How old were you when you learned to cook?

I could do basic stuff, but did not really start learning on my own til mid 20's when my mom died. She was sick with cancer from the time I was 21 until 26. I was in college full time those years, so my dad did MOST of the big cooking. He had owned a diner and was the cook there before he retired and sold the place to his partner.
But after I moved out on my own, it was kind of trial and error for some of her specialty family meals, like chicken soup, pasta dishes and stuff. I became an OK cook and even had my brother coming to me for some of her recipes
 

Georgiagranny said:
@Marie5656 Imagine how hard it was to learn to cook for just me and a roommate after cooking for a whole herd of people until age 18!
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WOW....I was pretty sheltered as a young'un. I wish I could have learned more from my mom, but did well with trial and error. My older brother was a good cook...took classes, just for fun; and he helped me out too
 

I didn’t learn to cook until I got married at age 18 and started to use recipes and cookbooks. I never loved cooking but my kids needed to eat. Now that it’s only me I still cook, but then I have a lot left over for the freezer so I don’t need to do a lot of cooking. I freeze individual portions.

I now like to cook if I’m having company and make one of my special dishes that everyone enjoys. That’s fun because it’s not a regular task I have to do.
 
Because my mother never went to work and meals were always ready for when my father came home from work, we never learned to cook. Getting up to my teens I always liked to make bacon and eggs for breakfast or cereal and toast. When I married it was a different story. We always had baked dinners on the weekend and during the week, after getting home from work, it was usually mixed grills and salads. I hated cooking.
 
I learned when I was 11. My older sisters had gone off to college and that particular year my dad lived in DC because of his work while my mom and I lived in Phoenix. There were nights when my mom wasn't able to cook so I learned how to improvise using what was in the fridge. Mainly basic things. Nothing fancy. I was also very good at preheating the oven and throwing a Swanson frozen dinner in it 😉
 
MarkinPhx said:
I learned when I was 11. My older sisters had gone off to college and that particular year my dad lived in DC because of his work while my mom and I lived in Phoenix. There were nights when my mom wasn't able to cook so I learned how to improvise using what was in the fridge. Mainly basic things. Nothing fancy. I was also very good at preheating the oven and throwing a Swanson frozen dinner in it 😉
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I could do frozen diner in the preheat oven too. Or Microwave. It was from scratch & I just never got it right!
 
I loved to watch my grandmother in her kitchen. She let me participate in the cooking so through her I learned a lot.
My mother was a horrible cook. She burned everything but always tried to make these exotic dishes that I hated.
As she worked long hours, I was in charge of the kitchen. I was about 10 then.
Getting the groceries after school, setting up the table, cooking and cleaning up. My sister never helped me out. Like my mother, she hated domestic tasks.
A little help there would have been good, but it did not happen!
I actually have been enjoying cooking all my life, most probably because I love to eat!
 

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