I've never had cooking lessons, and I was forbidden from taking homemaking when I was in high school in Texas back in the late 1960s. I've learned mostly by watching TV cooking shows, starting with Julia Child, when she had her first show. Our local TV station in Texas also had cooking demonstrations provided by our Home Economics Agent at about the same time that Julia Child was first on. Today, I can watch YouTube videos, and I have found those helpful as well. I also learned a lot from watching The Frugal Gourmet, as his recipes was very simple. Jacques Pepin's style is also very simple and easy, but might not be what you are looking for.

I think cooking lessons would help, but you might want to try watching some cooking videos first, and see if those help you. Which specialized foods are you interested in?

Thanks Lars. I'm interesting in learning to confidently cook a very strange combo of foods. I'd probably eat them at separate times though. ;) I want to learn how to cook from scratch all the dim sum recipes and also the East Indian curries. I then would have to modify the recipes for health reasons. I have trouble with many foods, wheat, sugar MSG, all oils except peanut oil and olive oil, etc.etc.

Go for it!!! I hope you have as much fun as I have over the years.

I took Home Economics all 4-years of high school (I wanted to take drafting, but girls weren't allowed), and that was a good start, and I've been taking and teaching all kinds of classes ever since.

As a young adult I checked out nearly every cookbook and cooking science book from the local library I could haul home. Now there are great videos available, including all the TV people. I've audited some classes at Kansas State University for cooking science, as well as training for being a foods judge at County and State Fairs.

I still watch cooking shows on PBS and Create, and I'll go to YouTube for things I'm interested in. Like this one my daughter sent me thinking the Vegan Black Metal Chef would be something I would love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy2my_diH6A   I do like to play heavy metal music when I'm in the kitchen (LOL).

We had a really active County Extension Office where I've taken everything from using a microwave (in the 70's when they were first available) to Greek and Irish Cooking, breads of all kinds, home canning..... I took the Master Food Volunteer Class for certification to teach a number of areas.

There are all kinds of classes available all the time through the Public Library, Extension Office, Parks and Rec., and other Continuing Education participants throughout the community. I've known a few professional Chefs who have taught small classes I've taken. The company my husband works for have a complete Cooking Theatre with a spectacular Professional Kitchen where they have guest cooks/chefs and I get to attend a lot of those in my spare time.

-Grainlady

Never had cooking lessons even from my mother. When I got married in Tokyo, I couldn't fix anything but fried eggs. Two days after the marriage I went to a book store with my husband and bought The Pillsbury Family Cookbook. From then on it was my favorite and I just added more cookbooks. Self taught. I still have a copy of the original cookbook.

Madonna

I took a bread making course about 10 years ago. I didn't realize how thoughtless and hurtful it was. One of my mother's jobs when she was a kid in Italy was to make the bread each day. Then I grew up with her fabulous bread and pizza without any appreciation for her skills in this area. So when I came home from class she asked why would I have to take a class in bread making. Just one of many "do overs" I wish I had with my very special mother.

BTW, the bread in class couldn't compete with mom's.

I learned mostly from helping my mother, and some from friends, relatives, recipes, etc. One of the first things my mother said about cooking is that to know how to cook, first you have to know how to eat.

I think that's very true. There's a huge difference in the quality and flavor of individual ingredients. What's often labelled a "California tomato" with pride, a thousand miles away from California, isn't anything that I'd call a proper tomato in SoCal, but the price could make you wince. Maybe while you're learning to cook more/better, you might also like to learn what you most like to eat. Try going to farmers' markets or a green grocer for fresh and unusual produce. Talk to the people and learn about the good ways to prepare it. Try some restaurants or ask friends to cook their favorite unusual foods for you.

Always find out what you're eating and what the components are. You don't have to have an innate ability to distinguish flavors. You can train yourself to recognize flavor components as you're eating. Remember to smell everything. Also remember that there's a lot of poorly prepared food in the world, so if you don't like something made one way, try it another. E.g., eggplant is at its best when it's very cooked and looks like snot, but a lot of people insist on eating it when it's firm and white, and then they say they don't like it.

Lessons couldn't hurt...if the person giving the lessons is a good cook! I've watched a lot of cooking competitions on TV, and very rarely are the cooking instructors the best, or even in the top half of the cooks in the room. It may just be that they're so busy teaching the fundamentals that they don't have enough experience doing the out of the box kind of cooking that's required, but I'd rather learn to cook something from someone who makes really delicious food than someone who has different names for different ways of cutting a carrot. Choose wisely. Then have fun!

I took Home Ec in Jr High (mandatory). I've also taken cooking classes in Italy, from a James Beard award winning chef in KC, from another chef of note here. I also taught monthly cooking classes for 3 years at a local gourmet and cooking shop. I loved teaching!

I never took classes. My mother did little cooking (she often worked 2 jobs). I wanted to try all kinds of things so I just experimented with the things I wanted to eat. I liked to ready cookbooks and still do. I have learned a lot from cookbooks that give anecdotes and information on how to tweak things (like Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian, there is a lot of good information on how to improvise or change things up). I also learned a lot from things like Cook's Illustrated where they talk about the processes they used to determine methods for certain things. I may not be willing to put forth as much effort as they do on a regular basis but I have learned a lot. Another cookbook author who rocked my world was Pam Anderson. Her How to Cook Without a Book also helped to show me how to use techniques that I could tweak to meet my needs.

My biggest knowledge deficit really was in how to organize my time in the kitchen. I would often try to do too many complicated things at once and stress myself out when having people over. That has eased now that I have more experience and more realistic expectations.

My grandma lived with us when I was a child and thankfully, she loved to cook and was good at it. My Mother disliked cooking and spent much more time fussing about how something looked than how it tasted. I took Home Ec in high school, worked in a sub shop/chicken joint, then my (now ex) husband and I bought a bar and grille. I checked every cookbook I could find out of the library (before the internet), watched the Galloping Gourmet, Julia Child and The Frugal Gourmet. Took the food safety courses that the Health Department required to run the business kitchen, then took the Master Canning course through the local Extension Service. I never missed America's Test Kitchen on PBS on Saturdays, LOL.

I've had a couple of courses, including some baking and cake decorating ones on-line and seen many demonstrations, from Tyler Florence and Ellie Krieger to Taste of Home and a local Michigan chef who had a PBS show, Eric Villegas.

I've learned a lot here and a lot from classes and a little from watching television. Grandma taught me the basics but from there I've branched out, trying things I didn't even know existed until I started hanging around the Cooking Forum!

I went to Trader Joe's a few weeks ago and the cashier was from South Africa. She and I were talking spices and curried eggplant and naan, and she laughingly remarked that even though I speak only English, I'm very fluent in food, LOL.

Annie

My Dad was the cook in our family, not quite the norm for 50's -60's but it's what we grew up with. We kids just thought it was normal for Dads to cook, after all, all the diners had male chefs! Yes, our Mom could cook, but Dad got into it with so much more passion, that she eventually stepped aside and probably said "Heck yes, why not!"

Fast forward 25 years and I started cooking for our young family, same thing, while my bride could cook, I had this love to be at the stove so she let me run with it. Our two grown boys probably can't remember a meal cooked by their Mom, even though in the early days she did. I never had any formal training, but watching my Dad for all those years certainly had some impact...

Edit to add; our two sons now 28, and 26 both seem to have inherited the same cooking gene :)

My Mum was a wonderful cook so I grew up eating wonderful food. She always said if you can read, you can cook. That's how she learned.

I love cooking but there's always something you can learn to do better.

I think it would be such fun to have professional lessons. Think of he tips and techniques that you could learn. Life is one long learning curve.

I had 4 years of home economics (yes, I'm that old). I've taken cooking classes, off and on, over the years, as interested. I focused on techniques, basic skills, and from there, found I've been able to be very creative. When my sons were in high school, they always asked for me to make a "pantry pasta" from whatever ingredients I had on hand. Knowing the basic skills enabled me to do that without any planning.

Like Annie i watched all the pbs cooking shows when i was young. It has always been an interest of mine so i tend to easily absorb cooking information.

My sister in Miami attends the free cooking demos at WholeFoods. A regional CooksSupply store in NY and NJ has a generous and well equipped kitchen for classes. Seems very popular.

In looking for a class to start, try something that is just what you are looking for...the basics and the meals. Usually something like 'quick meals for two' or '5 fast weekday meals for a small family'.

Another good one is the basic roast chicken for a Sunday meal and the 4 following meals it makes for the rest of the week, making a stock, a chicken salad, soup, even an extra soup for the freezer. Another one i noticed was for vegetarian salads. Useful for side dishes along with chicken or seafood. (not just for vegetarians).

It is a great idea. Even more fun with a friend so you can help each other out later.

Roast chicken is where i started 30yrs ago. I usually roast two at the same time using that oven energy and tried various basic sides. Roasted mixed veg for an easy meal on the lower rack...the oven is hot so i use that heat. That second chicken i can cut up into parts, into a large zip-lock with a bit of honey and bbq spices and lay on a sheet pan on parchment for wednesday night bbq. Heats up quick being already cooked, yada yada.

If i make mashed potatoes Sunday, i'll make extra and put aside a couple cups of the cooked cubes before smashing and make a potato salad.

A good teacher will include variations in cooking management rather than step-by-step for just one dish.

Had lessons when I was a kid - in Girl Scouts & we also had Home Economics back then. I also was allowed to 'play around'(a.k.a. experiment) in our kitchen growing up.

Thank you so much for your replies! I appreciate the beauty of your sharing your cooking life stories. :) Now to find someone to help me learn those ethnic meals. :)

I like others here had a mother who didn't teach even the basics. I was banned from the kitchen as were all but the oldest and 2nd youngest of my 4 sisters. I never got to learn to make Øllebrød (dried out rye bread, soaked in flat beer to make a porridge, with a sweet egg topping) which I loved and was a go to comfort food, along with tartaleta, (tarts stuffed with shrimp in a white wine sauce) yes they were served at the same meal, if it were brunch :). Those recipes are gone with her now. We've tried to duplicate them but she did something different and we never could get the taste right. I wish I'd had special dishes for my children to learn when they were growing up. Maybe with my GKids if we ever have any. It's hard to know with my career focused children. :)

http://mydanishkitchen.com/2011/09/05/%C3%B8llebrod-med-aeggesnaps-rye-porridge-with-creamed-egg-topping/

I took Home ec in high school, but it never interested me. I would be interested in cooking classes, but all I've seen have been very simplistic courses. I would love to learn more Asian or Indian recipes. DH doesn't like spicy though, so that limits my attempts.

I took Home Ec in 9th grade for one semester (sewing was the other semester). My mother taught me how to make chocolate cake, but I was much more interested in working in the fields with my father, so when I left home I could make a chocolate cake and could fry eggs. Everything I've learned is from reading and watching cooking shows, so yeonassky, I am also an average cook, wanting to get better. I'm gaining inspiration and learning a lot from this forum as well. I am amazed at the knowledge of the members here, and so appreciate their willingness to share.

It will be difficult to find a cooking class for dim sum. I also don't think it is really necessary. The prep and cooking for most dim sum is simple. The wrapping, pleating, etc takes practice and there is no substitute. I suggest you pick one dim sum dish, look up a recipe in a dim sum cookbook, online, or video, and just try it. Again and again.

I am less familiar with East Indian curries but have made various curry dishes. Cooking classes might be more available for this cuisine. But making curries is quite easy, there isn't difficult technique required. Pick up a good cookbook - the Julie Sahni cookbook is one. The ingredients may take some looking, depending on where you live.

I'll give you an example. Suppose you want to make xiao long bao (soup dumplings).

- Take 1 lb ground pork and 2 lb pork bones/feet, add 1/2 tbsp each of ginger, garlic, scallion, and some salt, pepper. Simmer this in water for several hours to make a broth. You only need a couple cups of broth, but it has to be fairly concentrated and very flavorful. So you might start with 2 qt of water and slow boil, uncovered, until it reduces to 2-3 cups. Discard all the solids, keep the broth. Stir in a couple packets of unflavored gelatin powder. Refrigerate overnight.

- The next day, make a simple dough from flour and a little water, knead it, roll it into a cylinder about 1" diameter, cut off 1/2" sections, flatten and roll those into round disks (skin) about 3" diameter and about 1/8" thin. You'll want about 20 of these skins, cover the stack with a cloth.

- Remove the jelled broth from the refrigerator, spoon about 1 tbsp of the broth onto the center of a skin. Include some of the fat cap. Paint the edge of the skin with beaten egg. Gather the edges of the skin together at the top, folded/pleated, then pinch and twist to seal. Keep your finished dumplings on a plate or tray, under a towel, as you work. Keep the first ones in the refrigerator if it is taking you a long time to make the rest, as you don't want the jelled broth to melt.

- Set your steamer over a pot of boiling water. Lay some lettuce leaves on the steamer to prevent the dumplings from sticking. Steam the dumplings, without overcrowding the steamer, for about 10 min. Carefully remove to a dish and eat right away.

It isn't hard to make these. Here are the xiao long bao that my son made, on his first try. It is hard to make these perfectly or very fast, but we don't need to.

Remember there are many variations and refinements. Don't get hung up on finding the definitive recipe. Also note that dim sum restaurants use considerable salt, lard, MSG, etc as shortcuts to flavor and juicy texture. To make equally tasty but healthy versions, we have to really concentrate our broth, use gelatin to replace lard, etc.

Some like pork/shrimp filling in their xiao long bao, others like just soup. For filling, you'll combine 1/4 lb ground pork, 1/4 lb chopped shrimp, ginger, garlic, scallions, sesame oil, salt, pepper, a little soy sauce and black vinegar/Worchestershire sauce, and mix that with the broth before refrigerating it. Test a dumpling to determine steaming time necessary to cook the filling.

Just try it. It'll be fun. The first results will be edible, if not pretty, and they will get better with practice.

I learned to cook via several means. We never had Home Economics classes, but I watched Mom AND Dad cook, and learned via osmosis. Essentially, Mom cooked by the book (or books) or had several wonderful dishes she made the same way every time. Dad cooked by instinct, the seat of his pants, and nearly all of these dishes were wonderful (we won't stop to gawk at Leftover Fried Rice Pancakes, which he never lived down). With Mom, we made cookies together during Christmas season. so I learned the importance of measuring (for baking). Since both Mom and Dad cooked there really wasn't that much room for me in the kitchen at the same time. (But Dad stayed away from the desserts.)

When I moved out on my own in the early 80's, Mom gave me the Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking, and I think also the Joy of Cooking. A friend gave me The Starving Artist's Cookbook and I picked up an early cookbook from Madhur Jaffrey, for Indian cuisine. I think that was the first cook book I bought myself.

Nowadays, I watch YouTube videos for specialized cooking -- I am currently going through a Korean phase. I'm also interested in grilling techniques. I simply love cooking, trying new things, and now have my own food blog.

A few years ago I took a class in Indian cooking taught by Savrir Suran -- haven't lost my taste for things Indian! A couple years ago I went back to the same establishment and took a class in Greek cooking. Both of these were extremely useful. There is a technique for Greek Avgolemeno soup (egg and lemon base) I'd never have gotten down without direct observation and direct feedback.

My brother also got into cooking -- his first wife thought serving canned Chef Boyardee was cooking -- mind you, this wouldn't have been a problem if she'd been working eight hours a day, but no, she was home and thought nothing about pulling out a couple of cans and calling it dinner. Often. So in self-defense, he learned to cook, probably from things he also absorbed from our parents, even if indirectly.

Once again, thanks for the replies replete with ideas, stories and recipes. :) Thank you John for the dim sum dish. I'll definitely give that a try. :)

I never taught my kids to cook but they all do in spite of me. :) Because of their father no doubt. I do try to learn from the online sources but find myself watching or reading and not doing the recipes. :^) I'm pretty sure I need irl cooking lessons as mentioned. I want the guidance of a cook in a class setting to see if some techniques and tricks will inspire me and practicing as John said will help me get better, and more sure of myself. :)