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Cooks Quotes

Words on chefs, kitchens, and the craft of cooking.

From family kitchens to professional line cooks, these quotes capture what it means to cook well, prizing technique as much as tradition passed down through a Family.

It's just about asking why. We as cooks historically have been very, very technically proficient but not technically informed as to why we do what we do. Modernist cuisine is about that knowledge.

Quotes by Wylie Dufresne

Murder is commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession.

Quotes by W. H. Auden

In baking, cooks need to understand ingredient ratios.

Quotes by Sherry Yard

I'll eat anything, even foods I've always shunned, when a friend cooks it.

Quotes by Samin Nosrat

Able Quotes

I live to eat - when someone else cooks for me.

Quotes by Saffron Aldridge

All the women in my family were superb cooks.

Quotes by Randy Wayne White

Many excellent cooks are spoilt by going into the arts.

Quotes by Paul Gauguin

For the longest time, chefs and restaurateurs were able to get products home cooks couldn't get, but that's not the case anymore.

Quotes by Michael Symon

The Gulf Coast has the potential to create a culinary raw ingredient paradise that smart cooks can capitalize on.

Quotes by Mario Batali

Always Quotes

Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks.

Quotes by Lin Yutang

I come from a family of great cooks and big eaters.

Quotes by Katie Lee

I have an English identity and a French identity. When I'm in France, I'm more outgoing. And the French part of me cooks, whereas the English part of me writes.

Quotes by Joanne Harris

My wife dresses to kill. She cooks the same way.

Quotes by Henny Youngman

Actually, I'm not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I'm not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren't cooks.

Quotes by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Amazing Quotes

We also have to stop the flow of precursor chemicals that meth cooks use to boil up this poison.

Quotes by Greg Walden

All Southern cooks have tried their hands at shrimp and grits, and each one has his or her own version of the dish. My mom used to season her shrimp with garlic and onion and just prepare the grits with...

Quotes by Gina Neely

Sephardic Jews were always known as good cooks.

Quotes by Gil Marks

What has impressed me the most about the Italians whose tables we've sat at is that they are traditional cooks but also outrageously innovative. These people are wild improvisers.

Quotes by Frances Mayes

My mom, she cooks the best pound cakes in the world.

Quotes by Edwin Jackson

Family Quotes

I'm not a meek lady who stays at home and cooks.

Quotes by Diane Hendricks

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these quotes suggest about the technical skill of cooks?
One quote observes that cooks have traditionally had strong hands-on skill without always understanding the underlying reasons for their techniques, and frames modernist cuisine as the effort to fill in that missing knowledge of why things work.
How does family shape someone's relationship with cooking, based on these quotes?
One quote describes coming "from a family of great cooks and big eaters," suggesting an upbringing surrounded by food can shape a person's connection to cooking. Readers curious about family's influence more broadly can browse Family quotes.
What difference do these quotes draw between chefs and home cooks?
One quote points out that chefs and restaurateurs once had access to ingredients home cooks couldn't get, though it adds that this gap "is not the case anymore."
What is the unexpected comparison made about cooks in one quote?
One quote wryly claims that cooks are more likely than people in any other line of work to commit murder, an exaggerated line meant to be provocative rather than factual.
Why does one quote emphasize asking "why" in cooking?
It frames modernist cuisine as a shift from simply executing techniques to understanding the reasoning behind them, calling that pursuit of "why" central to the field's knowledge.

Whether you admire the discipline chefs bring to their craft or simply love a home-cooked meal, this collection reflects cooking's mix of skill and heart. See more in our Amazing quotes.