Carol Werhan, an FCS educator and member of the board of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, explains that cooking taught through FCS courses is more about having the confidence to experiment in the kitchen than becoming a trained chef. “People don’t need to have perfection — you have to know what are the failures that are OK.” Burnt edges can be cut off. Overcooked meat can still be served. “Just because you have a flop in the kitchen doesn’t mean it needs to be brought up at the dinner table,” Werhan says.