Took cooking in 4H + learned from Mom. Here in Norway, home ec is required for both girls and boys, so my kids learned the basic techniques (including basic laundry and home-cleaning techniques) and a few handsfull of recipes in grade 5 and again, somewhat more advanced, in grade 8. Each of those years, there was a practical "exam" that involved planning and executing a housework day at home, shopping for the main meal, at least one major cleaning chore (laundry and ironing, say, or washing windows, or ...), cooking and serving a 3-course meal when the rest of the family got home, after-meal cleanup, and writing a report including an account of the meal's cost-per-serving. Teacher dropped in sometime in the course of the day to see how things were going, and parent(s) filled out an evaluation form (great opportunity for positive parental recognition there!). When UK went to college in the US, her roommates were living on pop-tarts while she was baking bread and making soups from scratch. She now makes the family meal if she happens to be visiting Th'giving or X'mas; cooks better than I do! DS caught the eye of his first gf by cooking her a meal of lime salsa shrimp on tagliatelle ... while on a hiking trip in the mountains! When training a women's volleyball team, he baked them each cakes for their birthdays. There are things I'm critical of in Norwegian schools, but the gender-neutral home ec requirement is one thing I'm really pleased with.