Quotes about cooking
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P. J. O'Rourke photo

“There's only one secret to bachelor cooking — not caring how it tastes.”

P. J. O'Rourke (1947) American journalist

The Bachelor Home Companion (1986)

“The soul has no assignments, neither cooks
Nor referees: it wastes its time.”

Randall Jarrell (1914–1965) poet, critic, novelist, essayist

"A Girl in a Library," lines 32-29
The Seven-League Crutches (1951)
Context: The soul has no assignments, neither cooks
Nor referees: it wastes its time. It wastes its time.
Here in this enclave there are centuries
For you to waste: the short and narrow stream
Of life meanders into a thousand valleys
Of all that was, or might have been, or is to be.
The books, just leafed through, whisper endlessly.

Gordon Ramsay photo
Edward Gibbon photo
Ian Urbina photo
Madhu Kishwar photo
Plutarch photo

“To me, they’re the greatest generation. My parents and their friends, to me, have qualities that I don’t have, my children don’t have. They’re very imaginative, hardworking people. They created so much. My mother could teach all day, and then she could come home and cook a perfect dinner, and her house always looked perfect. They had qualities, I think, that are just so admirable.”

Adrienne Kennedy (1931) African-American playwright

On her parents in “Unraveling the Landscape: A Conversation With Adrienne Kennedy” https://www.americantheatre.org/2019/09/04/unraveling-the-landscape-a-conversation-with-adrienne-kennedy/ in American Theatre (September 2019)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe photo

“The child’s desire to have distinctions made in his ideas grew stronger every day. Having learned that things had names, he wished to hear the name of every thing supposing that there could be nothing which his father did not know. He often teased him with his questions, and caused him to inquire concerning objects which, but for this, he would have passed without notice. Our innate tendency to pry into the origin and end of things was likewise soon developed in the boy. When he asked whence came the wind, and whither went the flame, his father for the first time truly felt the limitation of his own powers, and wished to understand how far man may venture with his thoughts, and what things he may hope ever to give account of to himself or others. The anger of the child, when he saw injustice done to any living thing, was extremely grateful to the father, as the symptom of a generous heart. Felix once struck fiercely at the cook for cutting up some pigeons. The fine impression this produced on Wilhelm was, indeed, erelong disturbed, when he found the boy unmercifully tearing sparrows in pieces and beating frogs to death. This trait reminded him of many men, who appear so scrupulously just when without passion, and witnessing the proceedings of other men. The pleasant feeling, that the boy was producing so fine and wholesome an influence on his being, was, in a short time, troubled for a moment, when our friend observed, that in truth the boy was educating him more than he the boy.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German writer, artist, and politician

Book VIII – Chapter 1
Wilhelm Meister's Wanderjahre (Journeyman Years) (1821–1829)

Isa Chandra Moskowitz photo

“I think if you are a chef who thinks that vegan cooking has less taste and flavor than other foods than that just speaks to your own inability. Vegetables can stand on their own they don’t need all your duck blood on them, thank you. Also people tend to think vegans are emaciated self sacrificing, well tell that to my big ass jew hips.”

Isa Chandra Moskowitz (1973) American food writer

" Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Creator, Post Punk Kitchen, Author, Vegan With a Vengeance http://gothamist.com/2005/11/03/isa_chandra_moskowitz_creator_post_punk_kitchen_author_vegan_with_a_vengeance.php". Interview by Rachel Kramer Bussel for Gothamist, November 3, 2005

Louise Brooks photo
William S. Burroughs photo
Simone de Beauvoir photo
Lauren Ornelas photo

“Bucky: "The last time I cooked you complained."
Rob: "Setting a bologna sandwitch on fire is not 'cooking'."”

Darby Conley (1970) American cartoonist

Satchel: "It was pretty good, though."

Groovitude, page 166 and daily strip for September 1, 2000
Dialogue

Bill Withers photo
David Henry Hwang photo

“In 1980, Chinese-Americans were certainly considered perpetual foreigners to America, even more so than today. In addition, Asians, in general, were regarded as poor, uneducated, and manual laborers—cooks, waiters, laundrymen—an image which has turned 180 degrees in my lifetime.”

David Henry Hwang (1957) Playwright

On how Chinese-Americans were viewed when Hwang’s debuted in the theater world in “DAVID HENRY HWANG ON THEATRE, TRUMP, AND ASIAN-AMERICAN IDENTITY” https://thetheatretimes.com/david-henry-hwang-on-theatre-trump-and-asian-american-identity/ in Theatre World (2019 Mar 15)

J. Howard Moore photo
Jason Tanamor photo
Elizabeth Falkner photo

“I love cooking and learning more every day in cooking. I look at food as I would languages or art and my vocabulary and palate keep expanding. I continue to do pastry and have been doing savory all along and it's a beautiful marriage.”

Elizabeth Falkner (1966) American television chef

discussing her interest in both pastry and savory cooking
Justluxe Article - Interview by Sara Cardoza - Top Chef Interviews: Elizabeth Falkner https://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/dining/feature-1844413.php - October 2012 - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20211003105247/https://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/dining/feature-1844413.php

“We should not look down upon ourselves. By domestic tourism we are saying this is the opportunity to enjoy as couples and as family where we can eat without cooking for ourselves or cleaning the house for a day or two.”

Mai Chisamba (1952)

"ZTA Ropes in Mai Chisamba as Tourism Ambassador" https://www.chronicle.co.zw/zta-ropes-in-mai-chisamba-as-tourism-ambassador, Chronicle (September 29, 2021)

Padma Lakshmi photo

“The professional food world is dominated by men. But most of the actual cooking of food in the world is done by women. And we women have always had to make do with whatever we can. We’re a little bit like water—we find our way because we’ve had to.”

Padma Lakshmi (1970) Indian-born American author, actress, model, television host and executive producer

Source: "Padma Lakshmi, 49, Reveals Her Exact 90Minute Workout That Tones Her Abs & Her Daily Diet" in Hollywood Life https://hollywoodlife.com/2020/07/14/padma-lakshmi-workout-diet-interview/ (14 July 2020)

Eitan Bernath photo

“I think what TikTok has done with Gen Z and teaching people how to cook is just make it more relatable.”

Eitan Bernath (2002) American entertainer and chef

Source: "TikTok, the Fastest Way on Earth to Become a Food Star" https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/24/dining/tiktok-food.html, The New York Times (24 May 2021).