As your schooling continues, and you spend more and more time with your education, it's tempting to start living off cafeteria food and takeout. However, cooking doesn't have to be hard, and in the long run, it's better for you to learn it yourself, and start preparing your own meals. Here are some reasons why:
We can show you how
At our School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, you can learn to become a master of making dishes thanks to one of our culinary programs. At the same time, you don't have to be in one of these programs to learn how to cook or bake. Since last year, Centennial has been passing that learning onto you with a series of videos, eCooking. For its second season, we're having some of the expert chefs teaching our programs show you how to make delicious confections. Here's our current entry:
While we're at it, here's a Buzzfeed list of simple dishes you can make in college, and yes, cake and cookies are on there. Worried about not having the supplies to cook? Here's how to cook without a proper kitchen, courtesy of Bon Appétit.
It doesn't cost much
Buy some groceries, and really check the bill. You'll be surprised at how cheap raw ingredients actually are. When you're eating out or ordering in, most of the cost goes into service and food preparation. Also, as The Kitchn notes, pre-made cooking and baking mixes are a similar waste of cash. Just by cutting that out, things will cost less, if you're willing to put the time into making them.
It's an important life skill
Learning how will benefit you in the long run, even if you're not turning it into a career. Cooking doesn't have to be hard, and knowing how to do it will help you better take care of yourself and others. On top of that, learning how to budget and afford food will give you a similarly valuable life experience, according to The Kitchn.
It's good for you
Even if it's a cookie or a cake, one you make yourself will be better for you than something you bought from a store, which is usually drowning in salt, sugar and preservatives. If you bake it yourself, you get to control what goes into the meal, making it as healthy as you like. Or unhealthy, it's up to you. The important thing is that you control what's going in.
You can make a career out of it
While you don't need to be a culinary student to learn, if cooking is something you enjoy, there's a career out there that we can connect you to. We have a number of different programs, including baking, which all take place at our Culinary Arts Centre, which houses commercial kitchens, a baking lab, and a real restaurant to give you the experience you need to master the craft of creating confections.
By Anthony Geremia