About Cookin101.com

The idea for Cookin101.com came to me late one night while lying in bed.  I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about my future.  What was I going to do?  I was living in beautiful, sunny southern Spain at the time where everything moves a little slower.  I couldn’t complain, but I wanted something more. 
       After opening three new restaurants and running three as the Executive Chef, I knew it wasn’t my calling to work so hard for someone else and just bring home a paycheck.  I wanted to be my own boss, but how?  I toyed with the idea of exporting some of Spain’s amazing products such as the olive oil, olives, tuna, art, ceramics, jamón, and wines.  This proved to be too much for me and after reading many books about importing and exporting I abandoned the idea. 
       I then changed my focus from many products to just one, wine.  Spain has some incredible wines that are increasingly available in the United States, but I wanted to import Spanish wine as well.  After much research and reading, I realized I was forcing myself to work with something I wasn’t passionate about.  I like wine but I don’t Love it.  So what do I love?
       Back to that sleepless night, I thought what can I do that I love?  It came to me; I love to teach people how to cook.  As the executive chef of a restaurant, you see many cooks pass through the kitchen, some good and some bad.  Some didn’t know anything, a blank slate.  This is the kind of cook I liked.  No bad habits, no attitude, just ready to learn.  I found I got much more satisfaction teaching these young cooks how to be solid assets to any kitchen.  It made me laugh seeing these newcomers doing better in no time than the guy who thought he was the best cook in the kitchen. 
       I decided I would use the internet to reach the widest audience available to show them through video everything I have learned over the years.  What better way to show someone exactly how to turn a recipe of many ingredients into a delicious dish. 
       What I try to instill in my new cooks is that you don’t have to follow recipes exactly.  Recipes are meant to be used as a guide.  Professional cooks can talk about recipes and just say “what do you put in that dish?”  There is no need to ask for amounts or measurements because they wouldn’t follow them anyway.  This is not always the case, but as you become more familiar with the techniques and feel more comfortable cooking, you will find that you too can cook this way.  You will be able to go out to your favorite restaurant and decipher the recipes and then go home and make the same dish.  It may not be as good, it may be better, but you made it!
       What I want you to take away from this site is the ability to cook anything you want, and always make it Delicious!  It’s not that hard.

Thanks for cooking with me on Cookin101.com

Chef Brian Sernatinger