14/05/2026
12 cooking truths I’ve learnt in the kitchen that every cook needs to hear 🍲
Cooking is not just about throwing ingredients into a pot and hoping the ancestors take control.
There’s actually a process to making food taste amazing consistently.
Here are some things I’ve learnt over time that changed my cooking game completely:
1. Mise en place is your best friend.
This simply means prepping all your ingredients before cooking.
Please don’t be that person blending pepper while onions are already burning on fire 😂
Wash, chop, season, arrange everything first. Cooking becomes smoother, faster and honestly less stressful.
2. Clean as you cook.
A good cook knows this is serious business.
If you leave all the plates, pots, spoons and blender cups till after cooking, you may end up eating your food angry 😂
There’s a special kind of heartbreak that comes from seeing a mountain of dirty dishes after enjoying your meal.
3. Curry and thyme have no business in some local dishes.
Especially soups.
Please I’m begging respectfully 😂
Not every soup needs curry and thyme. Some native dishes shine better with local ingredients and natural flavors.
Even the proteins don’t always need them.
4. Less is more.
You don’t need every seasoning cube in your kitchen inside one pot.
Sometimes people add curry, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, garlic, ginger, suya spice, jollof spice, coconut flavor and probably Holy Ghost fire 😂
And the food becomes confused.
Learn balance.
Know what works for each dish.
5. Not every new dish will come out perfect the first time.
And that’s okay.
Sometimes the food will humble you.
You’ll follow the recipe carefully and still end up looking at the pot in disappointment 😭😂
It doesn’t make you a bad cook.
It means you’re learning.
6. You don’t have to copy every recipe online.
Social media can pressure somebody ehn.
Today one person says fry the rice first.
Tomorrow another says steam the onions separately.
Next tomorrow somebody is cooking jollof rice with coconut water and positive affirmations 😂
If your method works well for you, stick to it.
It’s okay to have your own style.
7. Set the mood before cooking.
Cooking becomes sweeter when your environment feels good.
Personally, I love playing cool music before I start.
Some days it’s soft music.
Some days it’s worship songs.
Some days na survival mode 😭😂
But honestly, creating a calm atmosphere makes cooking more enjoyable.
8. Taste your food as you cook.
Please this is very important.
Do not wait until the food is fully done before tasting it.
Taste from the base.
Adjust as you go.
Because salt has embarrassed many people publicly 😭😂
9. Cooking needs patience.
Good food takes time.
Apart from stir fries and a few quick meals, most dishes cook better slowly on low-medium heat.
Rushing food is how stew starts tasting like anxiety.
10. Document your cooking process.
Take pictures.
Record clips.
Capture the moments.
Apart from content creation, it also helps you track your progress and growth over time.
And one day you’ll look back and say:
“Wow… so THIS was how my plating looked before?”
11. Practice kitchen discipline.
If you cannot resist eating all the fried plantain and chicken before serving, my dear… there is work to do 😭😂
Some people finish half the meat before the food is ready and start acting shocked when the pot looks empty.
Control yourself small.
12. Plating matters A LOT.
The eyes eat before the mouth.
Two people can cook the exact same meal, but presentation will make one look like a chef and the other look like “manage it like that”
Be intentional with your plating.
Play with colors, arrangement and neatness.
Food tastes even better when it looks beautiful.
At the end of the day, cooking is an art.
The more you learn, practice and enjoy the process, the better you become.
And trust me, every great cook has had at least one disastrous meal they’ll never forget 😂🍲
Which of these points do you relate to the most?
Or what cooking lesson did life teach you personally?
