What was your first introduction to cooking?

In my family the children can always help with cooking if they want to. They rarely do though, and I don't remember doing much of it either when I was younger.
It think what got me started is a cooking book by Jamie Oliver that I got as a Christmas present when I was 15 or so... tried out a few recipes and quite liked them. Then it just went on from there.
 
As a child I remember my mom always being in the kitchen. When she wasn't cooking for seven kids and whoever dropped by, there were always people to entertain. I love the environment so I would help out whenever she would let me. Then they came the day she was not at home and a macaroni pie was to be prepared for a function. I stepped in and made the pie (it wasn't the best) and the rest is history. I now make a perfect macaroni pie.
 
Never cooked as a kid - I was a 'tomboy' and thought it was sissy! When I left home, I literally couldn't boil an egg. I used to eat Vesta curry (you can still get them, believe it or not!), tinned soup and baked beans. Then I met this man. He was a good cook and also a 'foodie'. We ate in good restaurants. We went to France and I couldn't believe the food there, at that time. He taught me the basics, mostly French style. Many years later I met another man. I fell for him when I tasted his Lamb curry and braised spicy aubergine in black bean sauce. He taught me all about fish cookery and Asian cooking. So, I guess I may be a little unusual in that its my male partners who have taught me!
 
Since my mom was always busy with work my older sisters did a lot of the cooking. I remember during the summer holidays they would make sugar fried dumplings and because I liked it so much I would hang around in the kitchen waiting for it to be done. I then learnt to prepare other dishes too and started making them on my own.
 
843StawberryPenguin said:
My intro to cooking began when I used to watch my mom or dad cook pancakes on the stove for breakfast back when I was around 4- 5 years old. Eventually, I got to make my own and I ended up get a burn on my finger :P. It was painful yet a good learning experience to hold the pan properly while cooking!
I also remember that my mom and I used to bake lots of chocolate chip cookies (the box type) and during those times I learned the value of hygiene during baking/ cooking. Nowadays, I bake my own cookies, cupcakes, brownies from scratch and I'm currently trying out making cakes from scratch but so far it hasn't turned out well :/.
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Are you using recipes? If so, maybe your humidity or altitude is different than required for the recipes? My oven isn't the greatest, so I have trouble with some foods, particularly cakes, so that could be another reason.
 
Frankly speaking, I didn't have the chance to be in the kitchen in our home because my mother is a very good cook. But when I had my own family, I had to think twice so I bought the pots and pans and started venturing in the kitchen. I had no instructor and I didn't even have a cookbook. What I did was to experiment on the food. First off is the rice. How to cook rice is a challenge. Next is the dish, another big challenge.

What do you think happened next?
 
Corzhens said:
Frankly speaking, I didn't have the chance to be in the kitchen in our home because my mother is a very good cook. But when I had my own family, I had to think twice so I bought the pots and pans and started venturing in the kitchen. I had no instructor and I didn't even have a cookbook. What I did was to experiment on the food. First off is the rice. How to cook rice is a challenge. Next is the dish, another big challenge.

What do you think happened next?
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From your presence here, it sounds as if you found that you enjoyed cooking, and continued to experiment, with success. I'm so glad I was able to buy a cookbook when I first moved out on my own, because otherwise, I would have eaten breakfast 3 times a day :laugh:.
 
I learned from my mom. She always asked me to give her a hand and I always volunteered because it gave me a free pass from washing the dishes afterwards.
 
My mom didn't really cook much when I was younger so when she did cook, I found it so amazing and magical even. I was amazed at how when all the ingredients were put together, they'd create these wonderful dishes that you didn't even know can be made with the ingredients. I also love the different textures the food had and how you can alter taste whenever when you're cooking. The way the ingredients' colors and textures changed over time when they become cooked was something so amazing for me as well. I loved seeing a table full of yummy food so I was also determined to cook when I grew up and lay out delicious dishes on the table as well.
 
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