Your New Cooking Mantra: Bork Bork

To my readers and fellow cooks who are scared to cook and spice, behold your new cooking mantra: bork bork. There’s a famous Swedish chef who’s not afraid to try anything, and who I love to watch cook. He’s had cameos in numerous films and is well known for his “throw caution into the wind” cooking style. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, take a quick gander at the guy staring back at you in the photo on the left, and meet… actually, he just goes by Swedish Chef.

One thing I enjoy about the Swedish Chef is that he’s over-the-top carefree in the kitchen; in this short article I hope to briefly illustrate why being carefree in the kitchen is not such a bad thing. Bork bork.

For me, being carefree while cooking is fun and relaxing. I often approach cooking with a fun “I’m going to perform an experiment” perspective that is occasionally accompanied by an evil mad scientist laugh, mwahahahaha! This makes cooking fun for me, and as I’ve been told, those who cook with me. The great part about experiments is that it’s strictly that–an experiment, and you can go at your own pace. If you’re unsure about how to experiment, start by following a simple recipe and then make some substitutions or add or leave out an ingredient to see what happens. I guarantee that in time you’ll start to understand how foods work together, and when that happens cooking becomes even more exciting. I find that when I’m carefree while cooking and having fun that I’m more relaxed and feel better about my time, even if my creation only ends up in the round file. One of the perks to always experimenting and being carefree with your stuff is that you end up with a bunch of recipes you can call your own.

If you’re one of those people that I mentioned above that are scared to cook and spice, then cooking carefree, bork bork, is for you. A carefree chef, like the Swedish Chef, understands that it’s no big deal if you botch something. As an example, take a look at the Swedish Chef’s meatball video I posted below. If at first you don’t make good meatballs, then at least you won’t have to buy any tennis balls, right? Tie on your apron and be carefree with your food. There’s no pressure to make an amazing dish; it’s all about learning to cook and spice. Being carefree opens up your imagination, the mother of invention (hey, that sounds pretty good…) and as a cook–or a cook-in-training–you are an inventor. I’ve personally never known an inventor who created something new and got it right the first time. The best non-pressure situation to cook in is when you’re cooking for fun, bork bork. If you’re nervous about botching a dish, then set aside some time to just cook without the intention of the end-result being dinner. There’s a lot less pressure when you don’t have to eat the end result.

I enjoy being a carefree cook. I’ve had a lot of successes and some failures as well, and it’s fun either way. I suppose some good, practical ending advice would be to learn to laugh when your experiment goes awry, once again, it’s not the end of the world.

I’d love to hear what you have to say about your cooking style or if you have any additional advice of how to be a carefree cook. Spill the beans (pun intended) in the comments below.

…And now for some Swedish Chef videos… enjoy!

Swedish Chef & Meatballs

Swedish Chef & Hot Sauce

Swedish Chef & Spaghetti

Swedish Chef & Home Cooked Meal