If you think you understand a recipe, cook it for someone with no help. That’s the real exam.

Recognising steps and producing them are two different abilities, and reading hands you the first while quietly suggesting you have the second. Cooking for somebody with the book shut removes the prompts, and whatever you forget becomes an honest list of what you had not learned. A bit of pressure is part of the test, not an unfair addition to it.

Try it once this week with one person at the table. Note every moment you reached for your phone. Those two or three moments are your entire study plan for next time.