If I only give you one tip, it's to make a prep list. Restaurants and bakeries alike have a daily prep list: on a sheet of paper on the wall or on their ipad, but prep lists are everywhere. Thinking like a chef means knowing everything you need to do by what time and getting it done with enough time to relax for 2 minutes before service!

While sooner or later you have to put away the books, they are invaluable when getting started. I usually tell people who are afraid to experiment to start with a recipe they know they like and break it down, taste each ingredient, research it. Know what things taste like and how they taste when combined with other things. Learn what YOU like. Once you have a good working guide in your head of what flavors you enjoy, how to recreate them, and what compliments what, you can start taking recipes you like and deviating from them. By then, you are well on your way to working without a net.

I love The Flavor Bible by Page and Dornenburg. It's a great reference when you want to start building your own flavor profiles.

Cook's Illustrated magazines and cookbooks are excellent for understanding how recipes work so eventually, a cook can improvise in the kitchen... it's like learning famous guitarists' riffs before a musician can throw one together on the fly.

I also taught myself a lot by making basics -- steamed vegetables or grilled meat -- and dressing them up with spices. It's easy to experiment with flavorings and you really can't produce anything inedible, so the risk is low.

I know lots of people who've never really owned or used cookbooks or recipes and they still good beautifully, but for me I felt like reading food magazines, browsing cookbooks, and watching countless hours of cooking on TV has helped me be a better recipe-less cook. My mom was an average, uninventive cook so it took a great deal of exposure to the wider world of food before I even knew what was out there. Sure, I knew what I liked once I tasted it but I didn't know how to get there. Once I felt like I learned some about what kind of tastes compliment each other, the advantages and disadvantages of various cooking methods, how to know if something is done, etc I started to experiment a little. I can just take all the building blocks I've learned elsewhere and put them together in new ways. I have some dishes I regularly make without a recipe, or I'll start with a recipe as a general guide and change out ingredients or add elements. I don't know that I'll ever really think "like a chef" and be able to step outside the box completely, but I do feel more confident in my ability to improvise.

But I will say, I see nothing wrong with relying only on recipes too. For me cooking is about the fun of the activity and the delicious product. You can still get both by following recipes. Nothing wrong with that!

I think the number one thing to do is make sure that you have all of the essential ingredients at the ready.

If you have the most common things lying around (flour, sugar, spices, pastas, various rices, oils, etc) then all you need are the things that are better fresh (meats, vegetables, fruits, etc) and you can just start to mix and match and play.

When I have a well stocked pantry/fridge I am *always* more creative and able to come up with great food. When I am limited in ingredients, I am also limited in my creativity.

I second the recommendation for the flavor bible -- it really can help you to improvise.

I found I became much more intuitive in the kitchen when I started trying to find ways to use up the ingredients that were leftover from recipes. I would challenge myself to use them up without buying anything new at the store.

First I would think, "what am I going to do with this half-bunch of broccoli Rabe?" I might consult the flavor bible, and see it has an affinity for sausage, which I also have in the fridge. Then I remember having a rabe and sausage orecchiette dish at a restaurant that I try to recreate.

If I'm not sure where to go from there, might still consult other recipes -- to see how long something typically needs to cook, for instance -- but typically I just look for clues to a technique.

Over time, those "helpers" become less necessary.

**Ugh. Apologies for the typos above. Apparently tying on the iPad, like cooking, takes practice.**

Some people simply just don't think like this. Some people might be doing something their whole lives without really understanding why. Be more inquisitive and explore. Not just with cooking, but question everything you do in life. With cooking, however, get inspired by successful dishes, and don't be afraid to fail when experimenting.

I'm slowly loosening my tight grip on the cookbook.

To me it's all about talking through a dish with someone I trust. I bounce all of my ideas off my boyfriend. As my chief taste tester in my kitchen, he provides the reassurance and confidence I need to really experiment with food.

I agree about the flavor bible. I have it and its a great idea maker if you have a rough idea.

The best advise is go with what tastes good to you. The best cooks can smell some garlic simmering and say "hmm this sounds good with that, so does this" Overthinking/ over-recipeing kills that spontaneity and food can get flat.

I love this. I actually cook mostly "my own" recipes (to whatever extent a recipe can really be anyone's). My girlfriend cooks mostly from recipes, as is necessary with vegan and baking, and it's really helped me grow.

Anyway, I think the key to cooking creatively and without recipes is remembering that cooking is a performance art. One should take their cues from great performers in song, dance, theater, improv, comedy, etc. Perhaps that sounds pretentious but if you're reading this you probably love cooking and can forgive me the analogy.

On a more practical level, you can let your mind go if you memorize some basics. Ratios are important. Lots of cooking boils down to ratios between ingredients. Flavor profiles are important. Different regional cooking uses different flavor profiles, for example, chili, lime, and salt in Mexican food. If you remember those regional flavor profiles you can get creative with fusion, but still keep a grounded composed dish. Finally, go back to childhood loves of seasonal food snd ingredients and put your adult standards on those old recipes.

My whole cooking life is about coming up with new recipes. It's totally worthwhile to develop something on your own and put away the cookbooks.

I agree with @ny2midmo--starting with cookbooks is perfectly fine! It gives you a good basis for understanding the science behind a meal. For instance, I learned from recipes that cornstarch and flour both thicken soups, sauces, etc. I can then take that knowledge and apply it to other situations.

My favorite way to build new "recipes" is to browse around similar recipes. I read probably a dozen recipes for that meal, and then, built my own recipe based off of what I had learned. This also allows me to adjust for personal taste and what I have on hand!

while i agree you have to let go of the recipes and experiment, you first have to learn the basics. Try recipes, follow them exactly, learn why they work and what you like about them. When you understand that you can start playing with them.

I still dont make much without a recipe, at least to start out with as a rough guide. But i do freely decide to add and take away things, double things, etc based on my experience and personal preferences.

When I was just learning how to cook, I was challenged to be a vegan for thirty days - and I took it! Apart from the health benefits, I was completely surprised to find that cooking was a fun new game; one where the use of butter, cream, cheese and bacon was cheating. I had been relying on those four ingredients to make whatever I was cooking taste good; it's astonishing what you can do without them. I learned how to let my flavors speak for themselves, and how to better incorporate herbs and spices into my meals.

I've been trying to wean myself off of cookbooks as well! The changes I've made that have helped me be more flexible and creative were small steps at first:

~ If I'm missing a few ingredients for a recipe, I'll still make it, but use my kitchen experience to make substitutions (pancetta for bacon, sweet potato for squash, etc...)

~ I also try to cook my favorite recipes, without looking at the cookbook. (It helps to remember how flexible measurements are when you are cooking vs. baking.)

~ Lastly, even if I am making a main dish from recipe - I always challenge myself to put something together from items on hand. Usually a condiment, salad or side dish (my favorite no recipe items are pesto, bean dips, salsas, veggies, etc.)

We start with a printed recipe on 8x11.5 paper (photocopy or printer,) and make the recipe according to instructions. Then, we write notes on the paper about the ingredients we used. Did we add the juice from the can of diced tomatoes, or just a tablespoon? Was it too spicy? Did my husband think it was a 3-star recipe while I thought it was a 5-star? Did we slice the peppers into thin matchsticks or half-inch chunks? Did we cook it longer? Anything that we would want to share with someone else about brands or preparation. Or, anything that we would need to know to recreate or modify the recipe to our taste in two months from now. After 2-3 times of tweaking the recipe to our taste, we have made the recipe ours, and we might add it to master cook computer recipe utility, or just punch holes in the "new recipe" and add it to "Our Recipes" 3-ring binder with separators for Fish, Asian, Beef, Chicken, and Pasta and so on. We use it for shopping list, and 4

my mom was always cooking complicated and exotic meals when i was growing up. i think watching her and seeing certain patterns in her flavor combinations really helped me to be able to cook on the fly as i do. i also loved to read Gourmet and cooking sites like this one to get inspiration. i print out tons of recipes but rarely stick to them, they are like jumping off points for flavor combinations that sound interesting.

maybe it's lack of confidence holding you back? like you think if you make something up on your own it will suck? come on girl, you can do it!

i will have to see about this "flavor bible" everyone is talking about!

Thanks for these post and comments. It'll inspire me to be more fearless. I think a good tip would be to not be afraid of mistakes. The kitchen, like everywhere else in life, is often live and learn.

I see it as a matter of frugality. I may have 3 things that are about to turn in the fridge and just think of ways I could use them together.

Take chances, makes mistakes, get messy!
(sorry for the children's book quote - i was reading to my niece recently)

When I first started working with my chef who taught me to cook without a recipe, I had already stopped using recipes, but my cooking was mediocre.

So what we would do is stand at the stove with the pot of whatever I had made, with a handful of spoons each. Then with each spoonful he would ask me. "Is this spicy enough?" "Is this sour enough?" "Is this Sweet enough?" And "Is this Salty enough?"

If any of the answers were no, we would figure out what kind of "Spicy" or "Sweet" we needed. IE. To sweeten tomato soup, honey is perfect, where as something like steivia just wouldn't taste the same. Or if you want your fried rice to be spicier you would probably prefer to use red pepper flakes to chipotle.

I found this lesson to be the most important cooking lesson I've learned.

I generally like to use recipes a lot too. I think I really started figuring things out with pastas. There are so many different ways to cook pasta sauces. Start with a base that you like, for example a roux or a white sauce or a red sauce and try things. Toss together things you have leftover in the fridge, is it too sour, what can you do to change that? Is it too bland, besides salt, is there any way to make it less so. It might be my Italian background, but pasta seems like the perfect place to experiment without going too far out of line. And once you get comfortable with that sort of problem solving, it might become easier with other foods.

flavor bible, flavor bible, flavor bible! i love it.

trial and error, my friend, is probably the best way to go. experiment! some things will work, other's won't. i second having a bunch of ingredients available.

for me, the challenges are matching textures properly, and giving that extra kick to dishes. i HATE bland food, but simply adding salt to it isn't cutting it anymore. hopefully one day i'll achieve the complexity of flavor that i'm looking for in my dishes.

I'm not an intuitive cook either but, as others have already suggested, the Flavor Bible has proven a real asset. Initially, I used it when I hadn't a clue what to add to what. Now, happily, I'm finding that I use it more to validate a combination that I've come up with on my own. To me, that feels like progress.

The first step is to get comfortable with all the basics. I learned this by reading (mostly blogs), watching (on cooking shows), and then repeatedly making a recipe until I achieved what I wanted out of it. Sometimes you get it perfect on the first try, sometimes it takes 5 times. Make sure you repeat this process with as many different flavors and foods as you have access to. It's really the only way you can learn about what flavors and textures work together. It only took me a few months to get to the point that I felt comfortable making up recipes. That said, I think it's a long process and I am still learning. The key is really to not be afraid, and to find out what your trusted loved ones think. If something didn't turn out as you expected, think about it, get some input, do some research, make some adjustments, and try again. Also, trust your gut. My gut rarely fails me, espeicaly when trying to create something deliciouss.

I think recipes are a very good way to start or else you can get "stuck" in the ingredients and flavors you already know. I cook a lot of French and Italian food out of my head, but for Asian and Indian I still use recipes because those are not familiar flavors to me, though I'm learning.

In my opinion it comes down to five simple rules.

Basics.
Prep.
Flavors.
Deconstruct/Experiment.
Habits/Practice.

Learn the basics of dishes and cooking. The sauces, marinades, coatings. Searing, boiling, frying, baking.

Make things in advance or prior to cooking. Your chopping, opening, sauces, seasoning, mixing. The half steps.

Learn what tastes good together. What effects the flavor of other flavors. How to adjust them.

Go out to eat, figure out what's in the dish figure out how it was made. Try to recreate it, change it. Pick random things from your supplies throw them together, burn things, make mistakes, learn from them.

Cook. Simply doing the same action/dish over and over again on a regular basis ingrains it into habit. You'll soon discover similarities in construction, allowing you to easy adapted to changes and throw anything together.

I've been cooking and doing the food shopping since I was eight years old (I'm now 32). I really believe that learning to cook is like anything; it takes practise. I have a friend who marvels that I can open up the fridge and pantry and serve up a delicious three (or more) course dinner without cracking open a cookbook. Cooking for me is as natural as breathing.

@Escondido, I completely agree about the use of reading recipes to get new ideas. One thing I've noticed is that at home I eat very 'North American' but when I eat out I crave 'ethnic' foods like Lebanese and Thai. Perhaps it's time for me to move out of my comfort zone and start spending some quality time with a few cookbooks. :)

I stick to books and recipes when I'm preparing cakes and desserts but I'm totally a bookless cook any other occasion. I get inspirations from fresh ingredients I see at shops and markets and I change my plans last minute if I see something appealing. I find following the recipe quite boring but I still buy cookbooks because I love them and I like to read them and find inspirations.

1) Focus on perfecting techniques rather than recipes.
2) Focus on planning.

Hmm.. how to be confident in the kitchen? Nothing tastes better than a meal made with love. So, cook with love and enthusiasm. Also remember, if all else fails... relax! At the end of the day, it's just food! Practice makes perfect :)

Wow! What fantastic comments and conversation. Thank you all for chipping in. I think the points about having your ingredients ready and feeling confident with them, making and adhering to a prep list, using the Flavor Bible (have it! love it!), mastering techniques instead of recipes, and planning are all really important tips. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Techniques as a structure, ingredients as inspiration and creativity to glue it all together.
Techniques are most important for me: once you have mastered one, you will be able to use any ingredient within the techniques without looking at the cookbook.

Cookery books are great and I probably have hundreds of them. However I rarely actually cook a recipe from one. Cookery isn't about recipes any more than painting by numbers is about art. They're a great way to get a good result and are fine for most purposes. But if you really want to understand what food is about, don't just follow the recipe, but examine it and figure out what it is that makes it work. Then you can adapt it, and quite often devise a simpler way that gets an equally good result, or maybe a better one.

The main problem amateur cooks have is that they don't think ahead, and they don't clean as they go. In a professional kitchen these really are the most important skills you must learn, along with knife drill and safety, of course. By thinking ahead you make sure that you have everything you need before you start and have it all ready. Professionals call this 'mise en place', and it's how TV cooks manage to get everything done so quickly.

Cleaning as you go is also crucial, as so many amateurs just get themselves into an extraordinary mess. It doesn't have to be that way!

By thinking ahead, doing mise en place and cleaning as you go, you get rid of a lot of the mental obstacles like looking for ingredients or tools. You can then concentrate on the important things, like how the dish actually works. This is really what 'molecular gastronomy' is all about. Taking dishes, deconstructing them and remodelling them in a clever way. Very smart stuff. You don't need to take it to such extremes, but watching how someone like Heston Blumenthal dissects a dish so he reconstruct it is very edifying. I think the best exponent of working out how dishes work is Alton Brown - his Good Eats series is just about the best foodie thing on TV. He's a genius!

My advice?

Toss the books (eventually) - As was said above, cookbooks are invaluable for getting a feel for what certain dishes "should" taste like, how to perform basic techniques, how long to cook things for, etc. Once you have that down, you'll feel more confident adjusting the food to suit your personal tastes.

Cook with somebody - it may help to compare your cooking style to another's and learn an alternate way of doing things. Plus it's fun! Ditto with cooking classes.

Most importantly - play, play, play! Don't be afraid to screw up - it often leads to even better results :).

Thinking like a chef means:
1. Learning how to hire/fire kitchen crew members.
2. Learning how to buy food. Amount. Price.
3. Learning how to deliver 10 meals at the same time to a table.

I find, as one of the posters above, I am most creative when I am being frugal with things about to expire or leftovers. On my own, with a kitchen filled with good food, I don't know what to do. I always end up with some kind of pasta sauce, omelettes, or an antipasta plate. I love to cook when I am inspired by a recipe (with pictures) from a blog. I think all those 30-minute or less dinners after work may have stifled my individual creativity in the kitchen.

I don't use cookbooks a lot -- more as inspiration. But I would like to learn more and become a much better cook, so I am thinking of going back to cook books to get a stronger foundation so that I can do more improvising in the future.

I think the absolute best way to become more confident in the kitchen is to start by following recipes. You quickly learn what food combinations you like, and are more willing to try things you've never tried before with a recipe than on your own. Eventually, it becomes easier to branch off and do your own thing. But following recipes that teach basic cooking techniques is essential for beginners!

For cooking I generally just wing it, for baking I still use cookbooks for the basics of the recipe and tweak with my own inspirations or combining several different parts of recipes into one new creation.