Cooking together – tips, tricks and recipes
How does it work to cook a meal together? What do you need to bear in mind so that the soup doesn’t end up over-salted? I’ve tried it out and summarised the most important tips for you. Including suitable recipes, of course.
I love cooking for friends, family and acquaintances. Depending on what I’m planning, I may start preparing early in the morning or even the day before. For example, a stock has to be made, dough kneaded, vegetables chopped, sauces stirred or something else put into something else. I prefer to do this alone. People who know me know that it’s better not to interfere with my work.
Honestly? The idea of sharing the kitchen with others makes me a little nervous. I’ve missed out on the trend of cooking with friends so far. Could it be that I’m missing out on something in my solitary cooking behaviour? Is it even possible to cook together in a group? Or is it rather the case in reality that one person cooks and everyone else watches and sips their drinks? In short: Should I take the plunge and try my hand at a communal cooking experience? Asked, done – and so I found out for you how it actually works to cook together.
Even the initial considerations gave me a headache. How many people make the kitchen chaos perfect? I decided to approach the cooker with six people and continued to think about how this communal cooking could live up to its name. To immediately create a sense of community, I asked my fellow cooks to vote on the dish. I recommend that you make a pre-selection and then everything is decided collectively. If the shopping list is long, you can split it up. Perhaps split the shopping into starter, main course and dessert. This will keep things organised and won’t be too stressful for anyone.
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The recipe is the boss
To make sure that you not only cook together but also eat together in peace at the end, someone has to take the lead. And that is the recipe. There is no room for individual creativity at this point because, as we all know, several cooks spoil the broth. And very important: not every dish is suitable for cooking together. The preparations can take a lot of time, while the part where you actively work at the cooker should be relatively short. Stews, for example, which can be cooked virtually on their own, are ideal. In the following recipe gallery you will find some suggestions for stews that are wonderful to prepare together.
If the planned meal consists of several components or even several courses, the order of preparation should be determined in advance. After all, the individual recipes have to work together. It often makes sense to start from the back and begin with the dessert.
Make an effort
When it comes to the side dishes, things can get really elaborate. When many hands are involved, mountains of potatoes are peeled in a flash and the pasta dough is rolled out in no time at all. In the following recipe gallery, you’ll find side dishes that don’t take much work at all.
Blitz recipes with team spirit
You should also make sure that the recipe consists of steps that are easy to divide up. After all, everyone has a job to do. A dish with lots of ingredients that need to be prepared is ideal. Measuring spices, washing salad, paring meat or chopping vegetables. The individual tasks, which may seem a little tedious on their own, make cooking together interesting. Then a quick curry with rice or a colourful bowl becomes an absolute turbo dish. In the following recipe gallery you will find our Blitz favourites, which are even quicker to put on the table when you work as a team.
The division of labour is just as important as the division of tasks. Vegetables can be chopped at the dining table, but the person who washes the salad has to go to the sink. It is also important to make sure that everyone really does stay together and that nobody moves to another room for reasons of space. Perhaps the coffee machine can be moved off the worktop and maybe the bar table will still fit in the kitchen?
Preparation is everything
There are some dishes that are just crying out for a big round. The fondue set and the raclette grill finally want to come out of their boxes again. These are the classics, but there is now also the pizza oven or the Workstation for the dining table. These dishes have the advantage that the actual cooking process takes place at the table. And yet there is still a lot to prepare together beforehand. In the following recipe gallery, we have ideas for raclette pans and a Chinese fondue in two parts.
Perfectly seasoned
At the end, everyone should taste the dish together, but please don’t all flavour it together. Agree on how much seasoning is still missing. One person likes it a little more savoury, the other all the saltier. In the event of disagreement, season individually at the table. After all, the shared dish is the result of a thoroughly democratic act. In my opinion, sharing the cooking spoon can only work as such.
We decided on a recipe together and worked together to make sure it turned out well. And it was, and we were all equally proud of the result. However, spending time with my friends was much more important than the food. Just as I’m looking forward to using my kitchen on my own again next time, it won’t be long before we’re cooking together again. Because even the washing up is done together when we cook together.
