So you think you can't cook?
The Food Chain
BBC
4.7 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Many people feel they can’t cook, or don’t know where to start. Studies suggest that in some countries, fewer people are preparing meals from scratch, and a lack of confidence in the kitchen can be a big part of the problem.
Ruth Alexander explores what holds people back from cooking, and how to overcome it. Drawing on her own experience of learning later in life, she asks: can anyone become a confident cook?
She’s joined by three guests who spend much of their lives in the kitchen, and who know that not everyone starts out with natural ability.
Robin Van Creveld, founder and director of Community Chef in Lewes, England, teaches people practical cooking skills through a social enterprise. Tokunbo Koiki, founder of Tokunbo’s Kitchen Catering Company and London African Food Week, joins from Lagos to share her approach to making cooking accessible and enjoyable. And Pak Wai Hung, owner of 288 Bar and Wok restaurant in Cheltenham, explains how building confidence can be just as important as learning techniques.
Together, they share simple, realistic ways to get started, from overcoming fear of failure to building basic skills and routines. Ruth asks them how beginners can gain confidence, what essential skills really matter, and how to make cooking feel less intimidating.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Izzy Greenfield Sound Engineer: Hal Haines Picture: Credit – Getty.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. |
| 0:07.3 | Their company's success helped build a nation. |
| 0:10.9 | The company is such a big part of Korea's economy. |
| 0:13.5 | But who are the family behind one of the world's tech giants? |
| 0:17.2 | They often say, look, we built the nation. |
| 0:19.5 | And without us, South Korea as it exists today, |
| 0:22.6 | would simply not be here. Inheritance, Samsung explores the real-life dramas of the Lee family |
| 0:28.3 | and their company. They are the equivalent of royalty. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.4 | This is the food chain from the BBC World Service, and I'm Ruth Alexander. You might expect me to be a good cook. |
| 0:42.9 | I'm not. I've always been interested even as a child but I was generally shooed away before I made a mess. |
| 0:48.9 | When I left home, I slowly got going but really we're talking stirring jars of sauce through pasta. |
| 0:55.3 | And then there were holidays with friends where everyone takes a turn to cook |
| 0:58.6 | and, well, I'd volunteer to wash up every night instead. |
| 1:02.3 | I have improved over the years, but I've never really shaken that early lack of confidence. |
| 1:08.6 | That feeling that I don't really know what I'm doing. Properly learning |
| 1:12.3 | to cook is still on my to-do list. And I figured I can't be alone. Studies show that in some |
| 1:18.5 | countries fewer and fewer people are preparing their meals from scratch. So you think you can't |
| 1:24.5 | cook and want to change that? Well, today three people who spend a lot of their lives in the kitchen, |
| 1:30.9 | and not all of whom were natural-born cooks, |
| 1:33.4 | are going to share their secrets of how to get started and gain confidence. |
| 1:38.9 | Robin Van Crafelt, originally from South Africa, |
| 1:41.7 | is the founder and director of Community Chef, |
... |
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