Pareto's Cooking

A great way to learn how to cook is to look up recipes that can be made in 15 minutes or less, or are made cheaper than usual, because they prioritize the 20% that makes up 80% of the dish (i.e. they follow Pareto’s Principle). An example of this in practice is the “But Cheaper” series by Joshua Weissman. Being constrained by cost forces you to choose the most important ingredients and techniques—the 20% that provides 80% of the flavour. Following these recipes is a great way to learn how to cook.

Another example of this in practice is brewing coffee. There are many things that you can do to improve your coffee, but the 20% that leads to the greatest return of results is using whole coffee beans, grinding your beans before you brew with a good grinder, and using a good coffee brewer and method to brew your coffee.

Food for Thought

On the topic of coffee, a few years ago I came across a video from James Hoffmann where he analyses his World Barista Championship-winning routine. At the time, Hoffmann wasn’t known as “the coffee guy” yet, but since then his channel has grown to become the go-to resource for all things coffee.

What I loved about the video was his passion for the craft and the immense attention paid to every little detail. At around 10:10, he talks about the importance of knowing the rules and how to bend them in your favour. This lesson has stuck with me since.

Of course, at this level it is no longer about the 20% that leads to 80% of the results, but the 80% that leads to the remaining 20%—which is much more difficult to achieve.