Dishes people order at restaurants, but just aren’t worth the effort of making at home

While cooking, some dishes are worth the time and effort to make at home, leaving others to the professionals is better.    

From complex sauces and gravies to hand-rolled pasta and multi-course meals, some dishes require specialized equipment and ingredients or high culinary skill and experience.    

So, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced home cook, this blog will give you seven dishes that are not worth making at home and taste the best only if you have someone to make them for you.

Note: Did you know CookinGenie’s private chef service can do this for you? All you need to do is choose your menu and pay online. 

Our chefs turn up at your door with the groceries for your menu, cook, and clean your kitchen afterward.   

And our prices are competitive! Prices typically start as low as $50/per person for an order to serve four.

Sushi 

Making sushi at home can be a challenging and time-consuming process. Sushi requires a lot of precision and attention to detail. Even small mistakes can result in subpar rolls. 

Sushi also requires specialized ingredients, such as high-quality sushi rice, nori seaweed, and fillings like raw fish, avocado, and pickled vegetables.  

Making the fillings and preparing the rice to the correct texture and consistency can be difficult and requires experience. Additionally, you will need specialized equipment, such as a sushi mat, to properly roll the sushi.  

Unless you have a lot of experience and the right ingredients and equipment, making sushi at home can be frustrating and may not result in an authentic experience.

Fried Chicken  

Making fried chicken at home can be a messy and labor-intensive process. (Sigh!)  

Usually, it requires a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pot and the right ingredients, like breadcrumbs, flour, and seasonings. Properly breading the chicken can also be a challenge and requires experience.   

And as anyone who has seen deep-frying disasters on Thanksgiving can tell you, deep-frying chicken is challenging.  

You risk splattering the oil, which can be dangerous and messy. And if you’re inexperienced at deep-frying techniques, you can easily overcook or undercook the chicken. The chicken will probably be too dry, tough, or greasy.   

Unless you have experience, breaded and fried dishes like fried chicken take a lot of effort and can be messy to make at home.

Lobster 

Boiling and cracking a lobster can be a labor-intensive process. It would help if you had the right equipment, such as a large pot, lobster crackers, and the proper ingredients, such as butter, herbs, and lemon.   

Cooking the lobster just right, whether boiling or steaming it, takes some expertise, and you can quickly end up cooking it tough or rubbery.   

Cleaning and extracting the meat from the lobster shell is also messy and time-consuming, especially from the lobster’s tail, legs, and claws.  

Preparing a lobster dish requires removing its meat gently without damaging it. So, save yourself the hassle and let the pros handle it.

Ravioli  

Making ravioli from scratch at home is difficult. You need to make the pasta dough, roll it out, fill it with your desired filling, and then crimp the edges to seal the ravioli.  

Plus, ravioli typically has multiple layers of filled-stuffed pasta.   

Creating these multiple layers takes time and practice to get right; even then, the ravioli can still fall apart during cooking.   

Preparing the filling can take time and effort. You must chop and cook ingredients, mix them, and season them perfectly.  

Finally, boiling the ravioli to cook it can also be tricky, as it requires expert timing, making sure you cook the pasta without leaving it too mushy.   

Making ravioli at home can be a lot of work since it requires attention to detail and skill, making it difficult for beginners.

Ramen  

While ramen may appear to be a simple dish, it requires great skill and effort. You must carefully prepare the broth, noodles, and toppings and perfectly combine them to create a harmonious balance of flavors and textures.   

The broth is a critical component of Ramen and requires simmering bones and other ingredients for hours to extract its flavor.   

Additionally, you must cook noodles to just the right texture, which can be challenging without the proper equipment.   

Finally, the toppings, such as sliced meat, vegetables, and seasonings, must be carefully chosen and prepared to complement the broth and noodles.   

All these steps can make preparing authentic ramen at home a complex process, requiring skill and specialized ingredients. And let’s avoid even talking about making noodles from scratch at home. Let’s just not!

Crepes  

Crepes can be tricky to make at home due to their delicate nature and the need for precision and temperature control.   

The batter must be of the right consistency. The key is to have a pourable and spreadable batter yet sturdy enough to hold its shape.  

Good crepes need a thin batter to spread in the pan, but not so thin that it becomes difficult to handle. The batter should also be well-mixed, without lumps.  

You must also heat the pan to the perfect temperature, so the crepes cook evenly. Overcooking or undercooking the crepes can produce tough, rubbery, or burnt crepes. Crepes need that delicate, light texture that makes them so desirable.   

Spreading the batter evenly and flipping the crepes without breaking them can be difficult, especially for the inexperienced.   

Making thin and evenly cooked crepes is difficult, and it can be easier to order them at a restaurant.

Pizza 

Making pizza can be challenging. If you’re aiming to achieve the same quality as a restaurant, it can be difficult because it requires the right equipment and ingredients.   

A proper pizza oven, for example. Pizza requires exceptionally high heat to cook the crust quickly, leaving a crispy exterior and a soft, airy interior. Most home ovens max out at 500-550°F, which is not hot enough.   

The type of flour and yeast used in the dough can also affect the taste and texture of the pizza. Plus, while pizza toppings may seem straightforward, they are anything but simple.  

For example, using fresh mozzarella cheese instead of pre-shredded cheese makes a big difference in the texture and flavor of the pizza. Similarly, high-quality tomato sauce, cured meats, and seasonal vegetables can elevate the pizza to a new level.   

It’s no wonder many people order takeout or dine at a restaurant when they crave pizza.  

Making a pizza with a crispy crust and perfect toppings can be challenging at home.

While some dishes may seem easy to make at home, the result may not live up to expectations. From pizzas to lobsters, the complexity and messiness of the preparation process often outweigh the joy of enjoying these dishes.  

It’s best to leave these dishes to the professionals and enjoy them in the comfort of a restaurant.  

Or better yet, book a private chef from CookinGenie to have a chef prepare such difficult dishes fresh in your kitchen.