Chef Daniel Holzman on The Best Way to Learn to Cook 

I think the best thing to cook when youre first starting out is eggs. They are super simple but also require paying attention to what youre cooking, timing, effective seasoning, moisture management, heat management, etc. Especially scrambled eggs, one of the easiest to make but probably the hardest to make appetizing. Cooking over easy or sunny side up eggs is pretty educational too. Its all things you naturally learn on your own the more often you cook them.

“Anyone can cook.” (Chef Gusteau)

I went to culinary school for 4 months and dropped out. 2 years later I was a head chef running my own kitchen in the winter and a jr sues/chef de parti in the summer. School isn't always the right path.

I went from a dishwasher to becoming a chef , absolutely no schooling whatsoever. Hands on, and books will get you far .

I started out as a Kitchen Porter, made sure my time keeping was good, became reliable and then I started showing interest in what the chefs where cooking, what’s in it, how do they make it etc etc. enquired about that I want to move up in the ladder. My chance came and then I was half prep chef and half kitchen Porter. Then when a new kitchen Porter started, I was full time doing prep chef and then eventually I became a chef. This took about 2-3years, from kitchen Porter to chef

I'm 34, I only started learning to cook recently. I've recently made my first chicken soup/stock/gravy, hash brown.

Really cool of him to share his experiences. Grew up in restaraunts and I have always had massive respect for well run establishments. I will say, the best food is made in the home.

Been in a kitchen for 30 years. I still study food, everyday I find something new to learn. It becomes an obsession.

Best way: Follow the recipes, then improvise!

Man it's like they are having a shiny bald head contest lol

"set one free" had me fucking rolling

I started cooking in a out almost 2 years ago just finsiehd my sophmore year of highschool anxious out of my mind . The chefs at my school are so cool i started out being maybe one of the worst in class. Ended sophmore with major improvement im now one of the better in my year . Love cooking and the dumb times i had sharing cookies pastries and all kinds of foods with my classmates after culinary class .

I taught a class in several culinary schools. Never went myself. But I was apprenticed by a master. I also taught a very specialized craft. So I don’t think many schools keep an ice sculptor on staff. They just hire in an ice pro to teach that part of the course.

First thing I learned to cook was eggs. I literally said to myself “If I cook it slow enough, I can’t burn it”. Now I make the best eggs this side of the Atlantic

I own Mix Cooking School in Chandler, AZ. We sell out every hands-on class. Everyone can benefit from taking classes to learn about techniques, tips, ingredients. We teach over 75 different classes and they're all great for beginners! Everything from fresh pasta to French Macarons.

I have been cooking for over 15 years at home. At my home I cook not my wife. To say that I have improved over the years is an understatement and at this moment i can confidently say that i cook better food than many restaurants that i visit to eat. Just like any other thing, one has to be patient and try. Learn from your experience and improve or change accordingly next time. I have literally thrown fully cooked dishes down the drain because I wasn’t happy with the result but I have learned from all that. Don’t try to be perfect. Just start and keep on improving and trying different things.

Joe. I think it's about time to invite Emil Kalinowski and Jeff Synder to your podcast. These people have fantastic insights into the monetary system/policy and I'm sure your viewers are going to be blown away about what they know. They have their own channel called Eurodollar university, but they can certainly use your help to reach a wider audience.

When's Eddie Bravo coming back on?

I was always helping my mother with cooking growing up. Now since moving to university it’s forced me to learn the most effiecent way to get my nutrition in while also spending little money. Think i’m getting good

Inspired to work as chef sense grade school went to culinary school worked in kitchens got burnt out a lot of debt and now I farm fro restaurants still paying off student loans ... so I’m poor unfortunately

RU-vid teaches anyone how to do anything if they’re motivated to learn it

Cooking is 1000000x easier than people think

I learned how to cook 👩‍🍳 because I started lifting weights and knew I needed to eat chicken, steak , fish , beans, and other stuff to get big, I saw videos on RU-vid of bodybuilders like Evan centapani, and Fouad cooking with 🧂 seasonings and thought , “it doesn’t look that hard” you just gotta basically throw it in a pan on low to medium for 15- 30 min and season it,

Best way to learn to cook is 2 or 3 ingredients max. Once you're more comfortable then build from there. You will mess up in the beginning and your food will be bland or not cooked right but dont get discouraged, eventually your food will get better. Just remember not to eat raw or burned food so that you don't get sick. also, let people know you are new to cooking, don't pretend cause most people genuinely like to help.

Been working as a potwash for 3 years just got offered the job as pantry chef, 2 days in and feel as if I’m doing okay but need pointers any advice is appreciated!!!

When I was 15 I was depressed and I could not do any work.

I started home cooking here and there back sometime in 2011. I've had some resturant experience. I still suck lol but God am I better than on day 1. I've learned to cook cuisine from all different cultures, and I've even done catering orders selling the best of the best vietnamese sandwiches ever (my customers words not mines). I recall my first dish ever, after watching an episode on America's Test kitchen, I got inspired and went into the kitchen and made the most garbage stir fry ever lol. Fast forward to the earlier days of youtube I started watching cooking videos and started trying again lol. Most were a success but cooking was still too annoyingly laborious therefore I didn't cook much, not until I got my first resturant gig. There I learned the most important thing of all: Mise en place and Clean as you go. Oh and of course I learned to hustle and prep with a sense of urgency.. Haha before understanding this concept I used to buy or gather all my ingridients and literally just play a RU-vid video and follow along without considering time or what pots, pans or tools I need. It was always a sloppy job. For anyone out there just starting to learn how to cook. Start there, Mise and clean as you go... its half the battle. Next is just Time and Temperature. Oh and just like with any trade, it's all about the tools haha.

Haha...how perfect that Joe got a chef in as a 'palette cleanser' after the recent heavy interview topics ;)

It is so ironic to me how he worked in a kitchen with Roy Choi... small world folks!

Yeah not a lot of people can handle the pressure in a kitchen. With the rush is on, it's on!

Restaurant biz is like MMA.

How about putting home economics back in school with fresh new curriculum

A full scholarship! That’s dope, based on wha? Appreciate you and pod sharing this information

First thing I learned to cook was spam 🤙🏻

I highly recommend Adam Ragusea for any beginners wanting to learn cooking on youtube. He's amazing.

Best way to cook is to keep cooking

the best way to learn how to cook is to ask the chef a question right after you both do blow in the bathroom together. one question at a time, every 20 mins.

I started cooking when I was 8, because my mom didn’t cook at all and constantly bought us frozen food/McDonalds. I would look at the ingredients on the back of the frozen food, find as many as I can in the kitchen and try and put it together. Fast forward to today and I could read a recipe once and freestyle everything else. Cooking is an essential skill to have.

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Started cooking 2 yrs ago. Everything via YT. No better teacher out there imo. Has everything to get going and great content from all over the world. Everyone loves my food and keeps coming back for more. I find baking to be more technical and have the hardest time with dough of all things so far. Really what you need is 1. Passion/interest, 2. YT and internet for recipes and technique, 3. Persistence, 4. Repetition, 5. Ingredients, 6. Place to prep and cook. I’ve made hundreds of different items over 2 yrs and exploring different foods is the journey for me. Pasties de Nata is an early example of something I made which most places don’t carry by me. Thanks to YT I can try all kinds of ethnicities and delights from all over the world!

He nailed it on the culinary school debt thing. When the 2008ish recession hit, I lost my job in 2009. I was a programmer, and I was burned out on office life. I had however had a "side gig" baking at home and bringing bread into my coworkers (bake in the morning, bread deliveries when I walked in on second shift). Well, when they let me go, I decided a "new start" and went to culinary school. Awesome time, learned my shit, graduated. However, barely two years into the industry, 37 years old with a wife and two kids...I couldn't afford bills much less paying back loans. So, back into the office I went, and out of the culinary industry. I still miss it.

Learn fundamentals instead of recipes and you will be able to cook almost anything.

I have tons of cookbooks, but RU-vid videos have been by far more helpful to me.

One of the greatest shows on Food Network was "Good Eats" because it taught the science behind cooking, beyond just recipes. It taught me how to cook 😊

Let’s not forget Harambe in these times

Joe needs to get Putin on his show, seems there's a lot to be talked about

This is true in all professions, One year of on the job experience is worth 4 years of schooling.

I learned to cook for myself mostly by just being cheap and cooking for myself. Once ya figure out what done feels like, and how to prep stuff it comes together much easier. Im far from a chef but can make some solid grub.

I worked my way up from dishwasher when I was 16. Became executive chef at 26, went onto take an exect job at a gold club in guatemela after learning some Spanish then boom covid hit, back home working as the chef at the first restaurant I ever started at as a dishwasher at 34. That's a pretty cool feeling.

When Joe has these chefs on the podcast, he really grills them with questions.

I'm 48 and never cooked AT ALL until 2 years ago when we entered the Pandemic. All our restaurants were closed for dining anyway, so I figured I may as well try it. Originally I did everything just by watching RU-vid (my favorite channels are Food Wishes and Chef Jean Pierre) but I also did Home Chef kits for a while too. I would just think of something that I wanted to eat and then watch videos for how it's made. Shepherd's Pie, Meatloaf, Creamed Spinach, Trout Almandine, Grilled Salmon, Enchiladas, Tuna Caserole, and so on. Once you've made a few dishes you kind of pick up some basic skills and understandings of techniques as well as flavor/ingredient combinations and you can just improvise from there. I was really amazed at how good the food was, and so was my wife. We used to dine out or pick up take out meals almost every day. Now it's more of a special weekend thing we do. The meals at home are fresh and delicious and we are also saving a ton of money.

Started cooking when I was 16 years old at a French restaurant in Massachusetts. I was hired as a dishwasher but the Chef who had been brought over from France took me under his wing and taught me to cook. It was a great life lesson that I cherish. Unfortunately the chef suffered a massive heart attack and returned to France. His replacement was not so nice and I got fired after we had a fight over water residue in a pan He threw the pan at me and I lost my temper and my desire to work as a chef.

When I was in college, I had a summer job as a cook at a bar and grill. I had no experience in that world. Something about it unlocked my ability to cook, and to this day, I'm confused by people that say that they can't cook. I think what they actually mean is that they have never genuinely tried to cook.

I learned to cook when I was 12 because I had to cook in order to eat. My parents would come home on Saturday morning and go to the grocery store and buy groceries for me and do a few things around the house and then they would leave again on Sunday afternoon. I had to take care of myself, I had to grow up really fast and obviously didn't have much of a childhood. I survived though. I am now 38 years old, married with 2 kids of my own and I can tell you that they've never had to cook or take of themselves the way I had to. As a father I never wanted my kids to have to grow up the way I did but when I really think about it, maybe I've done to much for them, I Don't know. I want them to be as capable and hard working and successful as I am but not go through the struggle like I had to. Life's a journey and I wouldn't be who I am today if I had an easy childhood, but my question is can you be independent and successful and strong without going through all the struggle? Can you have one without the other?

1) Think of something you want to eat 2) Research online how to cook it (cross referencing, of course) 3) Attempt it

I'm a home cook. I read Salt Fat Acid Heat, which explained the principles behind basic cooking. For me it was a game changer. I was really blown away by how a few simple tweaks to what I was doing really transformed my cooking. I also utilized RU-vid which took my seasoning game to a next level. Literally finding the right sauce or seasoning for something can make it next level. So, books and RU-vid for home cooks did so much for me. I had one friend that was a Sous Chef at a high end place, I picked up tips from him but he wasn't the most helpful because he'd learned it by watching others so he expected me to do the same, but he was also in kitchens 16 hours a day so he had lots of time to pick it up. He told me: Cook 2500 trout in 2 days and you'll learn to cook a perfect trout... Okay, well I can't do that. But I did pick up some cook stuff from him.

I just realised, there could be a little uncovered gem of content for Rogan here. As a former bartender, I'd love it if he was to get a real expert bartender/mixologist to just come on and either talk about the art of making drinks - or even make some for Joe himself. We get to see a long form masterclass for free. EDIT: The reason I think it would be great is because I know personally things about mixing drinks that people always find fascinating.

There is just some sort of magic that happens in a restaurant where everyone knows their place and what they're doing, and things are going smoothly. It's sort of like being on a sports team on a winning streak. The feeling is amazing.

I feel bad for culinary school chefs, they or their parents have to pay so much money for something they could of learned while making money.

Semi retired executive Chef with 30+ years experience. The best way to learn is to work with a good Chef. There are 3 Executive Chefs who worked for me over the years currently running kitchens and kicking ass.

If you can follow an instruction manual for anything whether its to fix an engine or build some Ikea furniture, you can cook. It's as simple as that.

The best way to learn to cook for me, I can guarantee everyone can do is ask either your grandma or auntie in your home. It’s the best way to learn to cook and appreciate what your eat.

I learned how to cook from scratch by my mother and grandmother involving me in the process of their home cooked meals as a kid. I work full time as a residential construction worker and I come home and cook my families meals. My girlfriend of 13 yrs can cook but she likes mine better and I enjoy cooking.

👨🏻‍🍳The late world renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, once said, *As any chef will tell you, our entire service economy-the restaurant business as we know it-in most American cities, would collapse overnight without Mexican workers,” Bourdain wrote on his “Parts Unknown” blog in January. “Some, of course, like to claim that Mexicans are ‘stealing American jobs.’ But in two decades as a chef and employer, I never had ONE American kid walk in my door and apply for a dishwashing job, a porter’s position-or even a job as a prep cook. Mexicans do much of the work in this country that Americans, probably, simply won’t do* 🇲🇽🇺🇸👨🏽‍🍳

I don't know about anywhere else but in the Netherlands we have these meal packages with veggies and instructions (and they tell you which meat and carb source to get), and they were extremely helpful in learning how to cook. It's basically like Hello Fresh but affordable, meals come in at 3-7 bucks per serving. RU-vid has been another fantastic source of information, I don't really like recipe books but watching people put a recipe together works really well for me.

I think cooking is the one skill everybody says they wish they would take the time to learn, yet only a few actually take that time. Nothing is better than a meal you cooked yourself.

I’m now turning 19 and I’ve worked in restaurants since I’ve been 14 been a really rough journey but I’m in a very very nice place now that makes me feel appreciated. Anyone can cook just hard to start out in the industry. I’ve seen a lot of people fail and end up leaving the food industry cause it isn’t for everyone. For the people who want to do and have the fire to cook DO IT. Anyone can cook but it’s hard to master it. I’m still learning every single day. I’m still young and have a lot more environments to go through. Would love to run a restaurant one day. Terrified but excited. I know I’ll be ready eventually and for that I’m excited for. Any young cooks reading this right now go follow your passion. (Honestly anyone not just cooks) it’s a rough road though cause there’s a lot of challenges you have to go through between fucking up, getting fired, needing to leave, having people on your ass, everything. In the end it’s worth it though because I love food and I love making food. It’s just a great staple in everyone every day life that you don’t get to appreciate until your behind a line with a screen full of orders and having to sweat over a flat top and stove. Anywho have a great life 🙂

I've been told I'm good . I've been told I have natural talent. So apparently I can cook 🍳. Yet I've always been put off due to the hours you need to work to make it as a chef and later a restaurant owner. Love Gordon but he looks like an old leather boot! Life's to short, cooking for my family 👪 is enough.

I started working with a le cordan blu chef when I was 14. He treated me just like it was culinary school.. learning stocks, preps, proteins before working up to sauces. By the time I was 18 I was running the wheel.. by my 20s I had run kitchens all over the u.s... at 40 I was running all the food and teaching basic culinary as a work study at a very high end private university.. and I never went to culinary school. Lol. You can still very much work your way up from dishwasher if you love it.

NEVER APOLOGIZE AGAIN! love from Western NY conservative/independent...

I love it man, 20+ hard years and counting.. ahhh the good days of hazing... Some places were abusive, some kept it fun, but all kitchens were a learning ground.. back when young hopefuls could learn a skill that was still behind a curtain and you had to earn respect before you were even allowed to look at what they were doing... Let alone have a chef De partie come along side and explain the why of everything.. the deliberate intention of every single step... More young men would be great in this world if only they'd spend a year in kitchen. This thing of ours. I love it.

Cheesecake Factory chef for 5 years. Biggest menu in the restaurant field. Culinary school does not teach you how to cook efficiently for restaurant. It will teach you the basics. Go work in a high volume restaurant for experience

The best way to cook cancel culture is to be the biggest and greatest podcaster in the world and eat elk twice a day.

This is a yes and no. You need to build a house on a good foundation. That foundation can be going to a good culinary school, but if it comes through training at a restaurant you need to learn from good people. I know a lot of people who say they have 10-20-30 years experience but it was all bad experience learning through shitty chefs. Where you work matters.

During covid...the wife and I got very lucky. She had just ordered 6 mo prior to the first cruise ship being quarantine a this huge bamboo sushi/sticky rice kit. I always buy bulk so I had yeast...flour... While she never mastered the roll we experimented and didnt miss out on any take out food...she did asian and I did pizza/subs kinda stuff. Now we are fatter but thats ok we have more to cuddle..

best way to learn to cook as when you're hungry fix something. Just stating the obvious.

Alex Jones was right

Culinary school….nah. Practice makes perfect. Put heart into your dishes and cook everyday.

Being on an apprentice has always been the best way in so many occupations.. Colleges are a waste of time. Of course, college is beneficial for some high-tech positions. All you’re doing is making the professors extremely rich! I’m pretty sure they could care less about you. Forget the masses, personalized training has always been a gift, IMO Hands-on, in the heat of the fire “so to speak“

A chef is a manager. How much chicken to buy for the week is way more important than a garnish, if you want to last more than a year. If you can find a establishment to work under bonus, if not try the military. They have a paid training program, plus you will learn to work hard.

Start with cereal, work your way up to the microwave to.

Cooking food requires patience and it's a great stress reliever 🙂

I’m going to save you 8:39 minutes of your time. The best way to learn how to cook is to cook, then cook some more, continue cooking for the rest of your life and you’ll be better every day.

What a great conversation! I love his stories about how he became a chef. Great JRE!

Joe Rogan for President!

I have never been to Culinary Arts School. I worked Fast Food starting when I was 16 and moved into a Restaurant environment within 10 years as a Prep Cook (best Job in the place) and eventually onto the Fryers and then onto the Grills. The hands-on experience is what taught me everything. That being said, I couldn't handle the "Yes Chef" environment. I will never work in an upscale Restaurant, and I am fine with that, Give me a greasy cafe with a counter-top where customers can chat with me all day and I will make wonders. I am more of a Guy Fieri than a Mario Bertolli.

My advice though starting out is start with Italian, there's plenty of tutorial videos online, and Italian recipes that are traditional tend to be very cheap and very easy, and frequently much faster than what you would expect. adding the fact that Italian food might very well be the best on the planet, and it's an incredibly strong base to start from, and in reality the core of Italian cooking is a small handful of key techniques which are repeated with slight variations throughout all of it, and mastering those core components will give you the tools needed to expand into dozens of other cuisines.

RU-vid is better than any cooking tv show. You'll learn a lot and can actually see techniques vs a cookbook.

If you can't take a class or find a cooking job, the best way is to learn some recipes, learn why you use certain methods instead of others, then just experiment with new things. Add some cinnamon to your chicken soup. Add some salt and pepper to your ice cream. You'll probably have to eat some pretty nasty things at first, but you'll learn from your mistakes. I started with Alton Brown's Good Eats, and there's some great RU-vid channels, like Binging with Babish, that cover the basics. Also, my sister bought me a beginners cookbook when I was a kid. It went through the basics of what are the essential tools, what's the difference between dicing, chopping, and mincing, how and why to sear meats, how to roast meat and keep it juicy, etc. No recipes that I can remember, just basic skills. It made me really excited about cooking. Edit: oh, and signing up for meal kit services like hello fresh or home chef are really helpful too. You get exposed to recipes and ingredients you never considered before.

Joe should have never apologized.

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” - Zig Ziglar

I learned to cook after I retired and needed to cook for my wife who was still working. I first learned by using premade meals from Every Plate and Blue Apron. Once I saw how things were done, I was off to the races. Now I cook like and french chef….

Never heard of the guest before, but man that childhood story of his career start was pretty interesting, almost like in a movie especially w that french chef character lol! I also could appreciate how vividly he remembered all the things he did during that time leading up to his career as a chef. I never found my passion career but i like to imagine if i had as a child i would have remembered those memories as vividly!

🌶 🌮🌯🌽🥑🍅 *In 2010, MEXICAN CUISINE made it to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.* 🌶 🌮🌯🌽🥑🍅

My old man showed me how to use the BBQ when I was a kid but I didn't learn how to really cool until I was 18, got a job as a dishwasher in a packed out Italian restaurant and used every second I could spare watching the chef's and cooks create the dishes and come up with specials on the fly, also picking their brains when ever we were on the milk crates having a smoke or beer after the shift was done

I didn’t know the first thing about cooking when I became a dishwasher. The chef at my first restaurant liked my work ethic and slowly started taking me out of the pit to show me basic knife skills so I could help with prep. 10 years later I accumulated experience in 6 different kitchens and was a sous chef for a few years at a flagship restaurant in a luxury boutique hotel/resort. I saw so many people come and go from culinary school. They had skill, but couldn’t hang with the pace or deal with the heat that is commercial restaurant. Now with RU-vid, anyone anywhere can learn how to cook if they apply themselves. I only cook at home now. I had to get out of the industry because I destroyed my life with alcohol, Xanax, and cocaine.

If your goal is to work on a cruise etc. don’t go to culinary school, become a culinary specialist in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard. You will get 4 years of superior direct experience with large stores management, menu scheduling a menu with caloric restrictions, cooking, overseeing preparation, etc. etc. If you apply yourself you’ll come out ready to run a place and have some money in your pocket. There’s typically big signing bonuses for culinary specialists because it’s not the “coolest” job and requires some hard work.

I learned to cook esp the past 2 years during covid. Been learning a lot from making Blue Apron and Hellofresh meals

Culinary school teaches you the basics. You won't learn how to make mother sauce derivatives in stand alone restaurants. That knowledge is infinitely worthy. However, you can't learn a lot of the skills you need in JUST culinary school. Peel those shallots. Brush those mushrooms, and take the path that works for you. It's all about the love. We don't do this because we want to get rich, we do it because we love it.

I learned simply by playing around my whole life in the kitchen. Along with improvisation, to go with all of the cookbooks and online recipes I've accumulated over the years, it's pretty hard to not become a great chef/cook. The best judge of a great maker of food is the people who are actually eating it. Ditch the gourmet shit, the best food is elevated, healthy dishes you can eat at home that actually taste good.