Cook (profession)

A cook is a professional individual who prepares items for consumption in the food industry, especially in settings such as restaurants.

Taillevent wrote in the Le Viandier—a classic recipe collection in medieval France—that he underwent different levels of training such as being an apprentice and journeyman before he acquired a master grade.

[6] The development of the culinary world in China during the Ming dynasty, due to the new 'New World' crops, such as maize, potatoes, and chilis, created an environment which led to a new and quality foods being accessible to more and more people in Ming China.

[9] An example of one of these recipe books is titled the Old Glutton's Collection (Laotao ji; 老饕集), written by Zhang Dai.

Based on the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of work opportunities for cooks is expected to go up by 6 percent during the time period of 2016 to 2026.

There are mandatory lessons that cover topics such as food safety, sanitation, hospitality, and advanced cooking.

[11] Based on the American Culinary Federation, the minimum requirements for entering such programs include being 17 years old and having a high school diploma or equivalent.

[20] Additionally, cooks are at risk of breathing in and touching chemical products such as bleach and glass cleaner.

[24] Because of religious restrictions (except for a small amount of Christian-based groups), cooks typically refrain from using pork to make meals while lamb and chicken are the standard meats used.

[25] According to Jill Eversole Nolan, there is a high percentage of Middle Easterners that are lactose intolerant which is why dairy is not frequently used when eating meals.

[26] On the other hand, eggplants are easy to buy off the streets and are highly used by Middle Eastern cooks with over 40 dishes prepared while just using the main ingredient.

[27] Cooks will often haggle and buy their ingredients from street markets while their corn tortillas are either handmade (which is considerably time-consuming) or bought from tortillerias.

Crêpes, or crepas, as they are called in Mexico, were introduced to them by French invaders and are widely used for various dishes.