Many people think that cooking intuition is something you’re either born with or not. “In truth, intuition [or the] unconscious is developed through rigorous training.” Experience can pile up into an undifferentiated mass if learning is random or rushed. Structured practice, by contrast, forms patterns that the mind can perceive and then reuse; these are the bedrock of intuitive decision making.
Structured practice shifts the focus from outcomes to specific behaviors. Instead of just trying to put up a dish, you see how the ingredients react at each juncture. By doing this deliberately, you train your senses to connect activities and their outcomes. In time you learn to feel for changes as they’re about to happen, a skill often called cooking by sense.
This method is also more efficient for learning. So by using methods in a controlled manner you get rid of all the unnecessary variables. Each session has a focus, which means you can more easily see what worked and what didn’t. This clarity speeds up learning and saves you from feeling like you are starting from scratch every time you cook something different.
Decisions come faster, and with greater confidence, the more experience you have. No longer do you have to stop and think about every step; your past perceptions lead the way for you instinctively. Timing, heat changes and balancing a dish all start to feel intuitive. This is not intuition, but applied knowledge lurking behind.
In the end, deliberate practice turns cooking into a fluid skill rather than a series of conscious acts. The kitchen becomes a comfortable space where things have roots and purpose. It is something that used to take a lot of intention begins to happen with ease, so creativity and joy are in the driver’s seat.”
