6 Lessons Learned (So Far) from Chef In Your Ear

Posted by Devon Scobble on November 25, 2015

Ask a humble teacher and they’ll say they learn more from their students than they teach. The same can be said for our Chef in Your Ear stars. No, they didn’t gain any new cooking skills from this show — they are masters, after all, and the contestants they worked with were genuinely clueless in the kitchen. But when we asked them to reflect on the first season, our chefs shared the insights they learned, including which qualities it takes to be a good contestant — and become a good home cook.

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A Good Cook Needs Good Hands

One of the things that surprised Rob Rossi is how varied Chef in Your Ear contestants were in terms of their basic motor skills. His assessment is good news for those would-be cooks who happen to be handy. “Some people are just better with their hands, and not just necessarily with food,” he says. “Those that have a little bit more skill set with their hands tend to do better.”
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A Good Cook Starts Out Humble

“If someone is too opinionated or thinks too highly of themselves or thinks they know what they’re doing or doesn’t relinquish all their control, then that makes life more difficult,” says Jordan Andino. Letting go of ego and truly listening is key to learning.
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A Good Cook Has Passion

“The more willing somebody is to learn, the easier it is,” says Devin Connell, “because they’re more responsive and they’re enthusiastic about learning.” Being a foodie helps, too. “It’s harder when you have someone who doesn’t have any passion or love of food,” she says.
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A Good Cook is a Good Learner

“The better traits to have are patience, organization, an aptitude for learning and for listening,” says Chef in Your Ear host Greg Komorowski. “That’s been hard to come by. The actual skill of cooking — I wouldn’t say that’s the easy part, but that’s walking through steps. You know, following a recipe. Being able to absorb the information coming at you is a whole other issue.”
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A Good Cook Can Start Anywhere

“Every time I come up at the end with a finished dish, I am honestly surprised that we were able to produce that,” admits Craig Harding. “Totally surprised and really impressed with the quality of it. So you know, it’s just an interesting one-hour evolution.”
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A Good Cook has Got It, Even if They Don’t Know it Yet

“What surprised me the most about the skill level of these cooks is that there’s this innate sort of intuitiveness with most people,” says Devin Connell. “Whether they know how to cook or not, that’s just common sense. You know how to hold a knife so it doesn’t chop all your fingers off. You smell something burning and you can react to that. So I’ve been impressed how innate some things have come to people.” Devon Scoble is a Toronto writer and food lover who specializes in approachable home cooking. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/devonscoble" target="_blank">@devonscoble</a>.
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