Recipe rescue: Firehouse cooking tips: How to cook like a pro without formal training

I have always loved the training edition of Canadian Firefighter. Firefighters helping firefighters hone their skills and become more knowledgeable and proficient on the fire ground, and in my case, the kitchen. 

Have you ever wondered how to be a better cook? Contrary to what some celebrity chefs would have you believe, you don’t need to have had a food-loving Grandma teaching you how to cook classic recipes from when you were still in diapers, and you don’t need to have served ten years of hard labour under a Michelin-starred French chef in Paris. Just like if you want to become a better firefighter, you need two things: a willingness to learn and a willingness to practice. The rest can always be taught.‍

But where to begin? The sheer volume of books, TV shows, online recipes and guides to cooking for beginners can be as overwhelming as learning to cook itself, and everybody’s reasons for learning are different. Some people start from scratch, learning how to cook for themselves or their crew for the first time. Some might be trying to help out around the house and have young families to cook for; some might want to learn show-stopping recipes to impress their friends and family or firehouse. Some may even want to be the next Food Network star. 

Whatever the reasons may be, here are some important lessons I’ve learned over the course of my career to become a better cook.

Learn techniques, not recipes.

Once you’ve mastered techniques, you can cook so many things without recipes. Of course, one has to start somewhere, so do start with recipes. Making a whole chicken in the oven tonight? You’re learning how to roast. Cooking a pot roast? You’re learning how to braise. Throwing leftover vegetables from the fridge in with some protein in a skillet? That’s a stir-fry or a sauté. Once you learn a technique, you can substitute ingredients and seasonings and cook from instinct. As long as you have the basic technique down, nothing is limiting you to create something new.

If using a recipe, read the recipe thoroughly.

Read it at least twice, if not three times, before you plunge in. I’ve skimmed over recipes many times, thinking I could make it with my eyes closed, only to proceed and miss some tiny, vital step. It’s worth the extra time to comprehend a recipe completely. Making mistakes only wastes time and money.

Taste everything as you’re cooking.

For the best, final outcome of your food, you should be tasting it along the way. Just because a recipe tells you to add a teaspoon of salt, how will you know that was enough to season a pot of stew? By tasting it. Food can also taste completely different after an hour of simmering. After adding lemon juice to a vinaigrette, how do you know if it’s acidic enough for your salad? You can taste it by dipping a salad leaf in to check. Always check for balance by taste-testing your food and make adjustments as needed.

Clean as you go.

I know that this might be hard for some people, but as I’m cooking, I try to work cleanly. I wipe my surfaces in between steps, wash dirty bowls and utensils, and try to keep my work area and cutting board neat. It creates a much calmer cooking experience and causes less chaos.

“Try to enjoy cooking; don’t view it as a task that is hard or unfulfilling.”

Everything in its place.

This refers to the French phrase “mise en place”. Have everything you need to cook on hand, prepped and ready to go. This not only means ingredients but also pots, pans, utensils, cooking gadgets, recipes, etc. There is nothing more frustrating while you’re cooking than having to stop and look for needed items. In stir-fry recipes, you must have all your ingredients prepped with the wok ready to go before you start cooking.

You can always add more, but you can’t take it away.

I’ve learned this lesson many times, the hard way. When you are unsure of how much of an ingredient to add, it’s better to start slowly and add more in small increments. I’ve over-salted, made things too acidic, added too much sugar and made things overly spicy because I didn’t have the patience to add, taste, readjust and add more. Once you’ve overdone it, it’s much harder to fix, or it may not be fixable at all.

Sharp knives are the safest knives.

Many people are scared of very sharp knives but sharp knives are much safer to use than dull ones. You have less control with a dull knife and risk cutting yourself if a dull knife slips or goes in another direction. Keep your knives sharp at home with a honing steel, which should be used daily. Sharpen them with a sharpening stone or knife sharpening tool when they get too dull. If this is too much work for you, take your knives to a professional knife sharpener once or twice a year, depending on how much you use them.

Learn how to use salt and when to use certain kinds.

Salt is an important ingredient in cooking; salt is probably one of the top reasons restaurant food tastes better than home-cooked food. Home cooks usually under-season or don’t season food properly. Food that is seasoned in layers tastes better than food that is seasoned only at the end. You should season ingredients at the right time as you’re cooking. Boiling water should taste very salty when cooking pasta or blanching vegetables. Meat should be salted as soon as you bring it home from the grocery store. The kind of salt you use is important, too. There’s a big difference between Diamond Crystal kosher salt, Morton’s kosher salt and regular sea salt. There are many varieties, and you should try out different kinds to find your preference.

Use the best ingredients you can afford.

Quality over quantity. I would prefer to eat a better, smaller cut of steak fewer times throughout the year than choose to eat factory-farmed beef every week of every month. Quality ingredients add up to better food and you have to do less to them to make them taste great. This could also apply to cooking tools, knives, pots and pans. Buy only the tools you really need that are of better quality. Don’t waste your money on things that only do one job, or you’ll only reach for once a year. A restaurant supply store is a great place to find quality kitchenware for less.

Cook with love and enjoyment, not drudgery.

Any great chef will tell you that everything cooked with care tastes better, and it’s true. Try to enjoy cooking; don’t view it as a task that is hard or unfulfilling. Everyone must eat, and since we can’t – and shouldn’t – eat out for every meal, you might as well learn to enjoy cooking. It’s a necessary skill that can bring so much happiness to yourself and the people in your life. This is what I have always loved most about cooking: the joy it brings to my family, friends and the firehouse. 

As always, eat well and stay safe.  

Patrick Mathieu is a Captain Training Officer with Waterloo Fire Rescue in Ontario. He has appeared on Food Networks Chopped Canada and is the author of The FireHouse Chef Cookbook. Please email him at thefirehouse_chef@yahoo.ca and follow him on Instagram @stationhouse_.