15 Signs You’re Better at Cooking than You Think You Are

Sarah Spigelman Richter
Sarah Spigelman Richter
Sarah Spigelman Richter is a NYC-based food writer who has written for Mashable and Refinery 29, among others. She loves chili cheese Fritos.
published May 25, 2017
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(Image credit: Christine Han)

Hey, you.

Yeah, you.

Stop putting yourself down. No, really. The world is hard enough on you; you don’t need to be that hard on yourself. Your hair is shiny enough, you are good enough at your job, and you’re a better cook than you think you are.

You didn’t go the Le Cordon Bleu? Your dad taught you how to defrost a pizza, but not how to make beef Wellington? You have a limited budget and you learn most of your cooking skills from YouTube videos?

No matter. Chances are, you need to give yourself a break and you’re a better cook than you think you are. Here are some ways to see if you’re a little more Iron Chef than you used to imagine yourself.

(Image credit: Christine Han)

1. Your idea of a good time is mixing and matching oils and vinegars to create a new salad dressing.

2. You see a box of mac and cheese and think endless possibilities.

3. You immediately write off citrus zesters as

one-trick ponies

4. That’s not leftover pasta — that’s a glorious pie waiting to happen.

5. You can spell sous vide and pronounce velouté.

6. You have a signature dish that doesn’t stress you out to make and gets you rave reviews.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

7. Your friends stop asking you to make reservations and start offering to pitch in to pay for ingredients.

8. Your kid stops eating store-bought muffins because, “they’re just not as squishy as yours.” (Thanks?)

9. Your family starts making Thanksgiving requests in July, and the list usually includes items that make turducken sound simple.

10. Your toaster oven has been used for waffles, day-old french fries, and gourmet fish dishes.

(Image credit: Andrea Monzo)

11. You turned a packet of ramen, some eggs, and an old bottle of Sriracha into a meal you served your significant other’s mom — and she liked it.

12. You are brave enough to break away from a recipe, and brave enough to follow one.

13. You can get at least a week’s use out of one roast chicken.

14. Your idea of a great sample sale is Sunday morning at Costco.

15. You like your own food. If you like it, congrats — you’re officially a good cook.