Even Chefs Forget the Basics
There are things I know. Really know.
Things I learned in culinary school, used in restaurants, and have even explained to other people.
And somehow, I still have to relearn them.
Sweating Onions the Wrong Way
Take sweating onions.
Not sautéing. Sweating.
Low heat. No color. Just enough time to let them soften and give up their flavor without turning into something else.
Every time I see it in a recipe, I think, yes, of course.
And then what do I do?
I turn the burner up too high.
Every time.
A Vinaigrette Gone Wrong
It is not just onions.
I was making a vinaigrette at home, and I already knew what I was supposed to do. Oil slowly. Keep whisking. Let it come together the way it is supposed to.
I thought I had it.
Then I looked down after whisking and knew something was off. I picked the bowl up again and whisked faster, like that was somehow going to fix what I had already done. I set it down, came back, and there it was, broken again.
I knew exactly why.
I had poured too fast. I got comfortable. I acted like I could force it.
In the end I fixed it with a little Dijon, which helped the suspension hold a little longer.
It was fine. But that was not really the point.
The point was that I knew better before I ever picked up the oil.
That is the part that gets me.
Not that I made the mistake.
That I made one I already understood.
When Baking Bites Back
Baking is worse.
Savory cooking will forgive you now and then. Baking usually will not.
I know that. I have always known that.
And still, there I was making coconut cakes, shaking the baking soda straight over the bowl instead of into my hand first.
Then I saw it happen.
Something heavier than a teaspoon dropped into the batter.
You know that moment.
That slow second where you see the mistake clearly and already know you are about to pay for it.
I had to scoop it back out with a spoon and start again.
At that point, the whole thing feels ridiculous because the rule is so basic. And still, there you are, relearning it like it is new.
What Those Mistakes Remind Me
The humbling part is that these are not advanced lessons.
This is not some elaborate technique or restaurant trick.
It is the basics.
The things you think you have moved past.
Maybe that is why they still get you.
Once you have cooked for a long time, instinct starts to feel like enough.
A lot of the time it is. Until it is not.
And that is usually when the basics step back in and remind you they were never beneath you.
They were holding the whole thing up.
Knowing Better Is Not the Same as Doing Better
I still mess things up.
Not because I do not care.
Because I get comfortable. Or distracted. Or sure I can get away with it this time.
Sometimes that confidence helps.
Sometimes it breaks the vinaigrette.
I used to think the humbling part of cooking was not knowing.
Now I think it is knowing exactly what to do and still catching yourself a second too late.
Maybe that is what the basics are for.
Not just to teach you once.
To keep you honest.
Chef Alexis Hernandez writes The Other Side of the Stove. His work has also appeared in News of Sun City Center and South County, and he has appeared on Food Network Star and Cutthroat Kitchen.
