They Say Practice Makes Perfect

Happy Friday Hivers!

Back then, my mother used to sell food at the school canteen. I can honestly say that she was a really good cook. Even if the recipes she made were simple, they were always delicious. That was why she was confident about selling her homemade dishes at the school canteen.

During that time, I was usually her helper in the kitchen. I was the one responsible for chopping all the ingredients she needed for the dishes she was going to cook. I would prepare and chop everything for her. But once I was done, she would ask me to leave the kitchen because she found it distracting to cook when someone else was around. She preferred to cook alone.

So even though I helped her prepare all the ingredients, I never really got the chance to learn how to cook from her. I learned how to chop and prepare ingredients, but not how to actually turn them into a dish.

There were only a few times when we got to cook for our food at home because my mother was always the one preparing the dishes. We would only get the chance to cook when she was sick or had somewhere else to go.

That’s probably why I grew up not being very good at cooking. I became pretty good at chopping and preparing ingredients, although not quite in the same way professional chefs do, but when it comes to actually cooking the dish, that’s a different story.

When I started living independently, that was when I really had to learn how to cook regularly. But I often felt disappointed because I knew I wasn’t very good at making food taste delicious.

I remember one time when I brought lunch to the office, and one of my officemates wanted to try what I had cooked. I didn’t let them taste it because I already knew that my cooking wasn’t that good. I was okay with cooking for myself, but when it came to letting other people taste my food, I would feel hesitant and embarrassed.

Eventually, the time came when I had to start cooking more often at home because my parents were getting older. My siblings would sometimes complain that my cooking didn’t taste that good. That was actually something my mother had told me many times before. She would always say, “Just keep practicing. Eventually, you’ll have a few dishes that you can really master.”

According to my mother, I actually knew how to cook; I just wasn’t very good at seasoning. But the thing is, I prefer my food to be less salty because I don’t want to get used to eating overly salty food. I would rather have my food a little less salty than make it too salty just to make it taste stronger.

Whenever we dine out, I sometimes find myself thinking, “Maybe if I had taken culinary arts, I would be a really good cook by now.” I actually enjoy cooking. I just never felt confident about the taste of what I make.

Whenever we go to a buffet with so many different dishes, I always pay attention to the chefs and appreciate how delicious their food tastes. Sometimes I even tell myself, “I wish I could cook like them.”

But maybe I simply need more time and more practice. Perhaps becoming a good cook doesn’t happen overnight. It takes patience, experience, and a lot of trial and error. I may never become a chef, and my cooking may never be perfect, but if I keep practicing, maybe one day my food will at least be delicious enough for other people to enjoy.

And perhaps that is what my mother meant all along, practice really does make progress. You don’t have to be perfect from the beginning. Sometimes, you just have to keep cooking, keep learning, and keep trying until one day, you finally realize that you’ve become better than you used to be.

So, I guess my cooking journey is still a work in progress. Who knows? Maybe someday, I’ll finally hear someone say, "Wow, your cooking is finally delicious!" And when that day comes, I’ll know that all those years of chopping, seasoning, experimenting, and practicing were worth it.

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

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Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

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