Sally Mack Lorraine Pascale: How to Be a Better Cook

I'm Lorraine Pascale.

I'm always hearing from people who tell me

they would love to be better cooks,

but they don't know where to start.

So I want to help.

I've never cut up a chilli at all in my life before.

-Have you made a dressing for a salad before?

-No.

I didn't start cooking until my thirties,

so I wanted to prove that with some easy tips...

Lots of flavour, that's what it's all about.

..and a few simple recipes...

Mmm.

..even if you haven't cooked before,

it's never too late to learn.

-That's really good!

-You sound surprised.

I'm going to teach six unconfident cooks

how to pull off a special meal for family and friends.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-WHOOPING

Hello!

-Lorraine's not cooking tonight. I am.

-No!

-No!

I'll be creating dishes that anyone can cook,

from simple family suppers to unbelievably easy party pieces.

All it takes is a bit of enthusiasm...

-Mmm, that is yummy.

-Mmm.

..and some confidence.

-Well done, Mummy.

-Thank you, darling.

-See, we're cooking. This is cooking.

-Yes.

I'm on my way to meet Sally Mack, a PA from Hertfordshire.

At the age of 51, Sally still lacks the confidence

to cook for anyone other than herself, even her own family.

I really want to cook a meal for my three foodie sisters and my father.

He's going to be 83 this year and, in his words,

if I don't do it now, I may never get the opportunity.

So please can you give me some help, just to make this happen?

'I'm meeting Sally at her local tea rooms

'to find out what's been holding her back in the kitchen.'

So Sally, you don't think you're a very good cook?

I kind of know I'm not a very good cook.

So why have you decided

to confront this confidence in the kitchen issue, now?

I had a 50th birthday bucket list

and one of them was to cook for my family,

particularly for my dad.

Well, Sally's never really been a cook,

as far as the family have been concerned.

No, I don't think Sally has ever cooked for us.

No, I don't think Sally's ever cooked for us.

Since two of Sally's sisters trained at catering college,

it's been all too easy for her to take a back seat.

When it comes to family parties,

nobody includes her in the list

of who's going to do what for the party.

-If we do our annual Christmas event, Sally brings soft drinks.

-She does.

-And then goes and plays with the children.

-Watches Doctor Who.

But with confidence...

-Yes.

-You know, when you know how to cook the meal,

then everything else just flows.

It sounds really good when you say that.

THEY LAUGH

What sort of meal would you ideally like to cook for your family?

-Um, I'd really like to cook a Chinese meal.

-Mm-hm.

Because my father's heritage is China.

It would just, I think specially at this time in his life,

I think it would be really nice just to

-bring back memories of his childhood.

-Yeah.

I'm getting older and she might not have another chance another time.

HE LAUGHS

'I can see it would really mean the world to Sally

'to cook for her dad and sisters,

'so I'm going to design a three-course Chinese meal

'to help her realise her dream.'

I've got one day in the kitchen with Sally to teach her

all the skills she needs to pull it off.

She's then got three weeks to practise before the big day.

'But before I can create the right menu for her,

'I need to see where we're starting from.'

So Sally, I'd like you to cook for me.

See, my anxiety level has just gone way through the roof.

LORRAINE LAUGHS Right.

'I'm giving Sally carte blanche to see what she comes up with.'

You said your anxiety's rising.

My anxiety level has just shot through the roof.

-Sweaty palms, panic.

-Um...

-Cook, just relax.

I'm not here to, sort of judge, I'm here to help

and see where the gaps are and how we can

hopefully improve your cooking.

So, er...

-..tomatoes.

-OK.

-Always a good start.

-I've got some tuna. Oh, oh, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Tuna.

-Some pasta.

-Yeah.

That would be quick and simple, wouldn't it?

Seems like it.

This is part of it, see, I'm rubbish at multi-tasking.

I want to talk to you and I want to cook at the same time.

-I can see the fear in your eyes already.

-No fear.

So is this the kind of thing that you would cook for yourself?

I would cook this for myself, but following a recipe.

It's about freestyling, isn't it, and adding your own spin on things?

Yeah, but I'm anxious that if I do that for someone else,

they'll think "What on earth is in this?"

So do we have a name for this dish?

Um, it'll be something like Pasta In A Panic.

THEY LAUGH

Sally clearly finds multi-tasking stressful.

She's forgotten two fundamental rules when cooking,

to taste and season her food.

So I'll just try the pasta first.

Well, you've almost swallowed it.

Very al dente. At least it's not overcooked.

Watching her cook, I can see that she moves around the kitchen

really well, she kind of understands the basic flavour combinations.

But what Sally really needs is some simple techniques that will

help her not to panic in the kitchen.

Like Sally, many people are held back by the fear

that no-one else will like their food.

I need a menu that will give even a complete novice

the confidence to have a go.

So I've designed a Chinese meal

perfect for anyone's first dinner party.

A simple starter that teaches the vital rule of all cooking...

Tasting as you go along.

A classic main course that's all about timing.

And a showstopper dessert that tastes every bit

as good as it looks.

My first task is to show Sally that cooking doesn't have to be

an exact science.

Many people lack the confidence to just throw ingredients together,

so I've chosen a recipe to show that cooking is

all about trusting your own taste buds.

Pork loin ribs, with a sweet and sour glaze.

I want to share a simple way to create classic Chinese flavours.

And I'll show how to balance sweet and sour to suit your own taste.

Beautiful, beautiful smell.

I do have a recipe, but what I really want to try

and bring out of you is to learn to trust your instincts

and the best way to do that is by tasting the food as you go along.

For this starter, I'm getting Sally to use loin ribs

instead of spare ribs, as they are quicker to cook.

I'm introducing Sally to a secret ingredient

that's used in lots of Chinese cooking, five spice.

-Go for it, sprinkle it over.

-Can I put too much on?

You stop when you think you should stop.

And then I'm going to get a bit of salt as well.

-A couple of pinches.

-And how...? Is a pinch literally a pinch?

-Yeah, what you can pick up with your forefinger.

-OK.

Rub it with your hands. Just rub it into the meat.

And then pop it in the oven for about 20, 25 minutes.

And that's stage one.

-So, how was that so far?

-That was, that was fine.

-Yeah?

-Because that didn't feel like cooking.

OK, what's cooking to you, then, does it have to be complex?

It's pots and pans and, you know, things on the boil

-and juggling and...so that...

-So it's chaos.

-Organised chaos.

I want to teach Sally

a straightforward sweet and sour glaze.

This is where her taste buds will come into play.

-We need some ketchup.

-I was about to get a measure.

-I want you to do it without the measure.

-So two, three.

And then some honey. So we need one to three.

So do you like your food quite sweet? This is sweet and sour ribs.

Yeah, I like a couple, two. So, yeah. Two, three.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Excellent.

Then a couple of glugs of soy sauce.

And this is the salty element, obviously, the soy.

And a splash of rice vinegar or balsamic.

If you do freestyle it a little bit using the recipe as a base

and it comes out, turns out well, then it gives you confidence to,

"Actually, you know what? I can go this alone", as it were.

-Yeah.

-Sliced ginger will add heat and fragrance to the glaze.

-All right, now the chilli.

-Ah, yes.

-All right.

Now, I know you've got your lovely chillies over there,

but we're going to use this one today.

What I'm going to do is get you to try the chilli,

so it's really important before you put the chilli in

to know how hot it is.

-Just tastes like a red pepper, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

So you put one of these in and there'll be no heat,

-and we need the heat.

-Yeah.

This should be slightly more impressive on the heat factor scale.

Chillies contain a substance called capsaicin.

The more they have, the bigger the kick.

-OK. Safe to say, they're substantially hotter.

-Wow.

-How much are we going, is it a whole chilli?

-Let's put half of that in.

Well, let's do it, let's try it.

If you want to put the whole one in, you can do it too.

Sally's learning that cooking doesn't have to prescriptive.

There's often no right and wrong,

it's about designing food to your own tastes.

-No, that's good.

-Yeah, are you happy with that?

-For me, that's good.

OK, perfect. If you pour half of that on there, all over it.

The reason I put the glaze on now and not at the beginning

is because the high sugar content in the honey would make it burn.

25 more minutes, and it's ready to plate up.

-What do you think about those?

-The first impression is the smell.

It smells gorgeous and it looks like you want to just get in there.

They look so good.

And for colour, some bright green spring onions and finely

chopped red chillies, to make them look as good as they taste.

It's really lovely and it's sweet and it's sticky

and there's just that little bit of chilli kick,

and actually, dare I say, this is like you'd get in a restaurant.

-Oooh, and you made it all by yourself.

-Yeah.

I'm so chuffed by the way Sally embraced my starter,

tasting and adjusting as she went along, but it is early days.

We're only at the beginning of this long journey

and she's been cooking in the kitchen just with me.

When she cooks for her family, for all those people,

it's going to be a whole other ball game.

But cooking Chinese food really doesn't have to be daunting

and I have another simple recipe to prove it.

For anyone that's lacking confidence in the kitchen,

I think this dish is a winner.

Salt and pepper Sichuan prawns

with a soy and chilli dipping sauce.

I'm starting with the sauce.

All you need for this is five tablespoons of mirin,

a type of rice wine available in most supermarkets.

Four teaspoons of dark soy sauce,

one teaspoon of sugar and roughly chopped red and green chillies.

Sauces like this are a great way to expand your cooking repertoire.

Once you've cracked it, you can use it

time and again as a dip or a marinade with fish, veg or meat.

To give the prawns a real zing, just grind up some Sichuan pepper

seeds, with some five spice and a pinch of salt.

And work this into a powder.

Toast the mix in a pan with no oil, over a medium heat.

When the smell of spices fills the room, you know they're done.

The prawns just need to be stir-fried in a splash of oil

until they turn pink.

Then sprinkle over the delicious spices.

I like to add spring onions and a sprinkle of chilli.

The beauty of this dish is that it's super quick to make...

..and like my pork loin ribs, you really don't need to be that exact.

Cooking a three-course dinner party in front of guests is enough

to send some people into a panic.

So I've come up with a classic Chinese dish that will help

even first time cooks to feel in control.

Chicken and cashew nut stir-fry.

I'll use this recipe to teach Sally a fail-safe way to cook rice.

I'll show her that preparing all the ingredients in advance will

help her to stay calm on her big day.

And I want to teach Sally one of the most important

lessons in cooking...timing.

So this is tasty, it's really, really easy,

so now all I have to do is teach Sally to make it.

I'm going to start off with the rice.

So I'm going to put about 150 grams in here, approximately.

-So I'm just eyeballing it.

-So you pre...

See, I'd be measuring it.

There are many ways to cook rice but I'm showing Sally my favourite...

The absorption method.

Just use double the amount of water to rice, pop the lid on

and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all the water's been absorbed.

Just enough time to prep the veg

and I've got a few tips on how to keep that simple too.

So, you chop the end off and then the other end,

cut it straight down the middle and then, like, unroll it.

-Oh, that looks easy.

-OK? It is, it is.

Chop the spring onions,

leaving out the dark green parts, which can be quite bitter.

Ginger, chilli and garlic are all flavours typical of Chinese cooking,

so I hope that Sally's dad will approve.

So this is obviously really important to you

to get this meal right.

It is, A, because I've never cooked for him, but B,

if I'm doing a Chinese meal, it's got to be good.

The best way to quickly bring out the flavour of cashew nuts

is to toast them.

Spread them out in a pan with no oil over a medium heat

and keep the pan on the move, so the nuts get evenly browned.

-Can you smell that?

-Smell that.

When you start to smell them, that's time to take them off.

Ooh, lovely.

To stop the chicken from sticking,

just add a little bit of oil before it goes in.

-The meat needs to sit for a little bit.

-Oh, right.

Just to sit and get some colour on and then turn it over.

The peppers go in halfway through, so they don't go soggy.

So you can turn up the heat a bit now, too,

because the vegetables will be releasing water, which is

going to lower the temperature.

My trick is to make sure the stir-fry has a nice sauce,

so I add some chicken stock.

And I'm going to ask you

to put about three tablespoons of this hoisin sauce.

You should do it by eye.

So put a little bit.

-It's fine, it's all fine. Everything's fine.

-OK.

It's really important to put the garlic in last,

as it burns very easily.

-Now, I'd have put that in first.

-You'd put the garlic in first?

-Cos it's hard.

-Ah, yeah, no.

Garlic burns and when it burns, it tastes quite bitter.

-Mm, that's nice.

-Do you like that?

-Mm.

-OK, that's done now.

Now, do you think that's the kind of thing that your family

would like to have served?

-Yeah, and it looks good.

-Yeah. Shall we have a taste?

-Yeah.

What's really nice is that there's that little bit of chilli kick,

-there's that little bit of fire.

-Yeah.

But it's quite sweet

and I like the fact that the peppers are still crunchy,

whereas in mine, it wouldn't have been crunchy.

So do you feel confident about doing this?

Yeah, with a little bit of practice, I do, yeah.

Today, Sally's finally realised that she can produce food that

tastes great, and is good enough for others to appreciate.

And she's also seen how preparation

and timing will help her to keep her cool.

But so far, she's only been cooking with me

and for her surprise dinner, she'll have the added pressure

of cooking under the watchful eyes of dad and foodie sisters.

I know the whole idea still terrifies Sally.

So I've got a plan to help her build her confidence for the big day.

Now, I know you're used to cooking for yourself and I would love

you to get a feel of what it's like cooking for large numbers of people.

-More than four or five?

-Yes.

-OK.

I'm pushing Sally right out of her comfort zone.

She'll be making and serving food at a Chinese street stall,

right in front of the customers.

Today is not about standing here and just ordering the food

and eating it, today is about being behind the counter.

-When people come to eat their lunch, you'll be cooking.

-Oh, my word.

And we're going to make some noodles.

On a busy day, stall owner Jessica

can serve up to 200 people over lunch,

so before the hungry hordes arrive, she needs to get Sally

up to speed with today's dishes, all served with freshly-made noodles.

What you're going to do is just grab both ends

and slap it really hard against the table.

You're doing really great.

Sally's going to have to get her skates on,

the queues are already starting to build up.

-Great. Thank you, Sally.

-Now, you can see when these are ready.

When I first met you, you weren't confident at all.

I would have looked at the clock.

You'd be looking at the clock and panicking,

-now look, you're off, you're off.

-I'd have set the timer.

-One lamb, one pork, please.

-Who's this one for?

-Please enjoy it.

-Thank you.

Sally is cooking and she's doing a brilliant job. There's a huge queue.

Brilliant. I'm really, really impressed.

I hope this is proving to Sally that she can

cook in front of an audience and stay calm.

It does make me think, I'm only going to cook for four, five people.

Easy.

Sally not only coped well under pressure,

she actually enjoyed herself too!

But there is one thing that I know she still doubts,

and that's her ability to make food look good.

For Sally's dessert, I've come up with an idea that I think

will really help her with her presentation skills.

It's a beautiful mango and white chocolate cake with toasted coconut.

This dessert combines classic Chinese flavours,

and will introduce some really useful cooking techniques.

This beautiful looking dessert starts off with a simple

sponge recipe.

Baking cakes is all about ratios.

To start with, you need equal amounts of butter and sugar.

And when these have blended into a deliciously creamy texture,

you can then break in the eggs.

To really enhance the flavour of your sponge,

I like to use fresh vanilla, but if you don't have that to hand,

a good quality dark syrupy vanilla extract is a great alternative.

Then, add the self-raising flour.

Then it's into a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about half an hour.

Don't be tempted to open the door too early

or you could stop the cake from rising.

This next part is all about chocolate

and it's what takes this from a normal sponge

to a very special cake.

I'm making an elegant garnish that would give a wow factor to any cake.

Chocolate shards.

To stop the chocolate from burning, melt it in a bain-marie,

a bowl placed over hot water, until it's runny enough to pour.

So I've measured the height of the cake

and added just a little bit and then cut out some strips

and I'm going to spread the chocolate on to these strips.

And the thing is, when you're using white chocolate,

it's quite stubborn and it goes lumpy and bumpy.

So if you find when you're working with it

that it's gone a bit firm again,

just put it back into the microwave or onto a bain-marie

and get it nice and molten.

So I'm just going to spread some white chocolate on this strip,

then let it cool and cut it into shards.

Quite thick, otherwise they'll just snap when you come to cutting it.

And now I'm going to pop these into the freezer for two or three

minutes to get nice and firm.

Before you can decorate the cake,

you need something to make the chocolate shards stick.

Butter icing is one option,

but I like to use a chocolate sauce known as a ganache.

Simply bring some double cream to the boil

and then pour into the chocolate.

That's ready. It's spongy to the touch

and the edges have shrunk slightly away from the tin.

Make sure you let the cake cool down before you add the ganache.

I'm going to put my cake on a plate and at this stage, it does look

very messy, but it's going to get covered up, so it doesn't matter.

Right, the shards. They're nice and firm.

And then hot knife and then just cut it into equal size strips

and then peel off the baking parchment and the other side

should be relatively flat.

All the way around, cold hands help with this.

Now, even though it takes a little bit of time to decorate,

I really think it's worth it.

It's a beautiful cake.

Then top off the cake with freshly chopped mango.

And then just finish off with some toasted

coconut for a bit of extra flavour.

This should be the perfect end to Sally's Chinese meal.

Sally's big day has arrived.

When I met her, she was terrified of cooking for anyone

other than herself.

And in just a few hours, she'll be serving a three course

Chinese meal to her family for the very first time.

She's been practising the courses I've taught her over the last

three weeks, and her sisters still have no idea what's about to happen.

They think they're being treated to a supper by a family friend.

Only Dad is in on the surprise.

Well, Sally's never really been a cook as far as the family

have been concerned.

I'm proud of the fact that she said "I've lacked this confidence

"and I really would like some help with it".

Who do you think you're more nervous cooking for?

I think my dad, because I've never cooked for him

and I want it to be right.

I just want it to be right.

Sally's hard practice has clearly paid off.

Look how beautiful that looks.

I'll be here for moral support but from now, it's all down to her.

See, that in itself is scary.

I've never cooked with that much meat in one go.

Come on, let's get it in.

Right, so ribs are in the oven, glaze is almost made.

Bit of chopping to do for the stir-fry. I think we're good.

How are you feeling?

A little bit nervous now, because it's going to be real.

-It is very real.

-It's not homework any more.

-No.

So any minute now, they'll be walking through the door.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Surprise, surprise.

I've invited you all here today to cook a meal for you

because I'm well aware that I have never,

ever cooked a meal for all of you, even though you've done it for me.

I've never cooked a meal for Dad.

And she's been practising and practising and practising for weeks.

-I'm very excited.

-We're all ready for this.

-We're in for a real treat.

-Smells good.

-Yeah. Does smell good.

-Smells really good.

-I'm ready.

Time to showcase Sally's pork loin ribs with a sweet and sour glaze.

-ALL:

-Hooray.

-Thank you very much. Enjoy.

Oh, that's lovely, Sally. Absolutely delicious.

Wow, that's spicy for me,

but it's lovely and the ribs are just about falling to pieces.

-It's great.

-I like the sauce too.

-Yummy, thank you.

You've done really well, Sally.

It looks beautiful and it smells gorgeous too.

-Caught us out completely, yeah.

-Completely surprised.

We had no idea what's been happening today.

Starter's clearly been a hit.

Let's hope Sally can keep her cool for the main.

Right, I'm going just to go like this. So they're really done.

-How much do you want in?

-Well, that much.

-We can always put some on top.

-OK.

I really hope her chicken and cashew nut stir-fry will do her proud.

-It's gone really quiet.

-I know, we're all waiting.

-We're excited.

In tense anticipation.

You've done a really, really, really good job.

It's colourful, loads of texture

and hopefully, your family will love the flavour as well.

-OK, here's your main course.

-It smells yummy.

-Thank you very much.

Oh, I was very surprised. I was shocked.

I had no idea about today but I would never,

ever have imagined this.

-It's very good, Sally.

-Thank you.

Mum would have been very proud of you, Sally.

She's confident in so many other aspects of her life.

This was about the only one she wasn't.

So to see her do that and see her cooking up there was amazing.

And finally, Sally's show piece.

Mango and white chocolate cake with toasted coconut.

The whole experience has been really exciting,

it's been nerve-racking, it's been challenging, I've learnt a lot,

but the final outcome was really, really enjoyable.

-Very good, Sally.

-Nice balance of flavours.

It's been really great cooking with Sally

and she has achieved what she thought was impossible,

and that is to cook a meal for her family, especially for her dad,

and she's proved that she can make food that other people love.

The girl's done good.

When I was sitting down and it was just all five of us,

I suddenly caught myself and thought, "Gosh, how weird is this?"

I've just cooked this meal and we're all sitting here and I've

cooked three courses, and that's something I've never experienced.

It's a good thing to have done, a great thing to have done.

-Sally, that was great.

-Thank you. Cheers.

-Cheers, Sally.

I do feel a little bit tearful, I have to say.

I thought it was a lovely idea, really lovely thing to do.

It was splendid and a little bit of a surprise,

bearing in mind that it was Sally and she'd not done it before.

It is nice to be cooked by any of them, but this time, special.

Since filming, Sally's become more confident about trying

different ingredients and making recipes her own.

She's also cooked more special meals for her dad.