30 Cooking Tips These People Refuse To Follow

"I have come across a number of instances of misinformation around cooking in the media in the past," Kacie Morgan told Bored Panda.

"Personally, I believe one of the issues that have caused this to spiral is the increasing prevalence of social media influencers claiming to be 'experts' in food or cooking, despite not having any real experience in the food and drink industry. While this certainly isn't true of all content creators and I don't wish to tarnish all of my peers with the same brush by any means, as an experienced food writer with over 11 years of experience in my field, I often pick up on flaws or inaccuracies in some of the claims made by others within my niche."

"Furthermore, misinformation around cooking in the media can also be linked to cultural appropriation, in the sense that an authentic dish from a given culture could lose its true essence or authenticity when prepared by a chef or cook from a different culture, who may not be aware of the traditional ingredients and cooking methods required to recreate the original dish," Morgan explained.

If you want to see this phenomenon in action, just open this YouTube video where master Italian chefs react to popular internet personalities and publishers making spaghetti carbonara. You'll immediately realize that buzzwords such as "classic" are often thrown around just to entice clicks. Viral videos produced by charismatic hosts can definitely inspire someone to cook, but they can also, for better or worse, make people form unrealistic opinions about dishes from all over the world.

"It's interesting to hear that Jamie Oliver has recently appointed cultural appropriation specialists to advise him on his new cookbooks," Kacie Morgan continued. "Only four years or so ago (back in 2018), I was completely astounded (as someone who has spent a few months living in Jamaica and exploring the local culinary scene) to hear about the launch of his microwaveable 'jerk rice'. In actual fact, this 'jerk rice' bore very little to no resemblance whatsoever to the concept of jerk. In fact, according to this BBC article, it didn't even contain any of the ingredients found in authentic Jamaican jerk marinade."

By the way, Oliver appears in the aforementioned YouTube video as well. I'm not saying he's a lousy cook. I just want to illustrate that those with multi-million followings are making mistakes too.

"If you want to take your home cooking to your next level — while also ensuring that the medium you're learning from is both trustworthy and authentic — I recommend reading reputable, specialist cookbooks and/or niche blogs focusing on the cuisine you're looking to cook and following trusted, experienced food and drink bloggers, as opposed to the latest trending Instagram or TikTok influencers, who are often not the people who are really 'in the know' when it comes to food preparation," Kacie Morgan said.

"This isn't to say that you can't find trusted information around food or cooking on these platforms, but only too often, the information I come across on these channels is incorrect, poorly researched and published by people who lack any genuine credibility or expertise in what they say they do."

"If you're keen to improve your cooking skills, you could also consider enrolling in cookery classes, whether online or in person, ideally held by an experienced chef or cook within the cuisine you're looking to specialize in," the foodie added.

One of the joys of cooking is the thrill of eating dishes you created. But serving food to others and watching a smile take over their face feels just as (if not more) gratifying. The ability to prepare a tasty meal can take time to master but it's well worth the effort on so many levels. Setbacks are natural, but if you focus on the process, the results will eventually come. And hey, you're going through this post, so you're already on the right track!