How to Make Cooking a Hobby, Not a Chore

Cooking isn’t for everyone. Some people find it stressful, messy, or confusing. But there could be ways to minimize those negative feelings about cooking. Make cooking fun or engaging by following these simple steps.

Make a meal for someone else.

Cooking for yourself can lead to a boring outcome or lower standards, so cook to impress someone. This could lead to trying new things and experimenting with flavours and presentation, focusing on things that otherwise wouldn’t be focused on, and you can have a sense of pride once the meal is done. Then you also get the extra special compliments after the first bite is taken which makes the entire process worth it.

Listen to something while cooking.

Turn on the radio, ask Google or Alexa to play your music playlist, or put on your favourite podcast. This will help you stay in the zone and focus on the parts that need focusing. It also creates a positive and fun environment in the kitchen that silence often doesn’t help with.

Use your favourite products.

There might be cookware that you were gifted a while back that reminds you of the person that gave it to you. Maybe you love cooking with onions because crying for no reason can be funny. Whatever it is that you love to use, use it. It can make a world of difference while doing a task that you don’t necessarily want to do.

Join a cooking class.

Whether it’s in-person or online, expensive or free, do something that can help you learn new exciting skills in the kitchen. Whatever you take out of the class, execute in your own kitchen. Do you know a cool new knife technique that makes chopping vegetables much easier? Make a dish that includes a bunch of vegetables and use that technique. Maybe you learned a new recipe that is easy and simple but not super well known. Make that dish and add your own little flair to it.

Cook with your favourite people.

Have your significant other, your children, your family or your friends join you in the kitchen and create new memories together. Teach them new things and learn new things from them. Be playful, be messy, and enjoy the moment while cooking. Then enjoy the outcome by sitting down for a meal all together.

Share your creation.

Whether you want to post photos of your meal on Instagram or share your recipe on your favourite food blog, share your creation with people that may enjoy it. Sharing it can bring a lot more positive feedback than you may think. Maybe it looks like a masterpiece with beautiful garnishing. Maybe someone recreated it and thoroughly enjoyed it. Having someone tell you something nice about your creation can easily put a big smile on your face.