Curing Unadventurous Eater-ness

I have always been an unadventurous eater. I remember the days when the thought of a stir fry or an apple crumble scared me. On holiday in France, I refused to eat crêpes, wouldn't touch a mussel and would only order spaghetti bolognese to eat. Believe me, I was not an easy child to feed, growing up. My food horizons (what a lovely metaphor!) were limited. So... how did I change that to become the slightly more adventurous eater today?

Most people think the way to cure close minded eaters is to go out to restaurants and get them to order a not so 'safe' dish. Given the choice back then, I would not even consider anything that wasn't also featured on the children's menu. Trying new food at a restaurant never worked for me- there were always plainer alternatives for me to order instead. But if you take away the alternatives, you'd have no choice...

So how can we eliminate those 'safe' dishes from our plates? "È facile!", as the Italians would say. Cooking lessons. Yes that's right. And when I say cooking lessons, I don't mean a professional chef's course where you can earn your cordon bleu. I mean the simple, one day courses where you learn to cook using simple, fresh ingredients.

I remember my first cooking lesson, a school trip to a small farm with a lovely shop selling fresh produce and a wonderfully equipped cooking school. We were set the task of making lemon zested meatballs and pasta, with toffee apple crumble for dessert. It is hard to believe that I was skeptical at the time. The dishes I now love were once something I eyed with caution. After watching the demonstration and repeating the steps, we sat down at a table to try out our dishes. Faced with no other choice, I had to try it. And believe me, I'm glad I did. It is now a family favourite and, you could say, my signature dish.

But just keep in mind that the phrase 'cooking lessons' can cover all sorts of courses. Patisserie, Italian cuisine, Indian or bread making, every course will vary and make you step outside your culinary comfort zone.

So.. How well have these lessons effected me? Well, to put it simply, I'm better. I'll still never touch a salad (but it's tried and tested), but I've had zebra, x-rayed chicken (don't ask) and rice crispies from a wine glass with a fork (again, don't ask). Result!