The mannerism with which you ask somebody about their cooking skills may come off as rude. You can however avoid this by delivering your inquiry in a way that eliminates every iota of impoliteness and disrespect.
If you are wondering how you can ask somebody about their cooking skills without making them feel like you are discourteous, this article is a compilation of 20 ways you can do so.
On A Scale Of 1-10, How Good Are Your Cooking Skills?
Nobody would see this as a rude statement. They will just think that it’s a casual question that attempts to know their ability in cooking. This is one of the best ways to start the conversation.
If You Had To Impress By Cooking Something, What Would It Be?
You could be talking to someone and just chip in this question to find out if they can cook very well. You can easily tell how good a person is at cooking when they tell you what they’d cook if they had to impress somebody.
If they mention something easy, you can place their cooking ability at average or near average. When they say something that you feel is difficult for an average chef to prepare then you can consider them to be very good.
I Really Suck At Cooking. I Guess You Are Better. Are You?
People want to feel like they are better than others. When you tell someone that you suck at something but believe they’d be better at it, if they really are they will fall for the bait. So, asking them if they are better at cooking after telling them that you suck can be a great way to find out how good they are.
Everyone Was Singing Your Praises. Are You That Good In The Kitchen?
If you’ve gotten a lot of comments about the person’s cooking abilities, you can use that as a way to find out for yourself if they are as good as everybody says they are. Sometimes, they may want to be modest but it is good to let them know that you don’t mind them blowing their trumpet a little bit.
You Came Highly Recommended. Are You Confident In Your Abilities?
Suppose you get somebody to cook for you because someone else recommended them and you are trying to find out if they are good enough, you can ask them how confident they are in their abilities. Every chef is going to have a level of belief in themselves and their cooking prowess. So, they should be willing to let you in on how confident they are when they cook.
What Are Some Of Your Favorite Dishes To Prepare? Or Let Me Say What Are The Best Meals You Prepare?
You can discern how good a person is when it comes to cooking by the kind of dishes they’d like to prepare. Asking them what their best meals to prepare are or what their favorite dishes to prepare are can give you an insight into this cup of ability. I am not a very good chef so I stick to rather easy meals if I need to cook. Someone better at cooking may mention some elaborate and demanding recipes.
What Would You Use To Replace Beef In The Meal Of A Vegan?
Another way you can verify someone’s cooking ability is to ask them what they will use to replace beef in the meal of a vegan. This question or approach may not be suited for somebody who is just a normal person who likes to cook. You should use this when you are trying to find out if an actual chef knows how to cook. You can also play around with other dietary options like asking them what they would use instead of milk for someone who is lactose intolerant etc
Would You Consider Yourself A Cook Or Chef?
Now when you are talking to a random person, you can ask them what they consider themselves to be – either a cook or a chef. The goal is to just find out what they think of themselves. Somebody who is a professional at their job would be able to tell you exactly what they are and why. If they are unable to tell you, you could probably see it as them being normal people who can cook rather than just professionals. Hence, this approach is best suited for someone who takes cooking as more than just a hobby.
Not To Pressure You, But This Meal Has To Be Gordon Ramsey-Standard. I Was Joking. Don’t Sweat, But Tell Me, How Good Are Your Cooking Skills?
If you need them to cook, you can use this statement to vet their skills. Make them understand that the food has to be exceptional but sound like it’s a joke. Telling them that you need the food to be like Gordon Ramsey’s standard can put them immediately under pressure. Adding some humor could ease the pressure and you can follow up with a question about how good they think they are.
Do You Think You Can Pull This Off Seeing The Many Recipes You Have To Get Ready?
Showing a bit of concern about the cooking task can be a good way to find out how good the person is. If you think that the cooking is going to be demanding, you can use this to find out what they think about it. A good chef will admit to the rigorous nature of what they are about to cook but will wave it as not being a big deal.
Just Curious, You Know. How Frequently Do You Cook?
If practice makes perfect, you can bank on the fact that a good cook is someone who cooks all the time. For instance, I can’t claim to know how to cook because it’s been nearly 5 years since I cooked. Hence, asking anyone about how frequently they cook can give you an insight into how good they are at cooking.
What Kind Of Dishes Are You Comfortably Cooking? Have You Tried Cooking (Mention A Rare Dish)
If you know a thing or two about dishes that can be complicated to cook, you can use that to find out how good a person is. By asking them what kind of dishes they are comfortable with cooking and observing the kind of dishes they mention, you can categorize them into a skill level. If they didn’t mention any dish you are familiar with, you can ask them, “Have you tried cooking (name of the dish) before?”
What’s The Worst Mistake You’ve Made As A Chef? How Did You Correct It?
Someone who cooks frequently will definitely know how to fix certain mistakes. Through their practice, they must have experienced some bizarre dilemmas. By asking them what their worst mistake is you can see through that to decide how good they are. The more rare and wild their mistakes are and how they manage them, the higher you can assume their skill level would be.
What Do You Think Makes A Great Chef? Culinary Expertise Or Tools? Why Do You Think So?
By asking them what they think makes a great chef and giving them two options: culinary expertise or tools, you can determine how good they are. Tools are not what makes a great chef but expertise. So, if they go with tools you already know that they are at best decent chefs. Even if they go for culinary expertise you should ask them why to be sure that they are not just second-guessing.
Tell Me About A Time Everyone Was Surprised By How Well You Cooked
They must have had magic moments in their cooking adventure and asking about it is another way to verify the level of their skill. “Tell me about the time everyone was surprised by how well you cooked” is a subtle way to find out if they have had any brilliant moments cooking and if they struggle to pick out an event because of the many times they’ve wowed people by the cooking abilities, you are you can be confident that they are really good at what they do.
I Don’t Like Cooking As Much As I Like Eating. Are You Like Me?
Another way you can verify the skill level of a person when it comes to cooking is to find out whether they like cooking. You could say “I don’t like cooking as much as I like eating. I hope you are nothing like me?” They may decide to stick with you to say they also love eating rather than cooking but anyone who is really a good chef will tell you that they’ve got no problem with cooking.
If You Had Time, Money, And Everything You Need Would You Rather Cook At Home Or Eat Out?
This statement is another way to find out whether a person can cook or not. Someone who can cook very well would always love to prepare their meals. So, if they had time, money, and everything they needed they would probably stick with cooking at home. However, do not rule out their choice of eating out to mean they are not good at cooking. You may want to find out why by asking them if their choice of eating outside is because they cannot cook that well.
How Would You Fix It If You Added Too Much Salt To Your Food?
This has to be the biggest cooking question of all time – how to remove excess salt from food. If they cooked often they would have made the mistake of adding too much salt into their food and would have gained experience in reducing salt from food. So asking them this question can also be an eye-opener to help you determine the level of their cooking ability.
To Save Cooking Time, Do You Read The Whole Recipe Or Read As You Go?
This is a trick question and many people would fall for the trick. You could ask them if they were constrained for time and needed to cook quickly, would they rather study the entire recipe or read as they go? The truth is, it is better to study an entire recipe before attempting to cook, but trying to save time may make somebody who is not a good cook jump into cooking because they don’t have time on their side.
What’s The Best Cooking Tip You Can Give To A Newbie Chef From Your Experience?
Well, asking them what the best tip from their experience is, emphasis on their experience is going to help you figure out whether they are very good at cooking or not. You can analyze the strength of the cooking ability from the tips they provide. If they can back up their tip with an explanation of an exact experience that they’ve had, you can assume they are good.
Final Thoughts
You may unintentionally sound rude when you’re trying to ask somebody if they can cook or not. To avoid this problem, I ensured that every suggestion in this article deflects from trying to undermine a person’s cooking ability. You can choose from any of the discussed points and use them to ask someone about their cooking skills without sounding impolite.
