A good programmer is an engineer. Just as you can apply the skills of a scientist or a Bayesian to many domains, the skills of an engineer are broadly applicable to other creative works like writing, woodworking, cosplay, or in this case, cooking.
There's just one problem: I've never learned engineering formally, so I can't tell you what the principles are. All I can do is map the introductory concepts of cooking onto the introductory concepts of programming.
Getting to Hello World
Writing out a program that prints "Hello world" is a rite of passage for anyone learning how to code. This has a couple of purposes. The first is to give confidence. The second is to set up your build environment. The last is to give the basic understanding of syntax.
The same concepts translate to cooking. You want a small success that gives you confidence to do more complicated things. You want to check your build environment — pots, pans, seasoning, spices, ingredient storage, knife, chopping board. You want familiarity with some basic skills.
The trickiest part of this analogy is knowing what a good Hello World recipe is. A good Hello World recipe must have the following criteria:
- Fast to make (including total prep time + cooking time). You want fast iteration speed!
- Difficult to screw up. Should work fine even if you flub the heat levels, timing, chopping, etc.
- Doesn't make a mess. Doing a lot of cleanup for a simple dish is demotivating.
- Rewarding. Ideally, something that gives you a complete meal, or is a simple comfort food you'll come back to over and over again.
What would or would not make for good "Hello World" recipes?
- ❌ Fried/scrambled eggs. Badly done they'll stick to the pan, be gross and rubbery, etc. Requires good heat control and technique to get right, and a stuck egg is a frustrating cleanup.
- ✅ Egg mayo. Boiled eggs are much more forgiving. Boiling is a simple process, and mashing with mayonnaise is straightforward. It's difficult to mess up badly, cleanup is minimal, and it's a versatile filling or side.
- ✅ Steamed egg pudding. Can be simplified to be done in the microwave if needed, versatile, minimal ingredients. It's gentle cooking, hard to overcook to a terrible state (at worst, it's a bit firm), and cleanup is usually just a bowl.
- ❌ Grilled cheese sandwich. Careful control of heat is required. Even experienced chefs screw it up (see Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich) Too high heat leads to burnt bread and unmelted cheese; too low leads to greasy bread.
- ✅ Ham and cheese sandwich. Mostly assembly, but a hundred ways to get it right, many ways to jazz it up, almost no way to screw it up. It's quick, requires no cooking, and allows you to experiment with your condiments.
- ❌ Homemade fries. Requires deep frying, which involves large amounts of hot oil, precise temperature control for crispiness and to avoid sogginess, and can be messy and potentially dangerous for a beginner. Cleanup is also significant.
- ✅ Baked potatoes / sweet potatoes. Forgiving on timing and temperature (within reason). Minimal prep (wash, poke, bake), cleanup is negligible (especially if using foil), and it's a versatile and satisfying base for a meal.
- ❌ Roast chicken. Long cooking time, requires attention to ensure it's cooked through without drying out. Handling a whole raw chicken can be intimidating for beginners, and cleanup can be extensive with chicken fat.
- ✅ Chicken soup. Forgiving — ingredients can be roughly chopped, and simmering is a gentle cooking method. It's hard to ruin, often tastes better the next day, is a complete and comforting meal, and cleanup is typically one pot.
- ❌ Risotto. Requires constant attention, precise timing, and can easily become mushy or undercooked. It's a dish that demands a lot of technique and patience, all for a dish that can be bland if not done well.
- ✅ Pasta with simple sauce. Boiling pasta is straightforward, and a simple sauce (like olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes) can be made quickly. It's forgiving, requires minimal ingredients, and cleanup is usually just a pot and a pan.
- ✅ Carbonara. This'll be controversial. Many will tell you this is a difficult dish - and they're not wrong if you're trying to make it properly. Assuming you aren't trying to impress your Italian grandmother, a beginner's version (just use bacon and eggs, don't splurge on that fancy Italian stuff yet) is quick, requires minimal ingredients, and is rewarding.
You can find your own examples. One of the trickiest things about starting cooking: you've no idea how hard or easy something is to make.