I found treating cooking more like science than like a culinary experience really helped. Also finding a recipe where someone actually explains things in a cogent way are honestly hard to find.
It wasn't mine either, but it's mostly just an easier way to understand why certain things taste the way they do. Like, I had no idea why certain foods even have sugar or salt in them even if what they taste like is completely different. Like, as far as taste goes everything has a scientific reason for why it tastes the way it does, good or bad.