Why Is It Better To Attend A New Orleans Cooking School?

People often question the practicality of going to a New Orleans cooking school when there are plenty of Cajun and Creole cook books that can be bought or accessed for free. A lot of home cooks today actually find it more convenient to just reserve enrollment fees for ingredients and pick up recipes from less costly resources. True, learning on your own does provide a number of advantages, including flexible schedules and freedom for experimentation. But there are certain perks to classroom education that are not available through mainstream literature.

For one, classroom cooking orientations give you baseline knowledge on the skill you want to acquire and perfect. Yes, you can read up on all of it online or through books. But there are always follow up questions and clarifications that cant be addressed by these mediums. Moreover, sometimes techniques are applied a little differently by certain chefs to acquire specific results. And this may not necessarily be explored by written resources. Obviously, its one thing to be told to deep fry chicken or vegetables and another to actually see the way they are introduced into the pan, the way they are treated inside and how they should look like after.

Second, attending a New Orleans cooking school should also give you means to practice the skills you want to learn without limitations or excuses. There are times when learning at home becomes impossible because of the lack of equipment or supplies; or the fact that the environment is not conducive for exercise. In school, you get assured access to everything you need. And you dont have to worry about attending to distractions for an hour or two. In addition, the school set up should also give you more motivation to practice because there is nothing else you can do there but learn, unlike at home where you might feel obliged to work or clean up, or perhaps even tempted to relax.

Third, a cooking school set up should also make the learning process more interactive and enjoyable. Theres nothing to look forward to when you are just on your own, in your kitchen, reading a book. That dynamic sucks the life out of cookery, which is meant to be a social activity. Besides, what can be more motivating than the thought of competition? If you do not have a standard to live up to, not just in aesthetics but in taste and aroma, then you cant improve.

Finally, being in a New Orleans cooking school should also help you get in touch with the spirit of Cajun and Creole cuisines better. And it should solidify a well-rounded understanding of the cooking process involved. As we all know, food quality is not only defined by the ingredients used but also by the preparation and the experience put into them. The two latter arent something you can acquire by simply picking out recipes from life-less, untried page. There is an identity and a feel to human instruction that helps mold people into the type of culinary experts they need to be. And this is only accessible through a lecture setting.