How to Teach Cooking (and Other Stuff)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- How to Teach Cooking (and Other Stuff)
00:00 Intro
00:35 Why I hate paint bars
02:24 Cooking class is a simulation
02:57 Manual dexterity tasks need to be hands-on
04:03 Focus on skills, not on dishes
05:08 Focus on skills, not on meals
05:42 The challenge of teaching judgment
08:24 Teaching judgment through shadowing
10:33 Why the food has to taste great in class
12:48 How to make practice rewarding
Support my channel
/ helenrennie
My cooking classes in the Boston area:
www.helenrennie.com
FACEBOOK: / helenskitchencooking
INSTAGRAM: / helen.rennie - Навчання та стиль
I'm kind of famous among my family and friends for my pasta. What they don't know is that to this day every time I make pasta, I open my computer to "Five Rookie Mistakes" and make it with you. I have the video memorized, but I still prefer to make my pasta with you by my side. Thank you Helen.
Hello Helen. I am a professional cook myself (retired now) but I have watched so many of your videos and I just wanted to tell you that I think you are a beacon among the rocks. You are such a pleasure to watch and your understanding of cooking is amazing. I watch several other cooking channels as well, but I keep coming back to you. You are obviously so qualified where there are so many who have just decided to make some money and fame for themselves but are relatively clueless. There are so many, many mistakes I see them makng and it really upsets me that they are teaching these so called 'skills'.
One day I would love to come to Boston to attend one of your cooking classes just to be in your presance. Keep up the not good, but amazing work. Keep on teaching your skills, as your skills are for real. I can tell a person who is a pro just by the way they handle the food they are making. I am sure you can do the same. I would encourage anybody who is trying to learn to cook, to watch Helen Rennie. The real deal. Cheers, and Kudos to you.🙂
I’m a retired teacher, and I salute you for your outstanding mastery of teaching! No wonder we all learn so much from you!
I agree repetition is key. I learned to cook by working in kitchens, from fancy restaurants to low-budget steakhouses to seafood troughs to fast food restaurants, when I was in school. I am not a professional chef or anything close but I learned so much just watching other people, and as I showed some interest and ability (and showed up for work early every day, which is often a rarity in restaurants) they moved me up from dishwasher to veggie table to filling in on the line, and I would learn more things. How to make simple sauces, how to tell when a steak is rare or medium, how to tell when clams need to come out of the deep fryer. I learned to love cooking as much as eating so I do it all the time. The way I learn something new (last year it was making breads) I start with a recipe I like and make it ten times. Each time I keep a book and write down everything I can remember about what I did and how it turned out and what I think the reasons for the result were. I do this every time, and it helps me see the patterns you are talking about. The first trial is usually not very good, the second is less not very good, the third is usually a significant improvement, and after that I learn less and less from each trial. As a result I make a only few things extremely well but an increasing number of things pretty well.
Helen - you are the russian aunt I never had. My parents moved from Russia in the late 90s to Czechia and left all of our relatives there. Your voice is so warming and your presence has something to it that makes me wish I had a person like you in my life who would teach me to cook and would be so kind and gentle like you are. Ive learnt a ton from you, your recipes are wonderfully reliable and loved by my and my partners family and your personality makes your videos so pleasant to just watch and listen to. Thank you so much for being on the internet for us 😁❤️
All those cooking instructors (and, I guess, teachers in general) who aren't teaching the crucial moments? They're probably people who thought, "Well, I can do this thing well, so I guess my career path is to teach it," without the crucial understanding that being able to _do_ a thing well does *_not_* necessarily mean you can *_teach_* that thing well, because teaching is an entirely different skillset! I deeply appreciate your obsessive deep dives, because they teach exactly what I want to learn.
back in 1980, I took a class on Chinese cooking. It was taught by Nina Simonds, who had just returned from China. Her first of many cookbooks came out a couple of years later. This was a lecture and demo on classic Chinese cuisine, no hands on for us, but she showed us step by step how to do things and what to look for. I remember her passing around a bowl of pork and scallion filling for dumplings, asking us to observe the texture and to smell it, so we would know what to look for were we to make our own at home. This one class sent me down the rabbit hole and started my journey to exploring various cuisines from all over the world.
Now this! Is why I love Helen Rennie. Her approach to cooking is so methodical, it’s purely fantastic. Growing up as a kid and being taught how to cook and naturally having a love to cook.
I have always thought the same things in regards to cooking classes. You can know how to make a recipe, but if you don’t know why you’re doing that process for the certain outcome, you will never be able to apply it to anything else. BRILLIANT VIDEO!
My mother is my biggest influence. Everyone in our family always said she was (without exceptions) the best. Of course this was based on our Puerto Rican culture and mixed with American influence. An example I recall is her beef stroganoff. Typically not Puerto Rican dish. But she learned how to make this food for us. As we (my brothers and I) cleaned the kitchen and my mother cooked, we learned from her. The exposure to her, just being close to her helped us in life. My ex-wife learned from her and the change was fantastic. In all that time a recipe was never written or exchanged but the food got better.
I do the brute force learning now that my mother has passed. Eating your mistakes is not so bad but the small successes mean more. I enjoy your lessons. Thanks you for your time and efforts.
I’m currently studying for my teaching degrees in cooking and home economics. I’ll be teaching teenagers who’ve never even touched a knife nor a pan. We are using the same basic teaching techniques you describe here and treat it like any other complex teaching subject. I’ve seen the same issues with judgement calls and tasting nowadays and I’ll definitely try to implement those in my future classes. Thank you.
👩🍳I have been cooking for over 50 years and I think that this woman is remarkable. She is such a great teacher; watching and learning from her content is fun and rewarding!🧑🍳
I have learned far more from your videos than any class I’ve ever taken. I’m at the point where I can figure something tasty out with whatever I have in front of me. I have you specifically to thank for that.
Thank you teacher! It's so refreshing to here what you teach. I'm a teacher wanting to become a better teacher. Thank you again! It means the world.
I've been cooking for my growing family for almost 17 years. I just volunteered to teach a one hour cooking class for 12-15 year olds at co-op for 10 weeks and I need all the transitional/practical ideas. This video was so helpful to get my mind working in the right direction and it brought me so much joy.
What I loved about my favorite teachers? They got to the heart of the matter, showed us how easy some things really were and we found we were also capable of great things.
I live in Massachusetts too and now I have a new desire-to join one of your cooking classes and meet you. This short video went far beyond cooking, the art of learning. Thank you!
Helen, you are a fantastic teacher! I have learned so much from your videos and the cooking class I took with you. I can’t wait to take more. Speaking as a teacher, thank you for lifting teachers up in your video, too.
🤯 This is easily one of the most important cooking videos I’ve ever watched. Recipes are fun and we only live vicariously by watching food UA-cam, but the key is learning the crucial judgments in each cooking technique 💛
I've done a few cooking classes, and I definitely agree. The best cooking classes were where everyone got to do the same thing hands on. For example, I did a pasta making class in Rome, and everyone got to make their own dough by hand, so you got to feel it as the gluten developed and understand when it was kneaded enough by touch. We then all got a chance to roll out our dough, understanding the challenges that can arise if you don't go it gradually. This was a great experience.
Contrast that with most of the other cooking classes I've done, and all the tasks for a 3 course meal are split up. So in one class, I learned to fully prepare mackerel, from gutting it, filleting and removing the bones, removing the skin with a torch, and it was a great. But only 2 of us got to learn all of that. meanwhile another group was learning to truss a rack of lamb, and I missed that. Another group was making a compote and crepes, and I missed most of the compote, but got to try making 1 crepe. Another group was making a fresh herb oil, and I missed the process to keep it vibrant and prevent oxidation. I did learn some very interesting skills for sure, but I missed out on a lot, and everyone else got to learn 1 skill, and missed out on a lot as well. And most of the cooking classes I've done have been exactly like this. Some of the worse ones, I barely learned anything because I got put on a station dicing veggies, while my knife skills are already pretty decent, while other people got to learn to make corn tortillas or empanada dough.
Hi Helen - I teach, mentor, and coach hundreds of employees of our company on how to improve processes and LOVE everything you said in this video. Your wisdom on teaching methods is masterful, and I have written down some notes for how to improve my own training programs - thank you! As a subscriber, I obviously love to cook and love all of your videos as well :) In my opinion, this is the most impactful video you have ever made if the right people see and act upon it.
Although this video is titled “how to teach cooking” i’ve learned so much about how to learn how to cook. I will keep your thoughtful approach to teaching in mind throughout my cooking experience. Thank you Helen🩷
Your bit on patterns and practice relating to reward is so insightful!
I love how your methodology applies to teaching in general. I'm taking these tips and applying to dance classes
My favorite teacher was Tom Hurly. He taught piano pedagogy at a nearby college. He was very focused on patterns and breaking things in segments to master before moving onto something else. Your patterns observation reminded me of him and how that simple approach made all the difference in repeatable success.
Reminded me of a nice moment at highschool :) so i was failing for a while, then decided to worked hard - and... Got an ok grade. Better then usual but not amazing
She still saw the effort, told me to wait after class and noted that she was proud of me for improving. I feel like teaching has a lot with compassion and being able to note progress rather then aim for perfection. Can say that i graduetly did way better with that sense of pride as a teen
I completely agree with your approach. I'm nearing the end of the welding program at my local community college, and our courses are very different. We're mostly left to our own devices for the majority of the three hours a week, with our instructor checking in here and there. But the difference is that we can just keep practicing the same thing over and over several times a class. So that approach works.
But cooking is completely different, and if I was in a class, I'd want to do exactly what you suggest. It's the same way I feel when I cook at home. I've never taken classes, but my knife skills are good, my prep is good, but it's always that critical moment where I feel the least prepared. So all I can do is try to learn from what I did the last time I made a dish, if I can remember.
Thanks for another great video, and please keep doing things your way. I'm sure your students appreciate it.
I am starting to be a trainer for people who are involved in health and safety in a certain workspace environment. I am more or less a blank slate and this video just filled me with so much wisdom! If I could just convey all those patterns I could see, every attendee would make a profit. Nice 🥰
Helen, you are spot on. I followed your steps (e.g.cooking the potato and carrots) and insight when I made the Olivere salad this week and it was amazing. Same method I use to train young engineers, Patterns are important.
Thank you very much
Dear Helen, I cooked some of your recipes and they turned out and tasted phenomenal, I love your approach that the final taste of food is the most important thing in cooking :)
I have to say I have learned so much from your videos AND being able to hang out with an excellent cook while she watches and shows me and has ME taste the food has been immensely helpful. Someday, if I am in the Boston Area I will definitely take your class. For now loving your work in NorCal!!
I so much enjoy your videos! I agree with your philosophy of teaching and learning. Inthe comment section of many recipe blogs there are so many questions about substituting ingredients that, to me, show a slavishness to making a dish the "correct" way. Knowing what ingredients bring to the dish and, especially in baking, how they function allows one to make a dish your own.
During the beginning of the pandemic, I took several of Helen’s online cooking classes. While I couldn’t taste her cooking, I learned so much just from trying the recipe and then having the Facebook group and final group discussion.
I stumbled upon a channel called two sleeves. The presenter reminds me a lot of you. She claims to be a geek and her delivery supports the allegation. But in terms of the presentation and rational explanation of how people should expect various foodie things to happen, she reminds me a lot of you. So if you're not aware of her channel, I urge you to take a look just as I urge her to take a look at yours. You are both absolute treasures.
And I enjoy the synchronicity of finding her channel tonight and finding this most recent posting of yours. Clearly it was meant to be.
I learned the basics of cooking from my mom, who was a self taught cook who never made her meatloaf without making a change or two. I was really inspired to really learn cooking from a Chinese chef, Ken Hom, who made food so elegantly that I felt I had to learn to cook like that!
you are so right, I paid a lot of money for culinary college and learned NOTHING - we were given a recipe whatever topic of the day it was, were left to ourselves making it and than critisized for what was not correct. so no learning about why's at all - for $10,000 I could have bought better ingredients at home doing it myself from youtube recipes - and probably better. I just found your channel and it's great! I was teaching a cooking school myself on a volunteer basis years ago at a church and tried telling people why they do what was asked and that even was a way better way than at the college (oh I learned some stuff, but from a co-student, not the chef lol)
Your students are very lucky. Not only are you a great chef, you're a wonderful and very thoughtful teacher as well!
I once treated myself to a steak cooking class, because I was really interested in mastering that particular skill...but the guy giving the class, basically commited every single error, you mentioned 😆.
That was 200€ our the window, I could have spent on 10 steaks to practice with.
After watching your videos for a number of years, I, living in the Boston area, now plan to take your fish class.
Thanks for bringing up this very important topic Helen. I agree with you. I find the most famous internationally known chefs who teach on UA-cam or in their cookbooks don't go into enough detail, while there are less well-known ones who go into more detail. I find it the same for people providing sewing/tailoring how-tos on UA-cam. Learning from a skilled home-cook or someone like Helen is a great way to improve your cooking skills.
I saw on the youtubes recently that Italian pizza chefs practice by putting dried pasta on pizza dough in place of the cheese. Dough is pretty cheap and so is the ground tomato, but cheese is pretty expensive to waste on "practice" pizzas, so dried pasta that is about the same weight gives the new pizza makers plenty of chance to get used to launching and turning pizza in the oven.
I learned to cook by having a basic food technology class at a college, it gave me an overall understanding and after that I was cooking and failing, cooking and failing, cooking for my husband,my children and just because I love cooking and good food, I learned to have a good judgement, by wanting videos, reading the recipes,learning from my own mistakes and I am still learning,but I think you have to enjoy cooking and have a desire to experiment, and learning the "kitchen hacks" by experienced chefs always improves your cooking. You seem to be a good teacher
If you're not learning, you're dying. ❤️
Regarding patterns: I have a music background, and while I was good in the my instrument, but I wasn't great. Regardless how good or not that I was, recognizing patterns were necessary for success. A bit ago, I decided to learn, or try to learn, another instrument. I found on online teacher who recognized the importance of patterns--both recognizing and then using them.
While in the past I haven't considered patterns in the skill of cooking, I have to accept that patterns are there also.
Lawrence
Thank you so much chef! I’m looking forward to listening to this video! And I actually have a painting studio!!! I’m wanting to make more videos! I’m so excited to see this because I also just graduated culinary school and you actually helped me for the entire journey! ❤
I once had a teacher for both sociology and psychology who would give us a question and usually 4 parts to the answer. She then related it all to real life stories. Easy A’s and I actually learned and looked forward to it
Loved this video, especially the insight on the connection between pattern-recognition and the feeling of reward from practice! Definitely going to chew on that idea for a while and all the ways it might apply in life, not just in cooking. Thanks, Helen!
You are the kind of teacher that I like
I just want to know WHY, what's the rationale behind doing something in a particular way?
You do an amazing job answering all of my WHY questions.
This was fascinating. I loved hearing your cooking/teaching philosophy and techniques. I would definitely sign up for one of your classes if I ever got to Boston! 😄 Thank you for continuing to share your valuable content! 🥰
Love this! Students aren’t psychic - don’t make them guess, especially about something they have never seen or done before.
Totally love your concept! As an experienced cook I have attended the classes as a social event. I occasionally pick up some knowledge but not something I could not have figured out by myself watching your videos (for example). Wish I were closer…advanced home cooking techniques would be fabulous. Making pasta, or pie crusts…not my forte. Now that would be awesome!
These are such great tips, thank you! I'm just getting started in teaching (language and sport) and this will help a lot!
You mention programming, it may sound crazy but I think there's a lot of things in common between software development and pattern-based cooking. At the end of the day both are about knowing which patterns you can use to transform some input into some output.
Thanks, I really enjoy your videos and have learned so much from your precise instructions!
Now I understand why I love your videos so much!
Very thought provoking. Thank you.
Great video. Everything made perfect sense.
Well said. Thank you.
Sounds like most cooking classes are like the cooking demos on late-night talk shows - no time for knife skills, no time for measuring, the next step is just waiting for you in a bowl under the counter
Thank you
Over a decade ago I was made redundant but didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. So I invested some of my payout in cooking classes at the Nick Nairn School (in Scotland) the ethos there very much seems to be like your. They gave you techniques but then told you what could be done beforehand kept in fridge or freezer so that you could host a dinner party without being in the kitchen the entire time. I went on to train as a chef and then work in a high end restaurant before my migraine became intractable (1 attack that is 24/7 in my case for over 6 years and counting) I still use those techniques and recipes when I am having a good day which are few and far between. Maybe if I ever get over to the states I will try and visit your school
I do a lot of math teaching at pretty much all levels. The “help finding patterns” section is very applicable to me too!
That's the connection between math and music, I think.
This video is super applicable! Im using these principles im how I mentor new-hires in my company.
Hi, really love your approach and teaching style, it's had a real impact on how I think.
I teach music. I spent a good chunk of time thinking that I need to be better at helping students figure things out on their own within a framework (constructivism) and less time getting them to copy me and follow directions (behaviorism). What you're saying, I gather, and what I've been recently coming around to is that it's far more efficient and effective to have a behaviorist approach with students *as long as they understand what they are doing and why*. The other key factor is creating a safe, positive environment where the students feel free to question things and you can have a dialogue--without that, things can turn authoritarian, which is where some of my teachers and probably many chefs go wrong.
I'd like you to make a video about your favorite cooking blogs, channels and instructors that are not so popular, if you know some of course. It's really hard to find content that meets yours.
One of my favorite quotes from Alton Brown:
"[A recipe] is something that most people don't want to read and don't know how to read...chefs write some of the crappiest recipes on earth. They assume a knowledge base that people do not have...the more chefs that write cookbooks, people don't necessary cook any better."
I think this is the first time I've heard another person articulate the concept of talent in the same way I've perceived it over the years- the desire to practice because it's enjoyable. Though I've never caught on that it's the perception of patterns that drive the desire to practice; that really "clicks" for me.
Good morning Ms Rennie. I am going to take this opportunity to recommend one of my favorite books, "Catching The Light" by Arthur Zajonc, it is not at all about cooking but it has a lot of insight about how human skills work. It's not a big book but it's fascinating.
Just looked it up on Amazon. Sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for the recommendation :)
You’re so right 👍🏽
"Maybe it wasn't local enough." 😁💯👍😎
The only place I'd maybe disagree is the value of breadth. I think it's still useful to get a sense of what goes with what, and you only really get that if you can see the breadth with the depth. I still think you should focus on depth, though, since there are other places that can teach breadth! Love your videos!
Regarding teaching judgement through shadowing: I worked as a secretary in the ICU for many years. I am now a massage therapist. I learned so much medical knowledge second-hand from my nurses that now come in useful in my massage practice.
I cant even make a stock in merely three hours. That is why trial and error teaches me most efficiently. I love cooking!
You may tell me how to do something, I hear you but I may forget.
You may show me how, I see and I may remember.
If I do it, asking questions if necessary, then I will understand. Nothing beats ‘hands on’ experience and practice.
Off topic question: Where did you get the necklace. My wife would love it!
Love your videos. Teaching is about patience in various stages. Teaching is being able to find a connection to those you are teaching and thus be able to make a personal link which allows you to relate the class topic in personal ways.
Hello, from Belgium.
What do you mean showing students the patterns? Can you please give an example of what you call a "pattern"? Thank you! You are so inspiring!
Great video! I'm wondering if you can expand on the topic of patterns with some examples? If I'm understanding it correctly, what you are talking about is along the lines of when I had an "a ha!" moment that fat was fat was fat and you could generally substitute one fat for another for the function of a dish with only maybe a few minor tweaks. Is that the kind of pattern you are talking about?
Here is an example of a pattern for you. How do you test fish for doneness. If you only test 1 fish, you'll learn something. But if you test 4-5 different fish (salmon, trout, cod, swordfish), you'll learn what's similar and what's different between them.
@@helenrennie Thank you so much for responding! I understand much better now :)
Many of today's educators could benefit from this presentation. But this is a broader issue, because the entire system has become degenerate, and thus wears down the good teachers, who may become depressed or even cynical -- though good teachers are optimists by definition -- while allowing the proliferation of bad teaching under guidelines and administrative structures not designed to support the teachers or the students.
As you point out, the increasing ability of the student to independently judge the progress of a process involving a number of variables (sorry to make it sound technical, but I'm staying in the generic here) is the key to mastery of technique, whatever the field. The judgement relies upon knowledge. Sine scientia, ars nihil est.
You took a cooking bootcamp at CIA ? Damn, I didn't know they teached that on top of espionage. Actually makes sense in retrospective /s
The paint bars example is why I dislike hello fresh so much - hello fresh doesn't teach knife skills, how to manage a pantry, and if you want to recreate one of their dishes, you may not be able to find some of the sauces and condiments that they use. Beyond that, the freezer packs and other packaging are a burden to the consumer to dispose of
Hey Helen, might you have an authentic Borscht recipe you can show us how to make. Been searching for years with no luck.
Thank you.
type "helen rennie borscht youtube" into google. i have both the hot one and cold one on my channel.
@helenrennie Yes, I have seen both of those. One is more beef and the other is cold. I'm half Polish and half Ukrainian and wanted an all Hot Beet Borscht.
That is what I believe to be the one. It even had semimashed potatoes in it. Thought Helen might know of the real one. Thank you for your kindness.
I think that "real" borscht is like "real" pasta. There is no one "real" one ;) Borscht is an incredibly broad category of soups in Eastern Europe. The two that I made videos about are the ones I make. I have no idea how authentic they are. You can make any changes to them to make them fit the borscht that you remember. Potatoes can be smashed. Beans can be added. Beat greens can be added too (if they are young and tasty). The most important part that makes it taste good is getting the salt right. For the hot borscht, it's also getting the sofrito right and if you are making a beef one, making a good beef stock. Everything else can be adjusted to your taste.
I would love to learn from you
Hey Helen
I really dream to know where' you teach
Helen, you have a background in programming, right? Was learning to code a similar experience?
I hated programming ;) I studied CS because I am a child of immigrants and needed to make money after college. That being said I went to one of the best CS schools (CMU). They have a sink or swim approach. I lucked out with a great instructor in the first CS course and learned a lot, but in all the future classes our teachers were brilliant people with no teaching skills. As soon as I was done with college, I switched to being a usability engineer and never wrote code again. The first instructor that I had that was fantastic did have a very similar teaching style to mine.
@@helenrennie It takes a lot of strength and patience to be this kind of a teacher. To me, teaching well is the confidence of knowing things twice: first competence to perform, and second the competence of knowing exactly the elements that work and how to reproduce them intentionally. It’s too easy to learn something and allow it to become instinct instead of teachable decisions.
✌
Been to a paint bar, but we were using paint guns.
Comrades
സുപെര്
I love you Helen and your videos are great, but talent is not natural, it's a skill developed. Yes, there is luck for some people who have more affinity towards certain practice, but it's not about seeing patterns or not. I see patterns everywhere, doesn't mean I will chase them. On the contrary, I have to do my best to filter out the ones that are less useful from those that are more useful, and what is useful is highly dynamic, variable. Let's not simplify down all the work and effort talented people put into their skills, just because it seems like they have it easy. They don't. Most of them practice ten times more than any average person.
I think we are in violent agreement. What I meant to say is that "talent" is an insane amount of practice. But this practice is enjoyable.
@Helen Rennie to the last minute :)
Making dough as in money 💰
I haven't cooked anything in 20 years
I like your videos but I HATE... HATE that you have so many adds
are you married?
Great comment, But wrong site. 😂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻