wants to help me cook. It’s absolutely fucking adorable. He just turned 6 so there’s not a lot that he can manage on his own yet for actual on the stove cooking, but I let him stir certain things, help me pour certain ingredients, stuff like that and he’s always so proud.
My wife and I did “date night” ever other Thursday. One of our rules was that if we decided to stay in and cook, we had to do it together. I really liked those nights, but our kitchen was fairly good size. Like you said, it’s a nice situation for just chatting. It’s like being on a short road trip.
yoink Just stealing your idea, don’t mind me.
Awesome, enjoy!
A lot of people are just control freaks about their living space and they can’t stand someone doing something differently than they’d do it. My mom was one of them for sure. She was also a shitty cook.
I’m not a control freak and I find it really hard to be around people who are, and goddamn there are a lot of them out there.
I’d just like to find someone who actually cooks. Everyone I date thinks cooking is gross and basically lives off those meal box services. I haven’t met anyone who likes to cooks in over a decade.
My mom was a control freak in the kitchen, and now I hate cooking. Every time I make anything more complex than a very simple pasta, I’m subconsciously growing more and more tense because I’m just waiting for someone to yell at me.
I can relate. my mom was like it about cleaning.
it’s given me a aversion to very clean spaces, and a lot of comfort in spaces that are dirty and ‘lived in’, and when i go to someone’s house and it looks like it’s from a magazine photo and there isn’t a spec of dust my skin crawls.
I disagree. I love cooking with my wife, because we distribute the tasks and I enjoy her company. Those of you, who have issues with stuff like that might need to work on your cooperation skills.
Yeah, my partner and I cook together all the time and it’s great! I also enjoy cooking for them and them cooking for me though.
Same here. Only times we have gotten annoyed or even angry, has been when there has been other issues underlying, like being annoyed at something they have done etc… Normally both cut veggies, other starts to cook and add spices while other cuts the last things, then cleaning while the stuff cooks. Works well and so much faster.
This
depends on the size of kitchen available.
100% and like, I cannot cook with my family but my partner is an amazing lead or sous chef. She takes direction well when its my turn to lead.
It works if you establish who’s the lead and who’s helping before you start.
You do that by figuring out who is more enthusiastic about shouting “Yes Chef!”
I assure you, my current gf is like master chef and my notably “cute” dishes are demanded because she loves just helping. “Yes chef” is said frequently to a point where we’re just giggling, but i know it turns her on so I let her do it.
If we get in each other’s way when trying to help cook, we use “Yes Chef” to re-establish the flow and order lol. It works surprisingly well
This is the real answer right here!
Not just partners but really anyone it’s easy if you establish who is the head chef and who is the sous-chef(s).
I’m happy to cook with as many sous-chefs as we can cram into the kitchen. Heck I’ll put someone on a grill outside if I get too many. An extra two sous-chefs? Sounds like we’re about to have two extra side dishes. Maybe a pie. Now the dishes are washed before we’re done. Now they’re dried and put away! I can find more tasks! Floors swept, counters wiped, I can find tasks for a small contingent of sous-chefs! Mad with power.
And same in reverse, there’s something so hypnotic about just being the sous-chef. YES CHEF. Cut the veggies smaller YES CHEF. Just go with the flow. Ahhh
Yeah basically any relationship I’ve had it’s been like, “wanna cook?”
“Sure, you got an idea?”
“Yes”
“K, you lead”
If both partners are willing to take either role it’s fine.
Really? I had great fun cooking with my girlfriend. Or cooking with kids. Or cooking a massive meal with a bunch of friends. This is a bad post.
I love cooking with a group of people for a just that group or an even larger group. My fav. neighborhood restaurant, I often sit at a table adjacent to the kitchen. ZOMG, it sure sounds like they are having a great time, laughing, singing, srsly.
your friends and girlfriend don’t have control issues. a lot of people have massive control issues.
you’re a lucky guy.
This is really it. I don’t have a single friend I can’t cook with, even if I need to take a stronger lead with some than others.
There is a distinct difference in cooking as a couple activity and cooking as a chore.
It can, but you better be cleanup or prep if I’m cooking.
Nah, cooking with my wife is great. And it’s best when neither of us necessarily has to delegate tasks. Figuring out which tasks need to be done and and which order can sometimes be a huge cognitive load! That’s why if you ask someone what can you do to help they might get mad, you’ve asked them to take on the mental load of how to make you useful.
Instead a much better approach is too look at what they are doing and think for yourself what needs to be done! Uncut veggies that need to be chopped, ask if they want you to chop the veggies. Dishes piling up in the sink? Ask them if they want you to clean the dishes. Are they making something that needs boiling water, like pasta or potatoes? Go ahead and get a pot of water boiling. It’s much better for someone helping to not just complete the task, but to identify it too.
With my partner we often swap between different styles, if it’s something she wants, she’s in charge but I still try to find ways to help without her asking to do it. Other times the roles are reversed and she’s helping me. For big events like Thanksgiving, we are both overwhelmed and will often know what needs to be done and just do it, no one’s in charge, we are approaching this like a team.
If your partner never wants you in the kitchen, it’s probably because you’re useless and have to be babied to handle the simplest of tasks. (Which is not always bad, not everyone can cook, but everyone should be able to do dishes!) Or in a really small kitchen where there just isn’t space.
But the same is true if you are a guest, my friends have gotten pretty good at seeing what needs doing and will just do it! Helping with the dishes, setting the table, making cocktails, etc. Making themselves useful without adding to someone’s cognitive load that is hosting people or making a meal. However it is very frustrating when a guest who is not familiar asks how they can help, they don’t know where anything belongs, so they cannot effectively complete any tasks without being micromanaged, including dishes, because some things can’t go in the dishwasher and they won’t know what those are! The best things guest can do in these scenarios is usually to bring already made items, like drinks, or prepare them ahead of time, or only need widely available appliances to finish, like 10 minutes in an oven to brown a casserole.
It all depends on the people. Like if I have an overall plan for what I’m making, someone coming in and trying to fill in the blanks themselves to help might just frustrate me because it’s either not in the plan or requires modifications to the plan.
Like with chopping, for some things the style doesn’t matter but for others, it’s important and I wouldn’t be happy if someone chopped the carrots instead of shaving them or something like that.
Or for putting a pot of water on to boil, I like to do all prep first before the cooking because I found that the quality improves a lot if I can put my full attention on the timing rather than juggling finishing prep and cooking at the same time (not to mention things that need to be stirred to avoid burning and the like). Putting a pot on early will end up rushing me.
I don’t get bent out of shape from any of this, but whether you should ask where to help or just jump in where you think it’s needed depends on the person.
Edit: lol just noticed that you had a similar exchange with someone who posted a comment more along my mindset lower down in these same comments.
Definitely it’s gonna vary by person, by a lot of it is about approach.
It’s still always going to be better to ask someone if they want you to complete a specific task, rather than what you can do to help.
This also probably varies by culture as some people are not comfortable saying no to offers of help, even if they don’t want it.
Everyone is different, and everyone has different experiences, so definitely be mindful of all of these things in how you approach this.
That being said, many American men in particular seem to be guilty of this lack of thought, thinking they are be useful by offering help but not realizing that managing them is its own task. Or worse, and and not offering help at all, and defending it by saying things like “well you never asked for help”.
You make a good point about taking on the cognitive load when offering help. I would only add that care should be taken when offering to wash dishes. Partly because it could be perceived as a criticism of the dirty dishes piling up, and partly because some people are very particular about how they get washed or loaded into the dishwasher. So use your good judgement and experience with them to phrase the offer nicely.
Per the image… You have admitted that you don’t ACTUALLY cook. But couples can reheat subscription box meals together.
“You did so good microwaving that pouch, babe!”
“And you were right there with the scissors to cut the bag open, babe! and only half spilled on the counter!”
“these really are the best rainbow trout sloppy joes I’ve ever had, chef.”
“That’s because we chefed them together, babe… Like professional chefs… y’know?”
Where are you getting the impression that they don’t “actually” cook?
I feel this one in my soul. I am not an expert cook, though I don’t do too badly–but I do need to concentrate on the kitchen. People need to leave me the heck alone when I’m cooking or baking.
My wife and I love to cook together.
Yeah it really depends on the meal but having multiple sets of hands and working on different parts is 100% doable and fun. Does this person think restaurants have a single cook too??
Depends on the cooking. One person peel veg and the other chopping it works perfectly well.
2 people kneading the same bit of dough while one is stood behind is just dumb.
