Why Staying Curious Matters More Than Knowing the Answer

Kids making huevos rancheros told me, "I know how to do this" before they'd even picked up the knife. They didn't.

After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've watched people resist learning because they think they already know. 

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The skill we need most isn't knowing all the answers - it's staying open, curious, and willing to learn.

This week in after-school class, the kids made huevos rancheros.(And it was good — crispy tortillas, runny yolks, warm beans.)

Before we even got to cooking, though, we ran into something bigger. When it came time to cut onions, avocados, mangoes — hands shot up.

"I know how to do it."

"This is how my mom does it."

"I saw a video on TikTok."

And yet... most of them didn’t really know how to do it safely or effectively. Some were wide open to learning. Some weren't.Some wanted to show they already knew — even when they didn’t.

And standing there, I kept thinking: this is true for all of us.

Not just kids.

All of us.

There’s always room to learn.

Always room to listen.

Always room to ask questions instead of pretending we have the answers.

In my cooking classes — with kids, teens, and adults —one of the most important things we teach isn't just how to cut an onion.

It’s how to stay open.

How to stay curious.

How to stop rushing to prove what we know, and start practicing how to learn.

It’s a muscle that needs building — and right now, it feels like it's atrophying.

Especially in the kitchen. Especially outside the kitchen too.

The recipe isn’t just a checklist. It’s a conversation. The ingredients don’t exist in isolation. They work together. Learning isn’t a badge you earn once — it’s a lifelong posture.

And if we don’t practice it — if we don't teach it —we lose it.

So maybe this week, we all practice it a little more. In the kitchen. In conversations. In the way we move through the world.

There’s always room to learn — if we stay open.

What’s something you’re learning — or re-learning — right now?

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