12 Things That Should Be Included In A How To Prepare And Cook Video Course

Learning how to prepare and cook can be quite an onerous task. Where do you find information on the ingredients required, how to prepare them, what to cook and how to cook?

There are many ways to learn such as reading cookery books, enrolling on a cookery course or working as an apprentice chef.

Cookery books mainly contain recipes and do not go into detail of how to prepare and cook. Enrolling on a cookery course can be expensive, requires commitment and travel. Working as an apprentice chef can be a bit drastic, unless the end result is to work in the catering world.

One of the best methods is to use is a well-structured video course. The trouble with the majority of video courses is that they are not well-structured; they do not start with the basics and progress to the more advanced subjects.

There are 12 things that you should expect from a how to prepare and cook video course.

1. Knife skills

One of the most important areas to master before progressing to following recipes and cookery is the correct use of knives. There are several health and safety aspects to consider before handling knives. When carrying knives, they must be pointing downwards towards the floor. Always ensure a knife is sharp. If a knife is blunt, it requires more pressure to cut items, which could results in an accident. When passing a knife to another person, hold the knife by the metal ridge opposite the blade and offer the handle to the person. Never catch a falling knife is also worth remembering. Knowing how to sharpen knives is important as is understanding that there are different knives for different tasks, for example, peeling, chopping, slicing, boning and dicing.

2. Food safety

Food poisoning is a major problem if ingredients are not handled carefully. One of the biggest causes of food poisoning is the incorrect handling of raw meat. All raw meat, especially poultry, contains pathogens, bacteria that cause illness and can kill. If raw meat is handled, hands must be washed vigorously with soap and water. If knives are used to cut raw meat, they must be cleaned with a detergent and disinfected with boiling water. If a knife is used to prepare raw poultry and subsequently used to cut sandwiches, for example, without being cleaned and disinfected, then cross-contamination and food poisoning will result.

3. Kitchen equipment

After knife skills, other types of kitchen equipment must be introduced and demonstrated. Various implements used in how to prepare and cook include: oyster openers, garnishing tools, olive-stoners, tenderising mallets, melon-ballers, sieves and ladles, pineapple and apple corers, mandolins, zesters, potato ricers and garlic presses.

4. Ingredient preparation

Preparation of all types of vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, pasta and rice must be demonstrated. All common vegetables including carrots, leeks, onions, celery, potatoes, brassicas and pulses would be included and the less common vegetables and salad items. The preparation of fruits, common and exotic, would also be shown.

5. Different methods of cookery

There are many different methods of cooking ingredients such as poaching, boiling, stewing, steaming, braising, baking, roasting, pot roasting, tandoori cooking, grilling/broiling, shallow and deep frying, en papillotte, microwave, griddle, microwave and combination cookery.

6. Stocks, sauces and soups

Meat and vegetable stocks are the foundation of all sauce and soup recipes. The main ingredients of a stock should be shown, prepared and cooked. Progression would be making different sauces and soups from the made stocks. All main categories of soups must be shown including: clear soups, broths, purees, veloutes, creams, bisques and miscellaneous potages. Hot and cold sauces, gravies and oils, compound butters and salsas would also be included.

7. Egg dishes

Eggs are so versatile and must be include within the how to prepare and cook video course. Boiled, fried, poached, coddled and scrambled are all firm favourites. Other less common dishes should also be included for example, curried eggs, frittata, Spanish omelette and eggs Benedict to name just a few.

8. Meat, game and fish meals

All types of red and white meat cuts must be prepared and featured in a meal such as beef, pork, lamb, poultry, venison, pheasant and grouse. Different species of fish, both white and oily, must be introduced, prepared and cooked.

9. International cuisine

With the increase in travel and the importation of more exotic ingredients, a how to prepare and cook video course must include different international recipe dishes. Examples of the different types of cuisine include: USA, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Spanish, Israeli Kosher, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, European and Carribean.

10. Potato, pulse, rice and pasta food

For vegetarian and vegan dishes, recipes using pasta, rice, pulses and potatoes should be featured. Potatoes can be boiled, mashed, baked and fried. Pulses such as haricot beans, soya beans, black-eyed peas, mung beans and alfalfa provide interesting and varied meals from hot foods to salads. Pasta comes in many different forms, both fresh and dried, but nothing tastes better than homemade pasta with a freshly prepared sauce. Rice can be boiled, steamed and baked. Rice can be used in a dessert, risotto or paella.

11. Pastries, desserts and buffet items

No how to prepare and cook course would be complete without pastries and desserts, especially for anybody with a sweet tooth! Other flour based products would also be helpful, for example, homemade bread, cakes, biscuits and savoury pastries.

12. Feedback and comments

It is all very well being shown how to prepare and cook food, but what if somebody has a question or wants a particular food item or recipe to be shown on the course. It is imperative, therefore, that there is a facility to leave feedback and comments.

Five Common Cookery Mistakes

We all go through a stage in our young lives where we fancy ourselves as the younger, better looking and friendlier Gordon Ramsey. However, the vast majority of people eventually come to the realisation that their talents lie elsewhere and that they are more suited to eating than the actual cooking part.

Some of these people however, carry on and end up making some horrendous mistakes; the sort of cooking errors you only usually roll out when you have someone round to dinner that you never want to see again!

Anyway, with no further ado, here are five common mistakes made while cooking:

Neglecting Your Salt Shaker

Salt is vital as it provides flavour and texture to your food. However, a common mistake is to leave out any extra salt because of health worries.

As long as you are satisfied you are not over indulging, feel free to add a pinch of salt to veg or meet while cooking. There are few things worse than foods which should have a salty tang but don't.

Getting too friendly with garlic
Reading from a recipe book? Don't ever confuse a clove of garlic with a head. If you do, we can't be responsible for the ensuing results! You'll stink like you've never stunk before.

In fact, pay close attention whenever working from a book, if in doubt, the world renowned oracle of Google should set you right.

Confusing Your Flour

Admit it, you've done it haven't you? Let's face it, self-rising flour looks exactly the same as plain flour when out of the packet (that excuse has actually been used) and means that the sumptuously gorgeous Victoria sponge you have planned ends up a Victoria, erm, biscuit.

Getting, Um, Creative With Proportions

Recipes are written for a reason, read them!

Not Getting to Know Your Oven

Your oven is like a human being; no two are exactly the same. If you've not familiarised yourself with the eccentricities of your particular oven then you should start now.

Cookery is a long underrated art and something that requires conscientiousness as well as keen creativity. If you can get the balance right you will stand a much better chance of getting to where you would like to be in the chef world.

Cake Decorating Equipment for the Enthusiastic Amateur

My suggestions for basic materials and equipment would be:

Baking Tins which are essential, preferably good quality, and made to last. Why not start with a few round and square - 6", 8", 10" and 12" are the most commonly used! You can generally hire tins in other shapes from good sugarcraft or bakeware shops, to save money initially.

A useful tool to own is a Long Cake knife / leveller. Cakes will often need levelling and splitting after baking and this will make the job much easier!

For jobs such as spreading jam and buttercream use a Palette knife, which will also be necessary when working with royal icing. A long bladed straight, and shorter bladed cranked knife, are useful ones to have.

A good investment for a rolling pin would be a 20" long non-stick pin - this will cope with rolling out sugarpaste for larger cakes. A 6" or 9" rolling pin is ideal for smaller projects and sugar flowers etc.

For more professional results use a non-stick board for flower/model making etc.

Whilst not essential a smoother will help to give your sugarpasted cake a smooth, flawless finish. I would hate to be without one of these!

Various tools are available to aid all icing jobs, some of which you may already have around the home. Fine bladed scissors, brushes and a craft knife are three of the most used tools in sugarcraft! A double ended cutting wheel, a Dresden tool for veining and softening, a pointed modelling / frilling stick and a bone tool complete my list of recommended tools.

Basic cutters make life a lot easier when decorating a cake. Shapes such as round, square, stars and hearts to name a few, and simple flower/leaf cutters - rose petal and leaf, ivy and blossom are some of the cutters you could invest in to start. Alphabet and number cutters are really useful for those who are not confident with piping skills when adding script onto a cake.

Also essential would be a range of food colours, the most versatile being the concentrated gel/paste colours. These are suitable for any type of icing, and are particularly good for sugarpaste as they do not alter the consistency when mixing a dark colour. These can be mixed together to make further colours.

A selection of piping bags and tubes would complete your starter kit. There are many different types of bag to choose from, including silicone/greaseproof, nylon re-usable and plastic disposable.I would recommend stainless steel seamless tubes for a professional finish, with a basic writing, and a star tube, my favourites, then add more as and when required.

Myths About Indian Food And Why You Shouldn't Believe Them

If you have just got interested about Indian cuisine, you may have been bombarded with myths and misconceptions. Yes, it is easy to be completely mystified about what Indian cuisine is or is not. A lot of people are of the opinion that Indian food is very difficult to cook and a person who has not been born and brought up in the country will not be able to cook it. Other than this particular one, there are a lot of other myths as well, which have no relation with the truth. Here are a few myths busted about Indian food. Read on to find out what they are.

1. All Indian food is rich and oily

That is so not true. The fact is that Indian food is such that one can change the richness and the oil content according to one's wishes. If you want you can cook a dish with a single or 8 teaspoons of oil. You can add a lot of masalas into a dish or almost none at all, depending on what you want on that particular day. Moreover, India has a variety of cooking techniques that require no oil at all, like steaming, boiling, roasting, grilling, etc. Indians have a variety of beautiful techniques to cook both vegetables and meats that require minimal oil but taste wonderful.

2. All Indian food is very high on the hot quotient

This too is not true. Yes, Indian food uses 'masalas' but that is not something that makes dishes hot. One can easily change the amount of chillies depending on how hot he wants his food. In fact, most Indian dishes can be cooked without any amount of 'hotness' added to them.

3. Indian food is difficult to cook

Yes, for a beginner. But that is true of Italian and Thai food too. In fact, any new cuisine is difficult to cook for a beginner. But as with all other cuisines, once you master the basics of Indian cuisine, it becomes easy. Once you get the hang of it, cooking simple meals is not at all difficult.

4. Forget dieting when it comes to Indian food

No, that's not true at all. It is just a misconception that Indian food is unhealthy and one cannot diet while eating Indian. The truth is that a lot of simple Indian meals are very healthy and contain very little fat and lots of proteins and fiber. In fact, you can include food in your diet that is healthy very easily.

5. Curry powders synonymous with Indian cuisine

That is like saying that all Italian food contains pasta! No, curry powder is just one of the various spice mixes used in Indian cuisine. In fact, most Indian households don't even use curry powder at all, but spice mixes that suit the palate of its family members. 'Garam masala' is a much more important spice mix. Also it may interest you to know that it is possible to cook simple Indian dishes with almost no spices at all!

Cleaning Black Iron Cookware

Most black iron pans and cookware are protected by a clear, non-toxic oil which needs to be removed before the pan can be used properly.

The first step is to season your cookware with oil, this will form a natural film on the base of your pan. This natural film will improve and form over time and with regular use your pans will become practically non stick. With continued and regular use of these pans at a high temperature the oil and food being cooked will add to the layers, meaning your pan will actually get better with increased usage. At these higher cooking temperatures these layers formed pose absolutely no risk to those who will then consume food being cooked in these pans.

If your black iron pots or pans are not used for a period of time, they can occasionally go rusty. This however is no means the end of these pans lifespan! We recommend that you clean you pan thoroughly and make sure that you remove any rust with a scouring pad. After all the rust has been cleaned, re-season your pans and the process begins once more.

With regards cleaning your black iron pans after cooking, the cleaning process is actually quite simple but it is important that it is adhered to to ensure the longevity and improved cooking performance of your pans in the future. We recommend that you clean your pan in hot water using a small amount of washing up liquid. After washing you should hand dry your black iron cookware immediately ensuring that any dampness is sufficiently dried. You should then coat your pan with some oil, leaving it ready to be used again.

PLEASE NOTE - Under no circumstances should black iron cookware ever be cleaned in a dishwasher. This can cause irreparable damage to the pans and may actually destroy the pans.

It is recommended that after each time you use any piece of black iron cookware that it is wiped clean with paper towels. This will help to ensure that the pan is completely dry which helps to prevent rusting forming on the pan. As discussed above, if rusting should form on the pan you will be required to thoroughly scour the pan, removing all traces of rust, and re-season. Over time and constant use, your pan should reform its protective layer and you should notice a vast improvement in the performance of your pan over a period of time.

You should never use a dry pan under any circumstances, always ensure that your pan has been seasoned and that oil has been added before cooking.

Tips For Freezing Leftovers

Leftover foods can easily be reinvented into a whole new meal. Your family will never guess they are eating food prepared yesterday or even days before if you get into the habit of freezing leftovers. It's such a waste to throw the food away. More often than not, when leftover food is stored in the fridge it gets forgotten and eventually it is tossed out. The trick is to freeze the leftovers and then use them to prepare a different meal altogether. Keep this in mind when you are cooking and have a plan for those leftovers.

One great example is having a roast chicken for a weekend meal. Shred the leftover chicken and freeze it in ziplock bags. Be sure to squeeze the air out of the bags for best results. You can use the frozen chicken during the week for a stir-fry or a chicken salad.

Another idea is when you are preparing chili, fry up a large batch of ground beef and onions and combine it with a can of tomato puree. Freeze it in meal-sized portions and when you defrost it add your choice of seasonings and heat it up for an instant meat filling for tacos or the beginnings of a beef noodle casserole!

Roast beef dinners provide another opportunity for freezing leftovers. Chop up any leftover roast and freeze it. It can later be turned into barbeque beef (just defrost the meat and add some bottled barbeque sauce and simmer). Other ideas include filling for fajitas, or a quick beef stroganoff. Having frozen meat prepared ahead of time cuts down your cooking and preparation time significantly.

Leftover vegetables are great for freezing too. You can keep a container in your freezer just for this purpose. Just put any leftover veggies the container and when it's full you have the beginnings of a vegetable soup! Just use canned broth to make it super quick.

Next time you finish a meal take a second look at your leftovers. There are many more meals that can be prepared with your them. Even though you'll still be doing some cooking, it's generally much less, and quicker, if you start with cooked meat or vegetables from the freezer. You can reuse your leftovers to create new meals and save substantial time and money. Having homecooked foods frozen and ready to reheat is much healthier than the frozen store bought variety. Keep this in mind after your next meal and don't toss out that food, freeze it!

Tips to Save Time Cooking Indian Food

If you are not very familiar with cooking Indian food, you may be under the misconception that it takes a lot of time to cook. But that is hardly the case. All cuisines have dishes that take too much time as well as things which can be cooked in a jiffy. It is true that Indians usually prepare most dishes from scratch and use ingredients that are fresh and in season. In fact, that is why Indian food has a flavor that matches none. If you are starting out with cooking Indian cuisine, you will definitely have lots of recipes to try from which don't require a lot of time. Regular dishes that are cooked in households for daily meals are easy to prepare and take little time, as long as you have the ingredients available. Indian cuisine makes abundant use of a few basic ingredients and if you have them prepared beforehand, it just reduces the cooking time more. Here are top tips to save time cooking Indian.

Onions: This vegetable is widely used in Indian cooking, whether as a paste, sliced thinly or chopped fine. It is the base for most gravies and is used as an ingredient in vegetable as well as meat and fish dishes. If you are cooking Indian food, rest assured that you will be using onions a lot. That's why it makes sense to prep them. You can peel, chop or grind onions and keep them frozen in plastic containers to use them in recipes that require them. You will be saving a lot of time this way.

Garlic and ginger: These are again typically Indian ingredients used regularly in the kitchen. You can obviously get ginger and garlic paste easily in a can but it is much better to make them at home. Garlic is tiring to peel and chop and it makes sense to do it in a batch. It is a good idea to have garlic and ginger peeled and chopped so that you can use them as they are or grind them according to what a recipe demands. Always put ginger or garlic separately in an airtight container to prevent them from creating bad odor in your whole freezer.

Dough: Chapatis, rotis and parathas are prepared on a daily basis in Indian households. Preparing the dough takes some time and doing it every day may be a bit of a hassle. Dough prepared from flour and besan can be easily stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers and kept for 3-4 days. Preparing rotis and chapattis with this dough is easy and takes a lot less time.

Using the pressure cooker: Lentils take a considerable time to cook and since they are an integral part of Indian meals, cooking them in the pressure cooker saves a lot of time. Cook lentils in the pressure cooker and then pour the hot 'tadka' (ghee, spices and aromatics on high heat) on it to prepare beautiful dals in no time at all.

Easy Indian Cooking Tips

You may be a girl who has entered the kitchen for the first time after getting married. Or you may be a young student living alone, trying to grasp the basics of cooking. Or you may be someone who is not Indian at all, but wants to try cooking Indian food! Whoever you are, it may be a bit overwhelming when you first try your hand out cooking Indian. Rest assured, it will not be so difficult as time goes by and you get the hang of it. Rustling up an Indian meal is not time consuming, if you know your way around. Fresh ingredients form the basis of most Indian cooking and many households will cringe at the thought of cooking with anything that comes out of a can! Going to the local market for fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and fish is a ritual all Indians are fond of. This article will give you tips to cook Indian that will make you a happier cook.

1. Spices are an integral part of Indian cooking. Lots of spices and aromatics are used daily in the Indian kitchen. Without them, dishes would be bland and lifeless. So unless you have a basic understanding of spices, cooking will not be fun. But don't worry, it is really not as tough as it seems. In fact, you will be able to learn more about spices as you go about cooking daily meals. Turmeric, chillies, coriander, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and start anise are just a few of the spices used regularly. Apart from this, ginger, garlic and onions too are used. Different spices lend different flavors. Some are best used as a 'tadka' (a concoction of spices spluttering in hot oil or ghee) and some are used best when grounded or as a paste.

2. It is very important in Indian cuisine to have the pan hot and the oil hotter before putting in the spices or the vegetables. So turn on the heat!

3. We know that Indian spices smell awesome. But it would be a good idea to open the kitchen windows when cooking Indian food unless you want your nostrils to be invaded by the smell of strong chillie powder.

4. If a recipe calls for grinding spices like coriander or cumin, it is important that you roast them first in a pan before grinding. This will ensure that all the lovely flavors are released.

5. Use the pressure cooker as much as you can. It reduces the cooking time of meat, vegetables and lentils. In fact, some lentils will take hours to cook on the stove and so using the pressure cooker is just smarter. Take notice of the cooking times though.

6. When a dish calls for using curd or yogurt, it is a good idea if you can make it fresh at home. Store- bought yogurt just doesn't have the same taste or flavor as homemade.

7. Indian cooking relies on fresh ingredients. So as much as possible, avoid anything that comes out of a can!

How to Cook a Steak to Perfection - Five Tips

There are many ways to cook a steak but these five tips are a must for making a great steak. No one wants to buy an expensive cut of meat and then ruin it by cooking it until its tough and chewy. I know this has happened to me a few times and it is quite the disappointment. So to ensure you don't end up with some inedible piece of meat follow these tips to create a moist, tender and juicy steak. Let's learn how to cook a steak to perfection every time!

1. Always start with a quality cut of steak

Cuts such as prime rib or New York Strip are excellent choices. These cuts of meat from the loin and rib area are the most tender and tasty.

2. Look for lots of marbling in the steak

These are the white veins or lines you see in the meat. These veins will become liquid when heated and will help to tenderize your steak making it nice and juicy.

3. Don't cut the steak open to check for doneness

Cutting the steak while it's cooking will dry it out. You want the juices to remain trapped inside and cutting allows the juices to escape.

To test for doneness just press on the steak with your finger. You can learn how it should feel by using the "finger test". Press on the fleshy part your hand beneath your thumb this is how a raw steak feels. Now touch your baby finger to your thumb and touch that same area under the thumb with your finger; this is how a well done steak will feel. Now touch the finger next to your baby finger to your thumb and press again to see how a medium steak will feel. The next finger is medium rare and the last finger will be rare.

It takes some getting used to but it is the best way to test for doneness. If you really don't feel comfortable with this the next best method is using a meat thermometer as it will pierce the steak in a much smaller area.

4. Use a marinade

Marinating a steak gives it loads of flavour, more so than just sprinkling it with seasonings, it also helps to tenderize and this in turn keeps your steak juicy. Steaks can be marinated in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours before you plan to cook it.

5. Bring the steak to room temperature before cooking

The sudden and extreme change in temperature could cause it to turn out tough. Also, it is wise to let the steak rest for at least a couple of minutes after cooking or grilling to allow it to settle and become more flavourful.

Cooking Tips From Iron Chef Contestant Matt Stone

In my segment Beers with Brad, I enjoy a beer with some well known hospitality professionals.

This segment sees me interview Chef Matt Stone from The Greenhouse in Perth.

Matt is very confident and well accomplished for a Chef so young. His performance on Iron Chef against Neil Perry was certainly impressive.

Here's the interview we had over a pint of Coopers Pale Ale:

Q. What beer are you drinking?

A. Coopers pale ale my favourite beer.

Q. Why is it your favourite?

A. Coopers pale ale in Margaret River, if you're not drinking it as Settlers Tavern, you're not considered a local, and um, I've just been sort of sixteen hanging out in the pub and that's what everyone drank so that's what I drank, that's what my old man drank and we're lucky enough to have it on tap here so I'm pretty stoke with that one.

Q. Why has the Greenhouse been such a success?

A. The Greenhouse has been a massive hit in Perth in the last, well it's just two years that we've been open. I suppose we've really brought a point of difference to the hospitality industry not only in Perth but in Australia, with the..way we build our restaurants, the way we run our restaurants, through to the products that we serve, products that we source, and serve them on a plate, which here isn't really a plate, you know we've got lots of sort of quirky different things that we serve our food on... it's a very interesting place, it's very visual and ethically it's.. you know, it's where we think a lot of people should be heading, with not only hospitality but offices and just urban environments. We're up here on the rooftop where we.. have twenty four cubic metres of growing space in the middle of St Georges terrace in the city so there's no excuse that people can't be growing their own herbs, fruits, vegetables, whatever it may be, on their small terrace balcony or whatever it is in the city. Yeah, you know there's so many different elements that make up the Greenhouse and I think a lot of, a lot of our customers take it for different things, a lot of people use it as a cafe, a lot of people use it for..a night time cocktail bar,... lunches, that sort of stuff so we really appeal to a really broad market in a lot of different ways.

Q. Tell us a little about your background and how you got involved in cooking?

A. I started cooking almost ten years ago now. I left school really early down in Margaret River, school wasn't for me. I started cooking..in a pretty average cafe down there, washing dishes, really loved the environment, the atmosphere and the people. Went on to work at Leeuwin Estate winery which is an internationally acclaimed winery in Margaret River.. I worked there for about two years with some really good Chefs before moving up to Perth and working with David Coomer for about five years. I was originally a business partner and helped open Pata Negra on Stirling Highway Nedlands and then about two and a half years ago signed up for this gig and haven't looked back since.

Q. What's the most important thing you look for in a restaurant when you eat out?

A. When I'm looking for a restaurant to eat at? I'm lucky enough that I get to travel a lot through the East Coast and through Asia and Europe so and stuff like that so I'm probably a little more spoiled than some, but um. Here in Perth I mean it's quite hard, there's a lot of bad food in restaurants, there's a lot of produce going to waste in silly ways, but.. I suppose people that are really trying, people that have a bit of an ethos as to how they source their food, people that are creating cool fun environments, and I think that the Perth food scene is really kicking off, and the small bar scene is coming along nicely. There's a lot of development in the city so I suppose I'll keep my eye on that and see what's happening, but places like Rockpool come to town and spend ten million dollars on an amazing fit out and serve some of the best beef in Australia if not the world, so there's obviously those sort of draw cards but at the same time of got a couple of local restaurants in Vic Park, like the Prophet and Good One BBQ Restaurant that are cheap, cheerful and just awesome, you know, with mates and a couple of beers on the weekend and stuff like that, so it's a time and place thing, who you're with, what you're looking for, but.. I suppose at the end of the day if you're going to be serving... good food... being friendly as well..there's nothing worse than someone, sort of looking down at you and making you feel scummy for being in their restaurant, whatever, it's just you want a comfortable, friendly environment where everyone's cool, the food's cool and they're not trying to rip you off which is often the case in Perth.

Q. What's the best way to get started as a Chef/

A. To get started as young Chef, I suppose there's a lot of really good programs in place in high schools these days, there's a lot of students doing pre-traineeships and stuff which wasn't available when I started cooking, I didn't really hang around school long enough to do that anyway, but um, that sort of stuff is really great. I mean I'm not a qualified Chef on paper, essentially so I've never finished an apprenticeship, I suppose it's just having a passion and a love for food, being willing to give up a lot is a big one. Being a Chef you've got to give away your weekends and nights, I basically don't surf any more which I used t do every single day, obviously I live in Perth so it's kind of hard but I just don't have time. So it's a lot of sacrifice but at the same time if you're really in to it it's a really rewarding job to do, but.. just hard work and just read lots and lots of books.

Q. How long does it take to become proficient in the kitchen

A. To stand your ground in the kitchen, I mean the apprenticeship now has been reduced to three years, which I'm quite skeptical on to be perfectly honest, I've got a couple of kids, newly qualified Chefs and there still at the same level as the younger apprentices... it takes a lot of experience. I was in the kitchen for about six years..well it was even seven years before I..stepped up to a senior role. It takes a lot of time, a lot of hard work but like anything if you stick at it you'll definitely get there and it's a matter of working with the right people as well.

Q. If you had one secret to cooking good food, what would it be?

A. The secret to cooking good food..keep it simple, use..nice produce to begin with and don't mess around with it too much, you don't have to... I mean I have the utmost respect for people like Heston Blumenthal and Feran Adria for the food they do I think it's absolutely amazing but it's not food you're going to cook at home, it's not food we can execute in restaurants here in WA especially, Australia..We have amazing produce, we have great producers and just fantastic food around us we don't need to do much with it..I think it shows a lot of confidence as a young Chef to just char grill a piece of beef and serve it with a chunk of lemon and some broccoli... to me stuff like that, that's delicious that's what I want to eat but I suppose it takes a whole new confidence to be able to put that on a plate and serve it, which is what we do here at the Greenhouse... at first it was up and down but now we've sort of stuck to our guns and it's been really well received.

Q. What are some of the problems that young Chefs experience when they start out and what's your advice to them?

A. Problems with young Chefs? I suppose the biggest thing..for me also is just the hours you have to work it's really draining. You're on your feet for..between eight to twelve hours sometimes often without a break..you're lifting heavy bags of flour, you're going up and down stairs it's quite a physically demanding job and I suppose once you can get over that barrier you're half way there but unless you're at the top you're always going to cop stick from everyone the whole way down and that's..just the way it is and I suppose it's not near as bad as it used to be... it's just the hierarchy sort of system which I try not to have in our kitchen but inevitably it sort of does happen so you've just got to have thick skin and stick through it.

Q. Which Chef has had the most influence on your career?

A. The Chef that's influenced me the most in Australia would definitely be Neil Perry... he's opened some amazing venues... of different calibers..steakhouses... amazing Chinese style restaurants... also though he's had a lot of failed restaurants so..he's taken the good with the bad but he's come out on top and he just does amazing things with food. He really takes the Australian approach to food he's not necessarily mixing cultures on one plate but he's knowledgeable on a lot of different cultures, Australian produce... I've admired him from when I first started cooking and I'm now lucky enough to be sort of friends with him, hang out with him, have dinner every now and then..I really sort of looked up to him.

Q. Which cook books do you recommend?

A. Yeah we're constantly reading cook books..it's sort of hard for me now to keep motivated and keep creating new dishes obviously because I'm at the top so I'm constantly teaching and same with my sous chefs as well so we're constantly reading books, at the moment we just got Philippa Sibley's dessert book which is..Philipa Sibley is... probably the most amazing pastry Chef Australia has ever seen. Here and Donovan Cook had Est Est Est in the nineties in Melbourne which really set the bench mark for fine dining food in Australia at that time. Also momofuku, David Chang in New York..He's got a really cool restaurant doing some really cool, not necessarily fusion but sort of Korean American sort of food... which is cool... we just got the Cumulus inc book..which is a restaurant I eat at every time I'm in Melbourne again the serve food..similarly to how we do, very simple using great produce... Constantly we're in book shops buying new books, reading, we might not even read the book we might just flick through, flick through see a picture and that's enough to trigger an idea... I think as a young Chef reading is probably one of the most important things you could be doing.

How to Teach Your Children About Healthy Eating

Preparing healthy meals for children can be difficult especially nowadays when there are so many temptations around. Research shows that over 76 percent of children don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. Learning how to cook healthy for kids means making meals that are full of fresh, nutritious ingredients and have a great taste. Childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes are on the rise, so now it is more important than ever to teach your children about the benefits of eating healthy.

Talk with Your Kids

Encourage your kids to eat healthy and choose the right foods. Children will develop self-esteem as they learn to feed themselves. Learning about the benefits of a balanced diet will help your child develop lifetime habits and stay healthy. Good nutrition helps children avoid food borne illness and provide them with the energy and nutrients they need to active.

Give Them a Choice

Children are more likely to eat foods that they select. Ask your child: "Would you prefer spinach or cottage cheese tonight?" Kids are picky eaters and getting them to eat a well balanced diet can be challenging. If you force your child to consume certain foods that he doesn't like, he won't understand the importance of eating healthy and do exactly the opposite.

Use Healthy Substitutes

Think about the meals that your child loves the most and try to make a few simple changes to your recipes. Use pureed starchy vegetables or mashed potatoes instead of cream for soups. Replace full fat cream cheese with low fat cottage cheese. Use rice milk instead of whole milk. Add lean prosciutto or turkey bacon to your child's meal instead of regular bacon.

Be Creative

Prepare healthy, colorful meals that children will eat without making it an exhausting chore. For example, you can make a fruit salad, but add some maple syrup and cut the pieces very small. Peel oranges and remove the seeds. Use a cookie cutter to give sandwiches interesting shapes. Have a contest of how many fruits and vegetables in different colors your children can eat in one day.

Cook with Your Kids

Bring the kids into the kitchen. Use colorful recipe books for encouraging them to prepare healthy meals. For packed lunches, involve them in the planning and preparation. Have the children help as part of weekend meals. Preparing meals together is a great way to give your kids positive messages about nutrition.

Why Convection Cooking Reigns Supreme Over Conventional Cooking

You already know that your conventional wall oven or free-standing stove uses radiant heat from the top and bottom burners in the oven to cook your food. The results are often uneven cooking and browning - more so depending on how much food is in the oven and its positioning on the internal racks.

With a convection oven, you have a fan located at the back of the oven with the sole purpose of circulating hot air around your food to distribute the heat evenly. The fan, depending on model and manufacturer, reverses direction for optimal distribution of heat and air circulation. The frequency of directional changes by the fan is based on the convection cooking mode. Some modes will reverse frequently while others not at all. Again, this depends on the model of your convection oven and its manufacturer.

Why Cook Convection?

Models with a Convection Baking Mode allow you to put more than one rack of food in the oven resulting in even baking on all racks in about the same time as one rack cooking in a traditional oven.

Most convection baking requires a temperature reduction of 25°F for optimal performance. Some oven models auto-adjust the temperature. For example, if you have a recipe that calls for baking at 350°F and enter that into the control panel, the oven will auto-adjust the temperature to 325°F for convection cooking.

Advantages over a Traditional Oven

Because a convection oven or convection features circulate air, evenly distributing the heat, you can cook more food in the oven at one time. This comes in handy if you're cooking biscuits, appetizers, cookies and other finger foods for holidays, general baking or special events.

Foods cook faster. Evenly cooked meats and poultry are uniformly browned and the juices sealed in for more flavorful, moister food. Foods do not have a tendency to dry out as often seen with conventional cooking.

Because you can cook larger amounts of food in less time, you naturally save money as well. A shorter cooking time with the ability to cook more food saves you energy and utility costs.

Sizes to Accommodate All Kitchens

A Convection Cooking Appliance will cost you more money upfront than a traditional oven and not everyone can afford to get the full oven. There are others who a challenged by limited counter space or small kitchen.

Manufacturers have taken this into consideration by providing convection cooking features in various lines of microwave ovens, countertop ovens and toast oven/broilers so the benefits can be enjoyed by all who want to cook convection.

Taking The Mystery Out Of Convection Cooking Times

The General Rule

Most convection oven baking requires a 25°F reduction in temperature over a traditional recipe bake temperature. This will not apply if you are using a halogen and/or infrared oven as these technologies do not cook food the same way as a pure convection bake setting.

When convection baking, items will generally have shorter cooking times and since the TEMPERATURE is lowered for convection baking, the baked items will need the full recommended amount of time to cook correctly.

For example, if you have a sheet pan of chocolate chip cookies, you would normally bake them at 350°F for about 12 minutes.

In convection baking the chocolate chip cookies would have a convection bake time of the same 12 minutes only at 325°F. The even heat distribution provided by the convection cooking technology provides you the benefit of baking more sheets of chocolate chip cookies at one time and in that 12 minutes than what you would have been able to bake using a traditional oven.

Convection roasting on the other hand does not require a reduction in temperature but will cook and brown your foods faster thereby reducing your cooking time by up to 30%. In convection roasting, follow the recommended traditional oven setting but reduce your overall cook time by 30%.

So to summarize, convection bake at a 25°F lower TEMPERATURE, convection roast at a 30% lower COOK TIME. Again, this does not apply to microwave, infrared or halogen cooking because these technologies are for speed cooking. You should always check your food for doneness at the least recommended cook time to ensure proper internal food temperatures.

Tips for Convection Thawing and Baking

When thawing frozen uncooked or previously cooked food, a good practice is to allow about 5 minutes of thaw time for each pound of frozen food. Let say you are thawing a 3 pound chicken and at 5 minutes per pound, your convection thaw would be 15 minutes for the chicken.

Don't use plastic containers straight from the freezer to convection thaw. Only defrost long enough to remove the frozen food and place it in an oven-safe or microwave-safe dish.

Using margarine will affect your convection bake performance. Traditional recipes for baking include high fat products like butter which is about 80% fat. When you decrease the amount of fat in a recipe, it may not give you the same results because fat cooks faster.

You have the potential to ruin a recipe for cakes, pastries, cookies or pies if you use low-fat spreads. The lower the fat content, the more noticeable the convection bake outcome.

Federal standards require products labeled as margarine to contain at least 80% fat by weight. Many of the "heart healthy" or low-fat spreads have less fat and more water. When you have higher moisture content, the texture and flavor of your baked goods will be impacted.

FAQ About Convection Cooking And Why It Trumps Traditional

Convection Cooking Tips

    When using dark or matte finish bakeware, you will get darker browning on your food surfaces. For optimum results, use silver-colored or shiny aluminum cookware.
    Do not use aluminum foil to line your cookware in convection cooking. This reflects heat away from the food and may add to convection oven cooking times.
    Using pans with low or shallow sides will allow air to better circulate around your food for better browning.
    Heat resistant paper and plastic containers that you can use in a traditional oven can be used in convection cooking.
    Uniform air circulation in a convection oven allows you to cook multiple racks of food at the same time. Convection cooking times may be slightly higher but still faster because you are able to cook more food at one time.
    It is generally recommended that a convection oven be preheated for convection baking, however, preheating is not required for roasting meats.
    When cooking with multiple pans, like loaf pans, leave 3-5 inches of space between pans for the air circulation needed in uniform cooking.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can you use glass bakeware in this oven?

The general rule of thumb when using glass bakeware in any type of oven is to reduce the oven temperature by 25°F. However, in a convection oven, where temperatures are already reduced by 25°F it is not necessary to do this twice. Glass bakeware will perform as well in convection cooking as it does in a traditional oven.

Do pizza stones work in this type of oven?

If you have a baking stone or pizza stone it can be used successfully in a convection oven. Convection cooking technology is the uniform distribution of heat around your food for even cooking and browning, however, the bottom browning of a pizza crust can be further enhanced by using a pizza stone.

Are special pans required to cook convection?

The short answer is no but some types of cookware will perform better in a convection oven than others. For example, because convection cooking circulates heated air around your food, lower-sided baking pans will work better than their higher-sided counterparts.

Do I need to baste my food?

If you're cooking, for example, a whole chicken or a roast in a convection oven, it is not necessary to baste the food. Convection cooking will quickly seal in juices and the uniform heat distribution will brown your food eliminating the need to baste.

Does high altitude affect convection cooking temperatures?

Typically when cooking with convection, recipe recommended temperatures are lowered by 25°F. When you live in a region with a higher altitude above 3,000 feet, traditional cooking is often increased by 25°F. So, in the instance of high altitude cooking with convection, no adjustment to temperature should be made.

Choosing the Right Crockery For Your Restaurant

Choosing which range of crockery to use in your restaurant or hotel can be a daunting task given the variety of patterns, shapes and sizes of crockery available on the market today.

It is important to choose a pattern of crockery which will suitably reflect the style and atmosphere you are trying to create in your restaurant. However, there are a few other points to consider which are just as important, if not more so, than how your crockery will look on the table.

How durable is your crockery?

Crockery being used in a commercial restaurant or hotel will be used constantly on a daily basis, being served to numerous tables and enduring many dishwasher cycles in its lifetime.

When choosing your crockery ensure that the range you choose is durable enough to withstand life in your kitchen, dining area and dishwasher. Some of the cheaper ranges of crockery may seem like good value at the time of purchase but if this range is more susceptible to chipping or scratch marks you could find yourself having to restock some of your crockery sooner than expected. Sometimes spending a little extra on your crockery initially can save you more money in the long run!

What size of crockery suits best?

You should ask yourself this question while bearing a few things in mind. Firstly, what are your portion sizes going to look like on your new range of crockery? Should you consider smaller or larger plates for serving your dishes?

Secondly, from a practical point of view when storing your crockery in your kitchen or storeroom, will this range of crockery fit on your shelves easily and allow you to store enough for future use? You should also check that any new range of crockery will fit in your dishwasher if this is how you intend to wash it this way.

How versatile is your crockery?
Your new range of crockery may be used to serve multiple dishes from across your menu - potentially serving pizza, steak, pasta dishes as well as desserts and side dishes!

When choosing a new range of crockery you should try to visualize how each dish would potentially look on the new range. Seeing the crockery first hand rather than seeing an image in a catalogue can give you a much greater appreciation of how well your new range will work in your restaurant!

Finally, choosing the right pattern of crockery!

When you have established what you want from your crockery the next step is normally choosing which pattern best reflects your style of dining or what you are trying to achieve in your restaurant. New trends and patterns of crockery are emerging all the time and choosing the best pattern of crockery for your restaurant should not be a hastily made decision.

Seeing the crockery on the table before committing to buy gives you a much clearer idea of the pattern and sizes of the plates, etc. rather than only seeing the crockery in a catalogue before buying.

Choosing a new range of crockery, whether it is for a new catering venture or to freshen up your restaurant, can be a difficult decision to make but one which you should look forward to with excitement as you try to prepare and present your dishes on a new and inspiring platform.

Instant Fresh Breadcrumbs From the Freezer

Breadcrumbs are a really useful ingredient for lots of recipes: a coating for breaded fish fillet, for homemade chicken nuggets, as a filler in Italian frittatas and meat-loafs, or a topping on savoury pies. There is no need to buy packets of breadcrumbs especially for these recipes. With a bit of luck you already have the materials to make your own instant breadcrumbs sitting in your freezer.

Bread from the freezer
Often the recipe only calls for a small amount of breadcrumbs. In this case, see if you have any white bread rolls in the freezer. One frozen roll, blitzed in the food processor provides enough fine breadcrumbs for most recipes. Or if you have no rolls how about a sliced loaf? A few slices taken from the end of that will provide a generous amount of crumbs.

Frozen v. Fresh bread
There is a great advantage of processing frozen rolls and bread slices straight from the freezer rather than fresh. Fresh bread tends to clump and gives you lumpier crumbs. Frozen bread is easier to blitz into even, fine crumbs. By the time the bread is processed it has more or less defrosted and can be used straight away when the recipe demands fresh crumbs.

Toasted breadcrumbs
If you need toasted crumbs spread the processed out on a baking tray and pop them in the oven for ten minutes or so. Turn them once in that time and keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Otherwise toss them in a dry frying pan over a high heat for a minute or two, to dry out and colour.

Leftover crumbs
Any leftover crumbs can be re-frozen straight away in an air tight container or bag to be used next time. It often makes sense to process more bread than you need, so that you can freeze some ready-made crumbs to save time next time you need them.

Freeze ends of loaves
This is also a great solution for leftover crusts and ends of loaves, or that one lonely roll left after lunch. If you pop them into the freezer, at the stage when they are slightly dry (but obviously before they get mouldy!), you can keep them frozen until you next need breadcrumbs.

Grating crumbs
Ever wondered how to make your own breadcrumbs if you have no food processor? In the old days cooks used a grater to make their breadcrumbs. Some people still prefer this method, as they don't have to then wash up the food processor. It works best if the bread is dried or frozen as fresh bread tends to crumble.

Using Yeast - Why Your Bread Isn't Rising

I know, it's disappointing.

You've followed the recipe carefully but still, your bread hasn't risen properly.

It's easy to feel disheartened and be tempted to give up.

Don't!

You just need to learn how to handle the yeast.

I'm going to tell you the four commonest errors that people make when working with yeast and, of course, I'll tell you how to avoid them.

Once you understand a bit more about the yeast, you'll be able to make bread that rises beautifully.

A Quick Check

Before I do that, can we just check what type of yeast you're using?

Bakers' yeast is available in different forms:

Fresh yeast - this needs to be mixed with sugar and water to activate it before adding it to the dough.

Dried yeast - As for fresh yeast, this needs to be activated with some sugar and water before you mix it into your bread.

Instant dried yeast - This can be added directly into the bread mixture.

Wild yeast - For making sour-dough, which requires a specialised baking method.

I'm going to assume that you're not making sour-dough. I'm also going to assume that you've followed the instructions on the packet of yeast, activating it before use, if necessary.

Still having problems? Read on.

The advice below applies to all 'ordinary' bakers' yeast, whether fresh, dried or instant.

The Four Common Errors

Novice bread-bakers commonly make at least one of the following mistakes. If your bread isn't rising, these are the likely causes.

Luckily, once you know about the problems, you can easily avoid them, so here they are:

1 Working at the wrong temperature

Yeast is a living thing. It's a micro-organism. You are relying on it being alive enough to reproduce, digest the flour and produce carbon-dioxide gas.

Yeast can only survive within a certain temperature range.

Using water that is too hot or too cold can, at best, slow the yeast down. At worst, you can kill the yeast completely.

Mix your dough with water that is a little hotter than your hand. If it feels warm and comfortable to you, the yeast will love it.

While we're on the subject of temperature, it's a good idea to let your bread rise in a warm place too.

Warm (but not too warm!) yeast will reproduce rapidly and get to work making lots of carbon dioxide bubbles that'll give your bread the lift it needs.

2 Adding the salt at the wrong moment

Salt is needed to strengthen the gluten strands that give your bread a great texture. It is, however, detrimental to the health of yeast.

Many recipes omit to mention that it's better not to let the salt come into direct contact with the yeast. Some people add the salt in with the other dry ingredients, right alongside the yeast, thus slowing it down or killing it.

It's better to add the salt last so that it is less concentrated when it meets the yeast.

3 Using old yeast

As yeast gets old, it becomes less virulent and eventually dies.

If your packet of yeast is out of date, the chances are it's not going to perform very well.

Sure, it's worth a try but if your loaf isn't rising then consider the fact that your yeast might be dead.

Buy a new packet of yeast.

4 Rushing things

Bread baking is not a quick process.

Yeast takes time to get going.

It is dormant when dried so it needs to wake up. Then, it needs to reproduce, so that there is sufficient yeast to inflate the whole of the dough. Then it needs to break down the starch in the flour to make simple sugars and then it will produce carbon dioxide, which is what you need for rising.

So give it time!

I usually reckon it takes about an hour for my dough to double in size after I've first mixed it. Then, after kneading, it might take another hour to rise sufficiently for baking.

If it's a cold day, it might take longer.

My tip for loaves is to bake them only when the dough has reached the top of the tin. It'll rise more in the oven but at least you've given it a good head start.

Simple?

There's a lot of science behind bread baking. Once you know about it, you can use it to your advantage.

Remember:

    Work at a comfortably warm temperature.
    Keep the salt away from the yeast
    Use yeast that is within its use-by date
    Give it time!

With those tips in mind, your bread will rise nicely.

Boosting Business With an Automated Sushi Maker

Japanese food is among the most celebrated and valued cuisines around the world. It is unique and uses a wide variety of ingredients unseen in most other countries and cultures. Examples of popular dishes include sashimi, tempura, noodles like soba and ramen, and perhaps the most popular of them all, sushi. The last is easily the most recognizable Japanese delicacy and continues to gain popularity in countries all over the world.

Its popularity is the reason behind the growing number of restaurants offering the dish in traditional and new variations. If you plan to start a sushi business, you may want to think about investing in a new sushi maker machine. The following are tips to keep in mind when starting your own sushi bar or restaurant.

Why should you offer this food item?

Like most other western cultures, hamburgers, pizza, steaks, and pasta dominate the Australian food scene. Although already popular in its own right, offering this delicacy might give you an edge over others because it is a change of pace. There might already be some established restaurants offering the same, but the demand for it continues to grow. All you need to do is find the right location, offer the right variants of the dish, use the right sushi maker machine and you can be on your way to success.

Getting Started

The first thing you need to do is scope out the competition. Visit some established sushi bars and restaurants. Check out and sample what they have to offer and see what makes them so successful. Do they attract customers because of the quality of the food they serve? Do patrons come in regularly because of the overall ambience of the restaurant?

Another thing to think about is their food production setup. Which will be more beneficial to your operation - an in-house expert sushi maker or a machine? Think these points over because they can shape how you draft your business plan later on.

Choosing a Location

Where you choose to set up shop will affect your business in the long run. It is important to scout for all possible options before settling. Think about your target market - usually people who eat out frequently and do not mind spending a few extra dollars on quality food. Aim for high traffic but trendy and accessible location. These are the kinds of places that will attract people who will enjoy your offerings most.

Food Selection

You cannot start a sushi business without knowing exactly what will go on your menu. Sushi is more than just the typical California Maki. There are four major types - three traditional Japanese varieties and the more familiar western-style variety. Once you have a trial menu in place, it is time to start looking at your options for sushi machines. How you prepare your food will influence overall productivity in the kitchen and the quality of the dishes you serve to customers.

How To Get The Best Out Of Your Electric Oven Functions

Most ovens these days include Conventional Cooking, Closed Door Grilling, Fan Forced Cooking, Defrosting, Fan Assisted Cooking, Bottom Element and Top Element so we will discuss these functions below.

Conventional Cooking:

Conventional Cooking is the traditional static cooking mode using top and bottom elements with no fan. Our grandmothers cooked delicious meals using conventional cooking and it is still a very good way to bake heavy cakes such as banana, mud, Christmas and fruit cakes. As there is no fan the conventional mode distributes heat unevenly with the top being warmer than the bottom shelves so it is good for cooking desserts such as pavlovas, meringues and sponges at lower temperatures. It is also great for large roasts.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE CONVENTIONAL COOKING FUNCTION INCLUDE:

Roasts
Delicate Pastries
Pavlovas, Meringues & Sponges
Cakes including Banana, Mud, Christmas, Fruit Cake,
Slow Cooking Cakes

Grilling Mode:

This is a traditional grill function with heat radiating from above. This function is best for grilling/browning the top of food. Most new ovens include closed door grilling which is a safer alternative to the old closed door grilling. If your oven has a fan grill function you can do multi level grilling so you could cook sausages and chops on the top level and baked potato on the bottom level.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE GRILL FUNCTION INCLUDE:

Grilled Vegetables such as Asparagus, Eggplant, Capsicum,
Sausages, Hamburgers, Chicken, Beef
Bacon
Fish
Burritos
Garlic Bread
Melted Cheese on Toast
Pasta Bake

Fan Forced Cooking:

The fan forced function is the new standard, everyday cooking function. The fan at the back of most modern ovens is surrounded by a triple ring heating element that will evenly distribute heated air throughout the oven so there are no 'cold' spots. The hot air is produced as soon as the fan is switched on so the food starts cooking at once making it quicker as you don't need to pre-heat your oven. Also as the heat is efficiently distributed to the food cooking temperatures can be lower than those used for conventional ovens. This is perfect for multiple baking (e.g. you can cook muffins on one shelf and biscuits on another) where an even temperature is required. This function is the best for general cooking and readymade meals but it is no good for meals with special cooking requirements such as pizzas, flans or grilled recipes.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE FAN FORCED FUNCTION INCLUDE:

Almost everything!

Perfect for foods that need to be tender or rare on the inside and well done on the outside such as lamb, roast beef and whole fish.

Defrosting:

Defrosting in the oven involves the light and fan being on but no heat. Defrosting in the oven is better than the microwave as this mode does not dry or par-cook food. The only disadvantage compared to a microwave is that defrosting is a slower process in the oven.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE DEFROST FUNCTION INCLUDE:

Anything that is frozen and needs to be defrosted

Fan Assisted Cooking:

If you're asking yourself 'what is the difference between Fan Forced and Fan Assisted Cooking?' you are not alone! Both of these functions are suitable for many of the same meals. Fan Assisted Cooking uses the top and bottom element with the fan at the rear pushing the heat around. When using the fan assisted function the oven will need to be pre-heated for the same amount of time as a conventional oven so cooking times are not reduced. The cooking temperatures, however, are usually the same as fan forced ovens.
If your oven has both fan assisted and fan forced cooking functions you would use the fan assisted instead of the fan forced if you are cooking food that requires either top or bottom heat concentration.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE FAN ASSISTED FUNCTION INCLUDE:

As with fan forced, almost everything will cook well in fan assisted cooking mode. Foods such as bread (i.e. it needs to be cooked through but cooks well with top and bottom heat concentration) are better in fan assisted than fan forced cooking mode.

Bottom Element:

This function uses the bottom element only. Suitable for slow, gentle cooking such as that required for stews and casseroles. Bottom element with a fan is great for foods including quiches, pastries and pizzas.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE BOTTOM ELEMENT FUNCTION INCLUDE:

Stews
Casseroles
Quiches
Pastries
Pizzas

Top Element:

This function uses the top element only. It is suitable for 'au gratin' style cooking for a firm crust.

MEALS TO COOK USING THE TOP ELEMENT FUNCTION INCLUDE:

Potato Bake
Cauliflower with cheese sauce

We have covered the most popular functions on electric ovens but this list is by no means exhaustive. You may also have Rotisserie function, Pizza function, Fan Grilling, Bottom Element with Fan Forced, Bottom Element with Fan Assist, Top Grill, Fan Forced and Bottom Element, Half Grill, and Quick Start/Pre Heat. Depending on your typical cooking style you may or may not need these additional functions. For the average home cook the oven modes that we have outlined are more than sufficient.