Do professional chefs use recipes? Follow a recipe or freestyle, do chefs, or for that matter, does anyone really use or follow recipes? These days many of us have trouble finding time for the simple things in life, let alone cooking. We quickly discover that cooking involves both technical and artistic aspects, and if nothing else, we can save time by following recipes.

Cooking techniques are as old a fire, so why reinvent the wheel? Following a recipe gives us a head start, learning from the mistakes of others. With experience, cooking becomes easier, and then with success, cooking becomes fun.

Let’s take a look at recipes; who uses them, why they are useful, and how we can use them.

Yes, professional chefs do use recipes!

For the professional it is the technical aspect that requires a recipe. Chefs will often consult recipes, especially for things like dressings or marinades that they will want to replicate exactly again and again.  So while most chefs do consult recipes they also have the experience and artistic creativity to create a dish on their own.

How can recipes help us?

1. Recipes give us a framework to start.
2. Following recipes teaches us different methods and techniques that we will use again.
3. With success we not only gain knowledge but the confidence to continue.

The Google as opposed to a cookbook. 

1. First, Google helps to narrow our search; a search example would be ¨vegan gluten free minestrone soup¨.
2. With our search we can select 4-5 recipes within minutes.
3. Comparing ingredients, we can easily change quantities, make substitutions or even delete ingredients depending on what we like and or what’s available.
4. Finally, study the recipes and the techniques used, baked vs. fried for example, and ask yourself “why is this one successful “, or ¨which method will work best for me¨?

The more we cook, the more we begin to understand techniques, and that is when our creativity can really be unleashed. You may, by following a recipe and free-styling a bit, create something truly amazing. Then what? Write it down and start a new recipe!

So you can see that whether you are new to the kitchen or an old pro, recipes are indispensable.

Taking it one step farther…

When you eat out, don’t be afraid to ask to talk with the chef, especially if you have special dietary needs. This then becomes an open door to learning, remember, opportunity does not knock, you create the opportunity.

The photo above is me in the kitchen at Alfredo di Roma in Mexico City with head Chef Mauro Chiecchio. I began by asking the chef about techniques on how to prepare eggplant parmigiana and we finished by discussing the intricacies of making gnocchi’s.