Cooking Skill
Skill Points: 10
Breakdown: 10 SP + 0 XP
Competency: Novice
Extremely simple techniques are learned here, most likely picked up from watching another cook perform, having a relative show a few skills off, or from reading some cookbook off the street. He would need a recipe or a guiding hand to put any kind of food together, save for the most simple of dishes, such as buttered toast. Such a cook is simply not experienced enough to know how to take the varieties of herbs, fruits, meats, veggies, flours, and powders; and put them all together to form something that actually tastes good. A novice would be able to do simple recipes at this point in their career, although making everything from scratch usually results in a bit of an off-flavor, collapsing cakes, burnt bottoms of cookies, meat seared a little too much, or perhaps served a little too rare, and so on. She would just now be learning the importance of measuring and weighing ingredients, proper whisking, mixing, seasonings, different cooking methods, how to prep ingredients, and so forth. They are learning the basics of all their tools, such as knives, measuring tools, as well as the basics of sanitation. He would be using different cutting boards for raw meats and fresh produce, storing raw chicken and fish separate, and how to clean up after themselves in the most sanitary manner. There are a variety of tools for use at this stage, tools to cut, peel, chop, grate, and dice. Novice cooks learn by simply floundering around with these tools, and wide base of knowledge, until it becomes natural. Experience is key.