Arts · Full roadmap · ~95 min read · 28 steps
🍳Cooking Skills and Techniques (Aotearoa NZ)
Cook real kai well from technique, not just recipes you copy
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Unit 1
Start here
Course overview
What separates a cook from a recipe-follower
Techniques transfer, recipes do not
Set up your kitchen and your tools
A few good tools beat a drawer of gadgets
How to hold a knife
The pinch grip gives you control
The claw, and keeping your fingers
Curl your guiding hand into a claw
Unit 2
The basic cuts
Even size means even cooking
Mise en place
Prep everything before the heat goes on
How heat moves into food
Conduction, convection, radiation
The Maillard reaction and caramelisation
Browning is flavour, and it needs real heat
Salt, the most important seasoning
Salt in layers and taste as you go
Unit 3
Salt, fat, acid, heat
Four elements you balance in every dish
Sautéing and searing
Hot, dry, and do not crowd the pan
Roasting, and a proper roast
Dry oven heat, all the way around
Braising, the forgiving method
Brown, then cook low and slow in liquid
Boiling, simmering, steaming, blanching, poaching
Water cooking is all about the temperature of the water
Unit 4
A quick note on the mother sauces
Five base sauces, endless variations
Building flavour, fond and deglazing
The brown bits in the pan are pure flavour
Herbs, spices, and umami
Timing decides whether seasoning lands
Cooking proteins and resting meat
Use a thermometer, then let it rest
Eggs, the skills test
Eggs reward low heat and attention
Unit 5
Stocks and a pan sauce
Simmer scraps into flavour, then turn drippings into sauce
NZ fish and shellfish done well
Match the method to the catch, and fish for the future
Vegetables done well, kūmara included
Match the method to the vegetable
Seasoning and adjusting at the end
The final taste decides the dish
Hāngī, umu, and cooking with respect
The earth oven is a technique with deep roots
Unit 6
Food safety, storage, and waste
The danger zone, clean habits, and using it all
A practice plan that builds real skill
Repeat the fundamentals, not random recipes
Where to go next
Where to go next