What 30 Years of Teaching Cooking Taught Me About Building Confidence

I asked AI if my website reflects what I know about teaching and cooking. The answer? No. It told me I needed to spell it out.

After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that cooking intrinsically builds confidence - but I don't always say that explicitly.

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Cooking intrinsically builds confidence - whether it's kids using fire and knives or adults discovering they can actually cook. Here's how it works.

This week, I asked AI if my website reflects what I know about teaching and cooking. The answer? No. It told me I needed to spell it out for people. So here I am, spelling it out for you.

After 30 years of teaching - 24 of them at the Institute of Culinary Education - I've learned that cooking intrinsically builds confidence. Whether it's kids using fire and knives or adults who are intimidated by their own kitchens, the process is the same. Everyone is making decisions: Do I add more of this? How does it taste? Do I adjust? These in the moment decisions, learning to trust intuition, with immediate “consequences” - how food tastes - build confidence over time. If it doesn't work, they taste it, tweak it, and try again - learning it's ok to make "mistakes" because they can be corrected.

I'm there to give demos and show how to correct—but mostly, I ask questions. I nudge people toward curiosity, toward noticing what works and what doesn't. In my kids' classes, they work together, talk it out, and walk away eating foods they swore they hated (this happens weekly - most recently tomatoes, mushrooms and onions) - and feeling more self-assured. In my adult classes, I watch people who thought they "couldn't cook" discover they absolutely can and begin to love it.

I don't stand and announce, "I'm teaching you confidence, curiosity, and conversation skills." The kitchen does that work all on its own. But apparently, according to AI, I do need to tell you this. :)

So now you know. And whether you want this experience for your kids or for yourself - consider this a gentle nudge. Or forward this to a friend who could use some kitchen confidence, too.

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