10 Things Every Man Should Be Able To Do In The Kitchen

9. Cook An Omelet

Believed to be one of the more simple tasks to perform in a kitchen, cooking the perfect omelet is -- as any chef will tell you -- one of the hardest culinary tasks to get right. So much so in fact that many chefs will ask any aspiring cook to prepare one to see if they have the necessary chops for this particular career. Making the perfect omelet takes good eggs, the right size pan, a decent amount of butter and lots of practice. But flipping a light fluffy omelet on to the breakfast plate of an overnight guest is a certain way to score points.

8. Buy And Use A Truffle Properly

One of my greatest dining pet peeves is the misuse and debasement of one of nature’s finest ingredients: the truffle. Be it the more affordable black truffle or the "sell-your-car-for-the-experience" white truffle, chefs seem intent on using them in ways for which they were never intended. Truffles are not a garnish and just shaving them over a lousy dish does not make that dish any better. If you really want to enjoy truffles at their finest, avoid the canned and jarred variety and run away as fast as you can from anyone who tries to sell you truffle oil. Buy them fresh when in season and use them with simple pasta dishes or, even better, a plate of creamy scrambled eggs.

7. "Break Down" An Animal

In my opinion, far too many people are disconnected from the source of their food and -- if you eat meat -- learning how to butcher an animal is a great way to put into perspective that in order for you to eat your steaks, chops and burgers, something with eyes and a face had to die. There are now many courses teaching you how to do everything from breaking down a chicken to turning pigs and cows into their primal cuts. Not only is there something very impressive and manly about knowing what to do with a boning knife, a hacksaw and the carcass of a dead animal, it also saves you lots of money as you stop paying for processed cuts from the supermarket.

6. Stage In A Professional Kitchen

You may think that you are a dab hand in the kitchen as you prepare dinner for your girlfriend or even a multicourse feast for friends and family, but until you have spent even a short time sweating in a professional kitchen, you will have no clue what it feels like to be a battle-hardened chef. My first experiences almost put me off food for good, as I saw the toil and troubles that went on behind the scenes while preparing my supper. But it did give me a great deal more respect for the chefs I meet and lots of hugely useful tips for my home kitchen.

5. Eat Like A Local (Even If It Scares The Heck Out Of You)

Like many travelers, when I'm heading to a new city, I always seek advice from the locals. Not only about where I should eat, but also what I should eat. It often takes me to some astonishing parts of the town, but also often sees me confronted with dishes that I would never encounter at home in Los Angeles. Although it can be challenging, it does serve to remind us that great food doesn't always come in convenient packages from the supermarket and that people in other parts of the world do not have the luxury of choice that we have in the West.

4. Make Your Own Charcuterie

When you pass a great Italian deli, those sausages, hams and slabs of pancetta in the window may look as if they have been created by some magical process, but in fact making cured meats is a straightforward and laborious process once you understand the basic science. I recommend you purchase Michael Ruhlman's excellent book Charcuterie before you begin and then start your journey toward salami-based ecstasy by making your own bacon. It’s far easier than you think and once you have sampled the finished product, you will never buy bacon from a store again.

3. Learn The "Mother" Sauces

The thought of smothering ingredients in rich sauces may seem as outdated as terrestrial TV, but the skills involved in making the five mother sauces will still place you in excellent company if you want to impress in the kitchen. Created by the original celebrity chefs Antoine Careme and Auguste Escoffier, the "mother" sauces are bechamel, hollandaise, tomato, veloute and espagnole. They form the basis for just about every sauce you are ever likely to need -- from a rich tomato sauce to serve with pasta to a sharp sauce bernaise served with a medium-rare steak.

1. Spend Over $1,000 On A Meal For 2

Restaurants are even more expensive than they were when I began my culinary adventures, but dropping a grand on a meal still requires sizeable cojones. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I have spent this much on a meal for two, and each time I did extensive research to ensure that it would be an experience that warranted such expenditure. There are quite a few places in the United States where I could spend that much money, but there are only a small number where I actually would. Top of the list would be Per Se in New York City where the levels of cooking and service makes even this amount seem like good value.