I'm actually REALLY into cooking...but my family SUCKS monster balls.
My father is picky, can't eat spices, won't touch broccoli or mushrooms, and dislikes most vegetables. Is picky with his meats
My mother is also picky, can't eat white rice or any spices/seasonings, likes everything bland as can be.
My brother is the worst, he despises most meats (other than burgers and hot dogs, occasionally fish), and his 'tastes' in everything else changes weekly it seems. what he LOVES one week he'll claim he's hated his entire life.
Needless to say, for someone with a genuine interest in culinary arts, this is really painful to bear....I remember the first time I left the skins on my mashed potatoes, hoooollyyyyyy shit....in spite of the fact the skin houses much of the nutrients and minerals in potatoes (the actual flesh of the potato is mostly starch and water), as well as the garlic seasonings I added, you'd figure it'd be a massive hit...it wasn't.
My parents like their thin, rock-hard cookies...so when I actually learned to make cookies myself, I got criticised for it. suuuure, they were soft and chewey like cookies should be, but I got yelled at for a half hour for criticising my mom's flat, crunchy, borderline burnt cookies. Even worse,t hey demanded I cook them in her style...the greatest insult to a baker. When it comes to food I HATE my parents. Seriously. (brother, too)
That said, I've made some amazing pasta dishes, finally learned to make alfredo from scratch, make the best roast in all of ever, and am learning to make an equally epic gravy to go with it.
For example, my mother, brother, and myself all LOVE broccoli....so I bought a steamer to keep the flavor of the broccoli intact while cooking it. Put some butter and salt on ait and BAM, that's like a perfect snack to me....it took me 6 months to get them accustomed to steaming their vegetables instead of boiling them. Sad, really.