Published on October 12, 2005

Want to cook better at home? Buy a good set of knives, the freshest ingredients you can find and a cookbook. Whether you follow the cookbook is another matter.

Here’s what some of the World Gourmet Festival’s chefs suggest doing to improve your meals at home.

Cyrus Todiwala

Cafe Spice Namaste, London

KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. Use a cookbook as a guide, not as a regimen. Be creative. Food is about enjoyment. If you’re relaxed and keep it simple, you can’t go wrong.

Laurent Turondel

BLT Fish, BLT Steak, BLT Prime, New York City

Buy a good cookbook and follow it word by word. Don’t try to re-invent recipes. Cook dishes exactly as they’re meant to be cooked and you’ll have a better understanding of the food.

Jerome Tremoulet

Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant, Adelaide, Australia

Start with outstanding ingredients. Use fresh produce and high-quality fish and meats. Cook what you love to eat and you’ll learn to cook better.

Roy Yamaguchi

Roy’s Restaurants, Hawaii

Get a good set of sharp knives and a nice set of pots and pans, like two-ply stainless steel with an inner layer of aluminium for heat conduction. Keep it simple and follow your heart - not the recipe.

Walter Manzke

Bouchee and L’Auberge Carmel, Carmel, California

Ingredients are everything. If you’re driven by the freshest ingredients you can find, rather than a recipe, you’ll be a better chef.

Alan Koh

Koko Restaurant, Melbourne, Australia

Buy a good set of knives, like Global or Wusthof Trident, a brand that keeps its edge and can be sharpened easily.

Read cookbooks to get ideas, then develop your own stuff. And never, ever, use MSG.

The sixth annual World Gourmet Festival was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. It featured a dozen leading chefs from around the world, each cooking meals and holding classes for the public.

Hal Lipper

The Nation

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