KEEPING FOCUSED ON ONE STYLE AND MAKING THAT ROCK!

Here is what I would advise the beginning cook, the home cook that wants to get better, and that is to stick with one style of cooking, for example, if you love Japanese cooking, get better at Japanese cooking. Practice your technique, your deep frying, your poaching, roasting, sushi making. Learn the proper ingredients for each dish that you learn how to make. And it's okay to read cookbooks and figure out stuff, but there's no substitute for watching someone with years of Japanese cooking expertise.

Sometimes a home cook doesn't get better because he or she is lost in the mix of cooking, they're trying to cook Italian one day, and then Chinese or Mexican the next. I think if you and your family love a certain kind of food, that you learn to cook that style first. I'm not saying if you're learning Japanese foods, that that's all you are going to eat, of course not. Eat different things, it is just when you are in the kitchen, focus on one style and become proficient at it.

Cooking is an art, and Picasso didn't become great by trying all these different kinds of styles all at once, nor did BB King one of the greatest Blues guitarist of all time become great by playing jazz, or funk. He stuck with blues and became an icon. Look at all the celebrity chefs for instance, Bobby Flay is more of the American/Mexican style or Southwestern style. Lagassi was Cajun/Creole. Mario Batali is an Italina chef. Yes they can do other dishes, but these chefs and artists focused on one style and became great at it. Same for the beginning home cook, focus on one style first, get to know everything about that style and rock!

Anyone can read a cookbook and get away with a certain style, but when you learn to live and breath a certain style of cooking, it will show as the years go on. Here in Hawaii, I learned to do a lot of different styles, but really I am not a master of any really. I can do some Japanese, some Chinese etc. but not really focused on any one style because of our diverse culture, so even I should focus on getting one style down really well too.

But also, learning the proper way to stir-fry, to boil, or poach, or bake, or roast, or to grill is just as important. It's important to learn about different cuts of meats, from beef, pork, poultry, fish, seafoods even. And fruits and veggies, learn about different items. Learn about herbs, spices, oils, learn all you can and try to utilize it in your creating. Remember there are rules to follow to become an excellent home cook, follow recipes first before you start to tweak it. You can't tweak what you have no knowledge about. Remember too, that you are a constant practitioner of cooking, you will never be an expert on all foods and cooking styles.

Should you go to culinary school? Not really unless you want to make that a profession, but maybe cooking classes from volunteer groups is great. Sometimes your local diabetes group may have a cooking class on how to cook for diebetics, or a Chinese chef may hold a class for seniors, you never know if you don't inquire, there's always some interesting class being offered. Maybe dine somewhere you'd never go to, just to expose your knowledge and food experience. Never been to that funky bistro down the street? Try it out. Never had Thai food? Go and have a meal at a Thai dig, always learn, and keep an opened mind.

Enjoy life period.