How to Teach Adults to Cook

Teach any adult how to cook, and make the process fun.

With fast-food restaurants everywhere and tons of frozen dinners that can be made by pressing a few microwave buttons, many adults go their entire lives without learning how to cook. Whether you are teaching a class full of adults to cook or working in a one-on-one teaching situation, there are simple tips to remember to make sure the experience is a success. Remember to always be encouraging and to stress that practice is the most important step for new cooks. Does this Spark an idea?

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Find a suitable location to teach. If you are working with an adult one-on-one, you can probably use your kitchen or his. If you are teaching a larger class, you will need to find a larger venue. Be sure the location you choose has the supplies you need, from burners to whisks and spoons. Bring any necessary additional items.
- 2
  
  Find simple recipes that will be easy for you to teach and for the adult to learn. Remember that one of the biggest complains of adults learning to cook is that it takes up too much time in their already busy schedules. Teach some quick, easy recipes to get the adults into the habit of cooking, and work on longer or more complex recipes as their skills increase.
- 3
  
  Inform the adults you are teaching about the correct equipment to purchase for when they begin cooking on their own at home after you are finished teaching them the basics. A quick lesson on good, durable pots, pans, knives and other kitchen essentials will prevent them from wasting money on subpar tools and will make the entire cooking process easier.
- 4
  
  Cook a sample of the finished product you will be teaching ahead of time so that in case something goes wrong on the day of your class, you can still show your students what the finished product should look like. Plan the lesson so that you make longer-cooking items first, then fill in the time those items are cooking by showing some shorter side dishes that can complement the main dish.
- 5
  
  Encourage the adults to bring in recipes of foods they like to future classes. When people are cooking things they enjoy, they are much more excited about the work that goes into the finished product.