Pros and Cons of Learning How to Cook

When I was about 20 years old, I applied for a job as a chef for an expensive treatment center. I had enjoyed cooking while growing up and thought I would give it a shot. I got the job! Soon I found myself preparing gourmet meals all by myself for 65 to 70 people.

I had never gone to cooking school and was not a professional chef by any means. I had learned the basics of cooking at home from my parents and was ready to prove that I could make dinners for teenage boys. With this experience, I decided to write the pros and cons of cooking.

Pros of Learning How to Cook: What are the benefits of knowing how to cook?

1. Cooking is something you use every day of your life. All of us have to eat! If you don’t eat, you don’t live. So what are you going to cook tonight?
2. Cooking saves you a ton of money. Eating out every night is overwhelmingly expensive. Every time you cook something at home, you will find you save tons of money. Think what you could do with that extra cash? 
3. The better you can cook, the more healthy you will be. We all have heard from a young age that balancing out diet will lead to better health. If you can only cook hotdogs and mac & cheese, expect some expensive hospital bills in the future.
4. Cooking a meal is super rewarding. When you lay out a plate of smoked salmon, asparagus, and fried rice, you have every right to feel proud. It is as if you made a piece of art. I am no pro, but I enjoy making fancy meals for my husband and kids.
5. You can experience other countries and cultures without even visiting. After learning how to cook different cultural meals, you start respecting those people and feel almost a part of them. Food is a great way to bring everyone together.
6. Every day can be a new adventure. With new flavors and aromas to experience, there is always something to look forward to around dinner time. I love going to new stores and finding ingredients I have never used before. Your options are limitless. 
7. Kids are not as picky. My kids are expected to eat what I make. Would your child eat artichoke pizza, stuffed olives, or fried pickles? Mine do! The more you cook with variety, the less your child will demand chicken nuggets and mac & cheese.

Cons of Learning to Cook: What are the disadvantages of learning to cook?

1. You are expected to cook. I have a friend who grew up in a family with very little home cooking. He complained that if he learned how to cook for his family, they would make him to do it every night. As a teenage boy, cooking dinner was not what he wanted to spend his time doing, so he stopped trying to learn how to cook.
2. Food does not always turn out perfectly. If you eat out every night, you do not have to worry about burnt food or a disaster. When making dinner at home, there are a million things that can go wrong. A whole bottle of lemon pepper may get dumped into your mash potatoes, you may add too much salt, or you may forget to add a vital ingredient. Cooking can be a never-ending catastrophe. 
3. You have a lot more clean up. Cooking gives you dishes to wash, counters to wipe, ovens to clean, and a floor to sweep. 
4. It takes time to learn how to cook. Cooking is hard to pick up overnight. Like many other hobbies, it is a skill that takes years of practice to perfect. The best part is that you do not have to learn by just following an old recipe that has been passed down for six generations. YouTube, Pinterest, and hundreds of blogs are ready to walk you through meal prep within minutes.
5. Cooking takes time! No matter how slow or fast you can whip something up, we all know McDonald's is a lot faster at making dinner!
6. Cooking requires some general kitchen supplies. Do you have a few measuring cups, pans, and a can opener? Below are listed some kitchen gear you will need to begin cooking. Note: The items I personally recommend are marked with a *

General Kitchen Supplies Needed For Beginning Cooks

 7. Cooking can be expensive at first. You can see from the list above that cooking can be expensive. However, it doesn't need to be! I have got many cooking supplies by shopping second hand. 

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written by: Sarah