Reward the Try
A case for real food writing for home cooks
I like to cook and I like to ride horses. Something I have learned from great horse people is the concept of “rewarding the try.” Horses can’t always do what you want them to do the first time. Sometimes they don’t know what you are asking. Maybe it’s because they are young and inexperienced, or because of physical or emotional limitations. If they try to do what you ask, that is often enough success for one day.
Horsemanship is not about winning at horse shows but getting to know our horses, encouraging them to learn, trying to improve on what we have, and finding success in incremental steps. We are always supposed to reward the try.
What I am describing is commonly called the “growth mindset.” Why don’t shouldn’t we apply this to all things we love doing?
The demise of home cooking is of course due to the rise of cheap convenience food and long work hours, though I can’t help but think it is also due to the overwhelming media presence of chefs, food influencers, and bloggers who make home cooks feel inadequate.
I spend a lot of time looking up recipes and reading about cooking on social media, and the content is all about the finished product. I am always amazed by the polished photography and professional level of baking I see on “cooking community” social media ostensibly about home cooking.
If we only see stunning photos of glistening cakes or twirly pasta, can we ever understand how to cook things and problem-solve in the kitchen? It’s discouraging for novice cooks to try when their results will never be camera ready.
Can we reward the try in home cooking? Why can’t we embrace the imperfect, the good enough, and enjoy the process of discovery? I would love to read about kitchen disasters and the lessons they taught. Maybe blogs or Instagram chefs can look in the fridge, see what’s there, and improvise. Maybe they can try a new recipe from an unfamiliar cuisine they have not yet mastered, knowing it may not be perfect, or taste “authentic.” It would encourage amateur cooks to do the same. We could reward ourselves for learning some new skills, even if we never become master chefs.
My own blog is about daily cooking with what’s in the cupboard. No recipes involving standing mixers with dough hooks. No recipes that begin with “ask your butcher.” No blow torches (although I would dearly love to own a blow torch!). I try to stick to regular ingredients, cooking them in different ways. Going forward, I want to reward myself for the try, and focus more on the process of cooking, not just the end result.
What I love about cooking is that a recipe is never exactly the same on any given night, but if you make it again and again, it tastes better and better. If you ever cook at home, even some of the time, it’s pretty easy to log those mythical 10,000 hours. And the result doesn’t have to be perfect, just more interesting, or different than before. If we reward ourselves for it, home cooks might just try.
