--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never cooked. I can't do much more…" description: "\"I've never cooked. I can't do much more in the kitchen than make a cup of tea and some toast.\" — Ethel Merman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/ethel-merman-11612_cooked_i-ve-never-cooked-i-can-t-do-much-more-i_668431.png" --- # I've never cooked. I can't do much more in the kitchen… ![“I've never cooked. I can't do much more in the kitchen than make a cup of tea and some toast.” quote by Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/ethel-merman-11612_cooked_i-ve-never-cooked-i-can-t-do-much-more-i_668431.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/ethel-merman-11612_cooked_i-ve-never-cooked-i-can-t-do-much-more-i_668431.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/ethel-merman-11612_cooked_i-ve-never-cooked-i-can-t-do-much-more-i_668431.png) > “I've never cooked. I can't do much more in the kitchen than make a cup of tea and some toast.” [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Limited cooking skills don't define one's worth; simple meals can still be satisfying and functional. **In simple terms:** You can thrive with basic cooking. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity in cooking. Themes simplicity self-acceptance culinary basics Mood practical encouraging Type advice motivational When to use this quote - college life - budget living - time constraints - healthful eating Key Concepts basic cooking meal planning Questions to Reflect On - What simple meals bring you comfort? - How can you expand cooking skills gradually? A Different Perspective Complex cooking may be desired for variety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooked/) [Cooked Kitchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooked-kitchen-5311749/) [Cup of tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cup-of-tea/) [Cups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cups/) [Cups of tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cups-of-tea/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Kitchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitchen/) [Tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tea/) [Tea Toast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tea-toast-1380077/) [Toast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toast/) [Toasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toasts/) [Ve Cooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-cooked-905590/) ## Related quotes > [“Vegetables you’ve grown in your own garden just taste better. Meals that you’ve cooked yourself just taste better. And yes, animals that you’ve killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-durant/vegetables-you-ve-grown-in-your-own-garden-just-taste-better-meals/) [John Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-durant/) > [I've cooked just about everything really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/i-ve-cooked-just-about-everything-really/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [I've never cooked a great meal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/limmy/i-ve-never-cooked-a-great-meal/) [Limmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/limmy/) > [I've taught Zumba; I've cooked; I used to make my own clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-james/i-ve-taught-zumba-i-ve-cooked-i-used-to-make-my-own-clothes/) [Janelle James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-james/) > [I've cooked my whole life, and I grew up in a household of cooks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carter-cash/i-ve-cooked-my-whole-life-and-i-grew-up-in-a-household-of-cooks/) [John Carter Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carter-cash/) > [The only thing I've cooked while entertaining is stir-fry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/the-only-thing-i-ve-cooked-while-entertaining-is-stir-fry/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [I've never cooked gumbo from a recipe. I learned it from watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-thomas-greenfield/i-ve-never-cooked-gumbo-from-a-recipe-i-learned-it-from-watching/) [Linda Thomas-Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-thomas-greenfield/) > [I've not cooked Christmas dinner since 1982.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/i-ve-not-cooked-christmas-dinner-since-1982/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) > [“You have complete faith in me? For reals?” “Yes. Well, not your cooking. Other than that, absolutely.” I gasped. “I’ve cooked for you, like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/you-have-complete-faith-in-me-for-reals-yes-well-not-your-cooking/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [At university, I used to cheat and use precooked meals and then tell my friends that I've cooked it. They thought I had skills!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananya-birla/at-university-i-used-to-cheat-and-use-precooked-meals-and-then-tell/) [Ananya Birla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananya-birla/) > [I've been very fortunate, because I've cooked for a lot of actors and actresses and musicians. I've cooked for presidents and I've been to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/i-ve-been-very-fortunate-because-i-ve-cooked-for-a-lot-of-actors-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [I love to cook and I've cooked a lot of Bulgarian food over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-love-to-cook-and-i-ve-cooked-a-lot-of-bulgarian-food-over-the-years/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [The cup of tea on arrival at a country house is a thing which, as a rule, I particularly enjoy. I like the crackling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-cup-of-tea-on-arrival-at-a-country-house-is-a-thing-which-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The privileges of the side-table included the small prerogatives of sitting next to the toast, and taking two cups of tea to other people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-privileges-of-the-side-table-included-the-small-prerogatives-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [He got me a cup of tea with honey, toast with honey, yogurt with honey, like I was John the Baptist with the flu.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/he-got-me-a-cup-of-tea-with-honey-toast-with-honey-yogurt-with-honey/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More by Ethel Merman > [You'll never prove you're too good for a job by not doing your best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/you-ll-never-prove-you-re-too-good-for-a-job-by-not-doing-your-best/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I attend surprisingly few shows. The type of theater that is popular today just doesn't appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-attend-surprisingly-few-shows-the-type-of-theater-that-is-popular/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [At a flea market I always head for the junk jewelry table first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/at-a-flea-market-i-always-head-for-the-junk-jewelry-table-first/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [The only things I read are gossip columns. If I read three pages of a book, I'm out like a light. When I pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/the-only-things-i-read-are-gossip-columns-if-i-read-three-pages-of-a/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I've never suffered stage fright. That fascinates people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ve-never-suffered-stage-fright-that-fascinates-people/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [You gotta have a gimmick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/you-gotta-have-a-gimmick/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I'll admit - I was honored to be on the cover of Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ll-admit-i-was-honored-to-be-on-the-cover-of-time/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [My father taught me to read music and play the piano-but not well, even though people have said that I'm a natural musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/my-father-taught-me-to-read-music-and-play-the-piano-but-not-well/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I've made a wonderful living playing that theatrical character - the professional brassy dame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ve-made-a-wonderful-living-playing-that-theatrical-character-the/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Cole Porter had a worldwide reputation as a sophisticate and hedonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/cole-porter-had-a-worldwide-reputation-as-a-sophisticate-and-hedonist/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Broadway has been very good to me. But then, I've been very good to broadway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/broadway-has-been-very-good-to-me-but-then-i-ve-been-very-good-to/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [As far as dramas are concerned, it's considered passe for playwrights to turn out anything the average person can understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/as-far-as-dramas-are-concerned-it-s-considered-passe-for-playwrights/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I don't like to read. The only things I read are gossip columns. If someone gives me a book, it had better have lots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-don-t-like-to-read-the-only-things-i-read-are-gossip-columns-if/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I told her that there was something about Christmas carols that always brought tears to my eyes. I added that I also cry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-told-her-that-there-was-something-about-christmas-carols-that/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Now what kind of an attitude is that, 'These things happen?' They only happen because this whole country is just full of people who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/now-what-kind-of-an-attitude-is-that-these-things-happen-they-only/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) [Explore all 59 Ethel Merman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) ## More Cooked quotes > [A potato is a poor thing, poorly treated. More often than not it is cooked in so unthinking and ignorant a manner as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/a-potato-is-a-poor-thing-poorly-treated-more-often-than-not-it-is/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [“Vegetables you’ve grown in your own garden just taste better. Meals that you’ve cooked yourself just taste better. And yes, animals that you’ve killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-durant/vegetables-you-ve-grown-in-your-own-garden-just-taste-better-meals/) [John Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-durant/) > [“cooked alive or forced to eat the severed ears from their own heads”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-t-leeson/cooked-alive-or-forced-to-eat-the-severed-ears-from-their-own-heads/) [Peter T. Leeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-t-leeson/) > [The heart is cooking a pot of food for you. Be patient until it is cooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-heart-is-cooking-a-pot-of-food-for-you-be-patient-until-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Want to get Chinese?" "I though you cooked." "Like I know how." "That's my girl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mallery/want-to-get-chinese-i-though-you-cooked-like-i-know-how-that-s-my-girl/) [Susan Mallery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mallery/) > [“I understood that if ever one wanted to live with someone you cooked for them and they came running. But then it is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-slater/i-understood-that-if-ever-one-wanted-to-live-with-someone-you-cooked/) [Nigel Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-slater/) > [“I cooked with so many of the greats: Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, Wylie Dufresne, Grant Achatz. Rick Bayless taught me not one but two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/i-cooked-with-so-many-of-the-greats-tom-colicchio-eric-ripert-wylie/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) > [Fact is, awards shows were never really about recognizing achievement. They were a publicity ploy cooked up in the late 1920s by MGM topper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/fact-is-awards-shows-were-never-really-about-recognizing-achievement/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [I love to cook and I've cooked a lot of Bulgarian food over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-love-to-cook-and-i-ve-cooked-a-lot-of-bulgarian-food-over-the-years/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [There's nothing like a home cooked meal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taissa-farmiga/there-s-nothing-like-a-home-cooked-meal/) [Taissa Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taissa-farmiga/) > [ “Mmmmmm, said Ardent \[the Royal Dog\]. He liked cooked food. Also raw food and semicooked food, and things that might be food and so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/mmmmmm-said-ardent-the-royal-dog-he-liked-cooked-food-also-raw-food/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [He set fire to some potatoes, then cooked some undelivered post in the embers." - Dad "Did he now? What a strange fellow. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/he-set-fire-to-some-potatoes-then-cooked-some-undelivered-post-in-the/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [I've been very fortunate, because I've cooked for a lot of actors and actresses and musicians. I've cooked for presidents and I've been to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/i-ve-been-very-fortunate-because-i-ve-cooked-for-a-lot-of-actors-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [I met my husband through a mutual friend. He invited me over for dinner and cooked this meal that knocked my socks off -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-riegel/i-met-my-husband-through-a-mutual-friend-he-invited-me-over-for/) [Eden Riegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-riegel/) > [When I was very young, I got my first opportunity in television with a show called 'Surfing the Menu,' and it was myself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-stone/when-i-was-very-young-i-got-my-first-opportunity-in-television-with-a/) [Curtis Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-stone/) [Browse all 143 Cooked quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooked/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never cooked. 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