How to Cook Like a Chef: Practical Tips to Make Home Cooking Easier
Planning a dinner party or simply looking to make weekly cooking easier and stress-free?
Whether you’re looking to save time, wow your dinner party guests, or make family meals easier, even an experienced home cook could benefit from the knowledge and expertise of a professionally trained chef. It’s not always about fancy garnishes or intricate knife cuts, though – sometimes the most practical tips can be the biggest game changers to help you in the kitchen.
We asked our in-house chefs to share practical tips that have saved them time and time again so that you can channel your inner chef and streamline your home cooking.
Photo of Chef Kyle by Gumption Studio (edited for size).
COOK WHAT YOU KNOW
We all dream of wowing our dinner party guests with elaborate dishes that showcase the most unique ingredients and techniques. But sometimes that’s just not realistic, and may result in extra stress or unexpected results. Next time you host at home, resist the temptation to try something new. You’ll not only be more confident, but you’ll also feel more relaxed making a recipe you’re already comfortable with – and if you need that extra reassurance, test your recipes out the week before to avoid having to troubleshoot on the day of your event.
GREEN TAPE IS YOUR FRIEND
Chefs always make sure to have a roll of green painter’s tape and a fresh Sharpie at hand so they can label their prepped ingredients as they go. Labeling, organizing, and adding the dates that your mise en place is prepared will help you ensure that you don’t miss an ingredient when you’re putting your dishes together, and it’ll help you track the freshness of your food. Just remember, to keep things chef-worthy, always cut your tape – no ripping allowed!
PREP YOUR PROTEINS
It sounds simple, but even something as easy as safely defrosting your protein in the fridge 24-28 hours in advance can make things far easier for you when you start cooking. Life is busy – we all know how it feels to get home from work and scramble to put a delicious, healthy meal on the table. Defrosting your favourite seafood, meat, or poultry in advance will make it so much easier for you to whip up something tasty any night of the week. The same applies to your favourite comfort meals – thawing them in advance will allow you to simply heat and serve, and enjoy a tasty, stress-free meal.
BATCH + FREEZE
Speaking of comfort meals, our chefs have become experts in batch cooking, preparing our ue@home frozen comfort food menu. Whether you order our comfort meals or batch cook your own, having an emergency supply of soup, stew, or chili in 500 mL containers in the freezer can save you during extra-busy weeks and warm you on grey, rainy days. You don't need to invest in expensive Tupperware, either – pick up a sleeve of deli containers and lids. Not only are they reusable, they can handle both hot and cold temperatures, take up minimal space, and also make excellent beverage containers – just ask any chef!
We hope these tips will help you in your home kitchen – if you give them a try, why not snap a photo and share your culinary wins with us by tagging us on Instagram @urbanelement613 or on Facebook @The Urban Element.
And don’t forget – if you’re looking to fill your freezer for those rainy days, take a peek at our frozen comfort foods menu and stock up on our soups, pasta dishes, sheet tray pizzas, pot pies, desserts, and more.
Lastly, our chefs also love to impart their wisdom with you in person – to elevate your skills and expand your culinary repertoire, join us in an interactive cooking class.
Happy Cooking!