Cooking can be intimidating. The process of shopping, prepping, cooking and, ultimately, tasting the fruits of your labor taps into a side of the brain that not many people can or want to explore.
But not even the pros get it right all the time, as the kitchen provides a safe space to experiment, fail and — best of all — learn so that desired outcomes can be improved upon and new recipes can be added to the ever-growing arsenal.
That said, it certainly helps to identify some of the most common cooking mistakes prior to heating up the oven or firing up the grill to avoid basic snafus and focus solely on developing the mouth-watering flavors and textures of each dish.
We chatted with a handful of top chefs from around the world for their expert takes on what to look out for, what to master and what you can do to enhance your culinary education at home.
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The biggest mistakes that amateur cooks make
Culinary instructor Stephen Chavez suggests doing as much prep, measuring, and recipe reading as possible before starting a new recipe.
We are often guilty of placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves in the kitchen, attempting to model a meal after memorable Michelin-star dining experiences. And while it’s admirable to aim high, it’s also important to be realistic about the years of training that go into perfecting award-winning cuisine.
Stephen Chavez, senior chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education’s Los Angeles campus, is no stranger to educating and working with amateur chefs. Though he’s practically seen it all, these are the biggest cooking mistakes he comes across most often:
1. Starting a recipe unprepared
“This can be conceptualizing what you’re going to cook, whether the flavor profile, cooking technique, or formality of the meal, or by making sure that proper ‘mise en place’ has been done,” he says. “‘Mise en place’ is a French term that means ‘everything in its place.’ This means all ingredients and equipment are prepared and ready prior to cooking, and that all the ingredients and equipment are clearly accessible and ready to be used. Being prepared will enable you to serve food at its best quality of texture, temperature and flavor.”
For the perfect chop, see our list of the best chef’s knives in 2025.
2. Not measuring and scaling dishes or learning how to use a scale
“Why does restaurant food always taste better?” he asks. “Mainly because everything is prepared in the proper proportion every time. We do not use a little of this and a little of that. We know exactly what ingredients we are using, and in the proper proportion, in order to make a dish its best.”
Here are the best kitchen scales, as tested by CNET.
Prepping ingredients the right way allows you to breeze through a recipe.
3. Not learning basic cooking techniques
These include actions such as braising, sautéing, frying, grilling and roasting. “Once you learn each cooking technique and which items are best suited for each, you can apply that technique to whatever food you want,” he explains. “For example, if you want to grill in the summer, medium cuts of meat and vegetables are best suited for the grill, whereas small cuts are best suited for sauté, tough cuts are best suited for braise, and large cuts are best suited for roast.”
4. Ignoring their instincts
Derek Simcik, executive chef of Four Seasons Hotel Nashville, echoes these sentiments but adds that too many amateur chefs simply aren’t trusting themselves or the process. “Cooking should be intuitive. If something tastes under-seasoned or feels like it needs more of an ingredient, trust your instincts; your gut is usually right,” he says.
Professional chefs make mistakes, too
Professional cooks have their own pitfalls to avoid.
Even the most world-renowned chefs can make mistakes. The art and profession of cooking is an ongoing education and evolution to keep up with worldwide trends, techniques and emerging ingredients.
Roshan Gunarathna, executive chef of luxury Maldives-based Sun Siyam resorts, blames overconfidence and egos for lackluster food.
“Some chefs rely too much on their past success,” he says. “They skip critical steps, stop tasting dishes, ignore feedback and assume everything will turn out fine just because it has before.”
This causes these chefs to also neglect opportunities for growth. “Once they master their technique and style, some chefs stop learning. If you don’t stay updated, your food becomes dated and disconnected from what guests want today,” he adds.
Petar Obad, executive chef of Dubrovnik’s gastro-forward Hotel Excelsior, agrees, noting that chefs who gain fame and fortune often slap their names on a project and step away from daily service. “Staying hands-on is key to keeping standards high and staying connected to the team and the food,” he says, adding that it’s also important for professional chefs to surround themselves with “better, younger talent” to keep a pulse on current food movements and provide different perspectives.
“Great chefs build strong teams. If you’re not hiring people who challenge and push you, your kitchen won’t evolve,” he stresses.
How to expand your cooking skills
Cookbooks aren’t just for gathering new recipes. Many also school the reader on cooking techniques and how to best use certain ingredients.
There are plenty of resources available to amateur cooks when it comes to enhancing their skills and expanding their weekly menus. Cookbooks tend to dominate this list, with detailed tips and tricks scattered among fleshed-out recipes with accompanying imagery.
But with society’s newfound dependence (and, frankly, addiction) to social media and technology, there are other avenues to consider when it comes to attaining knowledge.
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As a professional food educator, Chavez unsurprisingly promotes classes to find “new ways to make food interesting and fun.” He is also a big fan of TV shows like PBS’s America’s Test Kitchen and Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Magazine.
“The recipes and techniques are always tested and actually work,” he says. “There is nothing more frustrating than finding a recipe that looks good on a show, in print or on the internet, only to find that it doesn’t come out at all like the picture looks.”
“They also include equipment, product, and cooking technique suggestions, as well, and have books and magazines associated with their programs.”
Chavez suggests perusing cookbooks and magazines like Milk Street to beef up your skills.
Apps like YouTube and TikTok can also be great resources. “Just make sure that the creator is credible and remember that quick videos often leave out steps to show you the perfect ‘after,’ which may not actually be the case when you make that item,” he reminds.
Lastly, it’s also important to travel and gain inspiration from around the world. Kenneth Tufo, executive chef of The Urban StillHouse by Horse Soldier in St. Petersburg, Fla., notes that most of us may be accustomed to American fare, which encompasses influences from many parts of the globe.
“Finding unique spices and foods from other cultures [via travel] is a great way to expand knowledge,” he recommends. This will also give most travelers an appreciation of where certain familiar flavors originated and why.
Dishes and cooking techniques worth mastering
Mastering a few cooking fundamentals and recipes can make anyone feel like a pro in practically no time at all.
Roasting a chicken to proper doneness without overcooking is a skill that transfers to other dishes.
David Koehn, executive chef of Chicago’s famed Mon Ami Gabi, is an expert in French cooking, which is considered the foundation of modern gastronomy. His top three tips include:
- Learn how to make a good chicken or beef stock. “And, from there, a reduction sauce, a velouté, a great soup or a braise. It all starts with stock: That’s the workhorse behind a French kitchen. I still get a tremendous amount of joy from stock-making, which, in theory, is very simple, but it makes a huge difference in the final outcome of a lot of French dishes.”
- Learn how to brine, truss, and roast a whole chicken. “It’s economical, you can feed four to six adults with it (and some sides), and it hits all of the things we love about French food: ‘simple’ luxury, a gesture of generosity, nostalgia and, when it’s done correctly, is really, really delicious.”
- Learn how to blanch and roast vegetables correctly. “A properly blanched green bean, or a properly roasted pearl onion says a lot more about someone’s ability to cook than putting a dollop of caviar on something. Good vegetable cooking is my new ‘caviar,’ and it’s a lot more rare.”
Additionally, Nashville’s Simcik, whose Mediterranean-inspired cuisine can be found on his Riviére Rooftop menu, suggests practicing knife skills and mastering a simple egg omelet, arguing that the latter is a gateway dish to learning how to avoid overcooking and burning edges.
Don’t forget to take a breath
There’s no reason cooking shouldn’t be enjoyable. If a recipe has you confused or flustered, it might be too advanced for your current kitchen skills.
The next time you want to throw spaghetti against a wall out of sheer frustration (and not to see if it sticks), remember that cooking is a skill that develops with time and patience. While anyone can conquer the aforementioned basics (which you should as a human who must eat to survive) and venture beyond the microwave, it’s equally important to enjoy the journey and everything you will learn along the way. After all, nothing tastes more delicious than sweet success.
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