A Cooking Competition

So you think you can cook?

This was the exact question Tracy asked me after I mocked her for adding too much salt in the food she prepared for me.

In response to the question she asked, I told her she was no match for me when it comes to cooking. I was just so confident in myself to the extent I boasted and told everyone who cared to listen how great a cook I am.

All these happened in the presence of our other friends. They got tired of the debate between Tracy and me on whom the better cook is, and they decided we should have a cooking competition so as to end the debate once and for all.

_source

Truth be told, I have never prepared any meal in my life 🙈, and did I just agree to a cooking competition🙆? It dawned on me that moment that I was about to start my cooking experience with a competition. Who does that🤷??

Many things were just running through my mind. I have always had my mum, sisters or my female friends cook for me, and here I am, about starting my cooking experience with a cooking competition. I could not back out, and there was no going back because I had already boasted that I was a better cook. I wouldn't want to let myself down in the presence of my friends. Little did I know I was in for the greatest embarrassment of my life😢.

_source
While growing up, I see my mom whip up delicacies with a snap of a finger everyday. I know she didn't have any professional expertise but not even the food prepared outside can compete with her meals in terms of taste😋.

I lived with my parents for some time before gaining admission into the university. I've never for once entered the kitchen to see how my mum prepares the meals we eat. It never occurred to me that one day I will be faced with the responsibility of preparing my own meal.

Even though my mum called me severally into the kitchen to come and learn how she prepares these meals, I never gave heed to her calls because I was Inspired by Gustav's quote which says, “anyone can cook” and moreover, there are lots of cooking videos on the Internet that I can easily watch to know what to do.

I had always thought that cooking was the simplest thing to do. I never knew it was actually one of the hardest things to do. I had always thought it was as easy as putting all the ingredients at your convenience, not minding if they were in the right proportion or not. I never in my wildest imagination, thought I would have any issues with cooking.

And so, a date was fixed for the competition. It was agreed that we would prepare Jollof Rice. I was very much confident in myself after I watched several YouTube videos on how to prepare Jollof Rice💪.

_source
On that fateful day, I started so confidently, but the moment I poured the onion into the heated oil, the pot was on fire... 😂 😂...I couldn't stop laughing at myself...

Everyone tried running away, but I was bold enough to stop the fire. They all laughed at me, and I was kind of embarrassed. I had to explain to them that the pot was on fire because the oil poured on the flames. It wasn't funny at all as I cleaned everywhere and started all over again😢.

_source
I really don't want to bore you with all that happened during the period of the competition, and so the summary of everything was that my cooking was a disaster😭. I ended up adding too much water and ingredients into the food just because I wanted to make it delicious🙈.

Unfortunately, instead of being delicious, the food was nothing to write home about🤦🏽‍♂️... I just can't explain.... There and then, I knew I could not cook.

Tracy won the competition and I couldn't stand the embarrassment I was faced with that day. She and my friends laughed and laughed at me, and I had to shamefully admit she was a better cook than I am.

That day, I regretted why I never listened to my mum every time she called me to come and stay with her in the kitchen. Had it been I listened to her, I wouldn't have found myself in such a situation.

I vowed that day that I must learn how to cook and won't even ask any of my female friends to help me cook anymore. That day was the beginning of a new dawn for me when it comes to cooking.

Believe me when I tell you that am now one of the best cook you can ever see around. Trust me this time, am not boasting, am for real🤭 😜...