15 to 50: Are Your Cooking Skills Above Average for Your Age?

Watch Le Cordon Bleu Chefs take you through a cooking demonstration of the recipes to master, from age 15 to age 50.

Gone are the days when challenging recipes such as the risky souffle, were a specialty dessert and baked only by trained chefs. With the rise of TikTok cooking hacks, YouTube culinary adventures and Instagram-worthy recipes, cooking skills of all levels are being shared and experimented more widely than ever before. No matter what your age is, it is time to don your apron and get involved in the kitchen to explore and develop your skills in culinary arts!

We asked our Le Cordon Bleu Chefs, Jason McKavanagh, George Clegg, and William Pointu: What dishes should we be able to produce in the kitchen, from ages 15 to 50?

Watch the chefs in action with their video demonstration  - Recipes below!

• In Your Teens: Eggs-plore your passion for cooking
  

  Breakfasts are a great way to begin developing lifelong skills in the kitchen and to give your parent-figure a break from being the cook. Step into the kitchen and hatch the chef within with perfecting poached eggs and omelettes.
  
  
  Omelette RecipePoached Eggs Recipe
  
  

• In Your 20’s: Master a roast meal, cooked to perfection

  Q: What do 2-minute noodles and an impeccably cooked roast chicken have in common?
  A: They both require boiled water!
  Swap your staple for a weekend masterpiece and learn how to brine and roast chicken, just like Grandma would have been taught to.
  
  
  Grandma's Roast Chicken Recipe
  
  

• In Your 30’s: Develop your techniques with a finishing sauce

  Put your skills to the test by creating Hollandaise Sauce. From clarifying butter and cooking in a bain-marie to the vinegar reduction and sabayon ribbon stage, these are skills you’d hypothetically want to ‘add to your resume’!
  
  Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
  
  

• In Your 40’s: Indulge in creating a polished dessert

  Refine your knowledge in pastry and blind-bake your way to a decadent dessert. Treat your loved ones with a Chocolate Tart that will become a popular family favourite.
  
  Chocolate Tart Recipe
  
  

• In Your 50’s: Perfect a souffle using your experience

  Few have the patience and care needed to truly perfect one of the hardest desserts to bake. It’s time to take on a Raspberry Souffle and achieve the fluffy, light texture that will have the whole dinner table talking.
  
  
  Raspberry Souffle Recipe

If you love developing your cooking and pastry skills, take it to the next step with our 5-Week Short Course: Les Fondements De La Cuisine!