The Real Reason Your Homemade Food Never Tastes As Good As a Restaurant’s (And What To Do About It)

OtherTips

Mar 29

There are two kinds of people: The ones who enjoy a great meal on a night out and are happy to walk away with only sweet memories, and the others (read: me), who leave the restaurant trying to work out what exactly made that cajun shrimp stand out — was it smoked paprika or regular?

For some darn reason, the food you cook at home just never seems to meet up to restaurant standards, no matter how well you followed the recipe (or think you did), and they’re a few reasons for that. It’s time to de-mystify this pain-in-the-bum problem!

You’re Cooking on Low Heat

Want to get that perfect char on your steak? Keep ending up with soggy veggies in your Thai fried rice? It’s time to turn up the heat or leave the kitchen (ghen ghen) 🔪 Not all your food needs to be cooked on high heat, but there are meals that certainly call for it (think browning, sautéing, evaporating liquid, etc.) to really get that release of flavour going.

You’re Using Dried Spices

Often, expired too. I’m judging myself right now because I have a jar of paprika in my kitchen cupboard I’ve been using since before my first child was born. A lot of people assume that all bottled spices are equal, but that’s far from the truth. Whenever you can and if you’re up for it, opt for fresh spices (that you can grind on the spot or in batches) and remember to toss anything that hasn’t been used in at least 2 years.

Your Food Needs More Butter, Hun

It’s just #facts 🤷🏾‍♀️ When you start cooking with butter, there’s no going back; it just makes everything richer. It also works so well in a ton of food — rice dishes, potatoes, stir fries, pasta, you-name-it. The reason you can’t crack that special sauce your favourite restaurant serves up is the chef uses generous amounts of butter in it. So try it too!

You’re Unprepared

It seems quite extra to have all your ingredients nicely measured out in bowls, ready for you to get cracking (when it’s not that you’re not trying to create premium content, you just want to make Jollof rice), but it’s often the difference between an amateur and professional cook. Having everything portioned and laid out means you don’t forget any ingredients and you’re more efficient, giving your food less room to go awry.

Why are You Refusing to Learn How to Use a Knife?

No, I don’t mean that haphazard chopping you’ve been doing, forming Instagram chef; I mean actually chopping everything into uniform pieces that cook through evenly and at the same time. How you chop your veggies, meat, etc. not only affects the texture of the meal, it affects presentation too. So put your best foot forward and learn a few basic skills, will ya?!