Having taste means having experiences
- Lucy
- Mar 24
- 6 min read
Updated: May 22
One of my 2026 goals was to learn how to cook. To clarify, I am 29 and have been cooking dinner several times a week for at least 15 years, but I’ve always done so by following recipes.
I have perfectly organised Instagram saved folders, full of recipes broken down by meal type. I have starred photographs of the best recipes from my cookbooks. And I’ve even learnt my favourite recipes by heart. Even without a recipe, I can still cook a nice meal, so I’d never really seen a problem with this before.
But last year, I asked my (younger) brother for his Caesar salad recipe, and he simply sent me a list of ingredients without any quantities, saying he makes it to taste. I challenged myself not to Google the recipe and to try making it myself. This made me realise five things:
I had no concept of the ratios required for Worcester sauce, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and Greek yoghurt.
1:1:1:3 (my first guess) was not the right ratio. I ended up adding in the whole tub of Greek yoghurt.
The shopping list for a Caesar salad is incredibly middle-class
Cutting out half the ingredients does, in fact, impact the taste
The right ratio is entirely unique to what is right for you. My final quantities are different to what my brother typically goes for. Because taste is about what you specifically like.
Another one of my weaknesses (this article might just end up being about my lack of taste?) is fashion. Once again, I have Pinterest boards filled with outfit inspo that I refer to when I need to dress for a work event, pack for a holiday, or update my wardrobe for the new season. But I have never described myself as having a good sense of style, no matter how much I wish I did.
In my first London flatshare, one of my flatmates had an incredible fashion sense. We would go into a charity shop or a vintage market, and she would pull out something that I might have chuckled at myself. Some form of bright yellow shoe, furry coat, or a Y2K skirt that I wouldn’t know how to style myself in. And she’d then wear it out that very evening, paired with something equally daring, and totally pull it off.
Even now, when I visit a charity shop, I browse and immediately know what she would pick up to style. Because she has taste: a style so uniquely her own, it’s no surprise when she chooses and pulls off something that most could never manage.
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What does this tell us?
Having taste is about learning what you like and why.
When I think of someone with genuine taste, I picture people whose every move appears effortlessly on-brand. They’re so certain about who they are, what they like, and what they dislike that their talking points, life choices, style, and everything else feel almost inevitable. It all just makes sense, simply because it aligns with their taste.
That doesn’t mean they have taste because they’re “cool” or they’re doing the latest thing. In fact, it’s probably the opposite. They’re making the most of their life by doing exactly what they want to do with it. Wearing the outfits they love, spending their time on their favourite hobbies, being confident in their values and beliefs, and reading a book because they want to, not because Booktok suggested it.
Taste is an abstract idea because it involves forming your own personal preferences. Its expression is unique to each individual, influencing the work you do, your lifestyle choices, and how you present yourself to others. It’s what distinguishes personal style from simply following trends, helping you to remain true to yourself and make decisions that feel naturally right for you.
And it’s the latest trend for good reason. As the barrier to creation drops to an all-time low, the need for curation grows by the day. The ability to craft a cohesive point of view that people can genuinely feel and resonate with is becoming the new skill to future-proof yourself against the rise of technology.
So, how do you get better taste?
Taste is something I am focusing on this year. I want to level-up my business, and to do that I need to be clear on what my own tastes truly are, so I can align my growth with that.
The best way to develop taste is through experiences.
I’m not here to promote that middle-class Caesar salad recipe (it was decent, but not worth buying all those ingredients every weekend). Experiences don’t need to be costly. But you must give yourself the chance to discover what you genuinely enjoy, and time to reflect on why you enjoy it.
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Here’s my low-cost list of how to develop taste:
1. Read topics that resonate with you.
Getting back into a studying mindset as an adult can be particularly challenging. However, exploring a variety of topics is the best way to discover what genuinely interests you and what doesn’t. This could be through Substack, online magazines, books (both fiction and non-fiction!), or even YouTube breakdowns if you’re a more visual learner.
Online magazines I love:
2. Think about if you’re doing something because it’s a trend, or because you want to.
This applies to all areas of your life.
Do you truly like that butter-yellow cardigan, or are you buying it because it’s the colour of summer? (Or perhaps even last summer. I am often late with timing).
Are you starting a Substack because you genuinely enjoy writing, or because that’s what others in your industry are doing?
One of the most important aspects of having taste is recognising what doesn’t align with you, as much as what does.
3. Actually go outside
I appreciate that we are all currently caught up in the analogue trend. But so much of what I see in this trend is people staying home to junk-journal or draw. To truly find your taste, you need to experience the endless possibilities of what you can enjoy! Try going to your local park to draw instead. Sit and look at what outfits people are wearing to understand what styles you do and don’t like, and why. Take a different route there and immerse yourself in different surroundings and nature.
4. Do the things you don’t want to.
Especially if you’re still exploring your own taste, say yes to as many opportunities as possible. Before I knew the exact direction I wanted my work to take, I tried to say yes to nearly all the chances I encountered. I designed and wrote an entire print magazine, created a series of educational YouTube videos, and set up an email marketing campaign for various clients. None of these I would do again, but I now understand more about what I don’t like, and importantly, why I don’t like them. Which in turn, helped me get closer to defining the work I do enjoy.
5. Start with what comes naturally to you.
I knew I enjoyed writing. I knew I wanted to launch a Substack. I did not know what I wanted to write about on Substack or what direction I wanted to take my business. So, last year, 35 weeks ago (!), I decided to just start writing a weekly article. This is now my 35th article, and there’s a very clear theme in what I do (and don’t) talk about. When I started this, I wanted to expand the branding side of my business by offering a broader brand design package and creating more visual elements. Have I written a single article about the aesthetics of branding? No. Have I realised I actually don’t enjoy that topic much, I’m not that good at it, and I only wanted to expand in that area because that’s what many others in my industry do? Yes. Start with the part that comes naturally to you, and the rest will often fall into place once you stop trying to stick to the perfectly curated vision board you unconsciously copied from someone else.
You can’t have taste when you’re trying to follow a recipe, a Pinterest outfit, or other peers in your industry. You can only have taste by being really clear about what you like and why. And then putting that taste into everything you do. So here’s to 2026 being the year of having taste.
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