“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

Those were the famous words of chef Julia Child, a culinary trailblazer and champion of home cooking.

Let’s face it, she’s absolutely right.

Making food can be a scary ordeal. We’re often left to our own devices in the kitchen, with no idea of what to cook or where to begin. They make it look so easy on TV but it’s a different story at home. Some of us don’t even know how to hard boil an egg for crying out loud…

Gudetama is having a rough day.

It’s especially nerve-wracking when there’s a time crunch and other mouths to feed. The pressure is on and people are waiting for us to deliver a culinary masterpiece. “What’s for dinner?”, they ask. “I’m hungry”, they whine. “It better be good”, they threaten. Reality quickly sinks in and we panic, locking ourselves in the kitchen hoping for the best.

Here’s how it usually plays out:

We open up the fridge and hopelessly stare into the abyss of random ingredients. Figuring out what to make is like trying to decipher morse code. We frantically read recipes for meal inspiration, but they don’t make any sense. What’s a daikon? Is julienne a person or a cutting technique? We bang our heads on the table, hoping to get a eureka moment that never comes. Repeat.

Yes, that’s Gordon Ramsay.

The situation is bleak and thoughts of giving up run rampant. At this point, ordering unhealthy and expensive take-out for the third night in a row seems to be the only option.

But it’s not.

Remember Julia Child? Channel your inner chef, take a deep breath, and repeat her words of wisdom:

“In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

What does that mean? It means we need to roll up our sleeves and start cooking no matter what. No more excuses to give up and chicken out.

Julia Child and her chicken.

Here are some helpful tips to get going:

Watch recipe videos. Traditional text recipes can be confusing, especially for visual learners. To find meal inspiration, watch recipe videos that have a corresponding text recipe you can read. You’ll see how the recipe is made and have the ingredients list with instructions to lean on, if needed. Plan your meals ahead of time. During weekends, decide what you’ll eat in the following week by making a list of five to seven recipes. Try to include at least one idiot-proof meal and one slow cooker meal on your list. Idiot-proof meals are those you can cook at the end of a long day without too much effort. Slow cooker meals can be started before you leave in the morning and will be hot and ready by the time you return home. Batch cook and freeze. Cooking in bulk will save time because you’ll have prepared meals at the ready. Decide on four or five recipes you’re going to make in one session and freeze. Recipes that call for inexpensive cuts of meat, stews, soups and casseroles are the best for freezing. When storing your frozen meals, make sure to use containers that the food can be thawed and reheated in. Intensify flavours. Bland food is never a crowd pleaser. Here are ten simple things you can do to elevate the flavour of your meals: 1) Don’t seed tomatoes 2) Let your food cool before eating it 3) Don’t chop garlic in advance 4) Fry spices before adding them to your dish 5) Roast vegetables 6) Use blended salts 7) Eat what’s in season 8) Wait until the end of cooking to add fat 9) Don’t discard the fond 10) Add herbs early in the cooking process Keep an eye out for up and coming food apps like Eatable to make cooking fun and easy.

After applying some of these tips, cooking won’t have to be such a chore. Making food should be a fun and easy thing to do, by ourselves or with loved ones. Becoming a seasoned home cook doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and practice often. Take it one step at a time and enjoy the process. In the end, just be glad that food is on the table. Now that’s something to be proud of.