--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eating is the secret to good cooking." description: "\"Eating is the secret to good cooking.\" — Julia Child" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg" --- # Eating is the secret to good cooking. ![“Eating is the secret to good cooking.” quote by Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg) > “Eating is the secret to good cooking.” [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good cooking stems from understanding and appreciating food itself. **In simple terms:** Food knowledge improves cooking. Key Takeaway Study food, then cook. Themes culinary arts learning appreciation Mood inspired thoughtful Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - home cooking - professional kitchen - food education Key Concepts gastronomy skill development Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing ingredients change your cooking? - What does “secret” imply about effort? A Different Perspective Skill alone doesn't guarantee flavor without practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-secret-4746167/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Good cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-cook/) [Good Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-cooking-521163/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-good-521165/) ## Related quotes > [The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-beard/the-secret-of-good-cooking-is-first-having-a-love-of-it/) [James Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-beard/) > [You have to eat to cook. You can't be a good cook and be a noneater. I think eating is the secret to good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/you-have-to-eat-to-cook-you-can-t-be-a-good-cook-and-be-a-noneater-i/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“In France, Paul explained, good cooking was regarded as a combination of national sport and high art, and wine was always served with lunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-france-paul-explained-good-cooking-was-regarded-as-a-combination/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Good painting is like good cooking; it can be tasted, but not explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-vlaminck/good-painting-is-like-good-cooking-it-can-be-tasted-but-not-explained/) [Maurice de Vlaminck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-vlaminck/) > [If you watch cooking shows on cable, they have lots of British people. Because when you think good cooking, you immediately think Britain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/if-you-watch-cooking-shows-on-cable-they-have-lots-of-british-people/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [One of the greatest pleasures of my life has been that I have never stopped learning about Good Cooking and Good Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-lewis/one-of-the-greatest-pleasures-of-my-life-has-been-that-i-have-never/) [Edna Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-lewis/) > [You don’t spring into good cooking naked. You have to have some training. You have to learn how to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-spring-into-good-cooking-naked-you-have-to-have-some/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make… Usually one's cooking is better than one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-don-t-believe-in-twisting-yourself-into-knots-of-excuses-and-2/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Fake food -- I mean those patented substances chemically flavored and mechanically bulked out to kill the appetite and deceive the gut -- is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/fake-food-i-mean-those-patented-substances-chemically-flavored-and/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [I always ask at once, 'Do you drink?' and if she says 'No,' I bow politely and say I am sorry but I fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whistler/i-always-ask-at-once-do-you-drink-and-if-she-says-no-i-bow-politely/) [James Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whistler/) > [The ambition of every good cook must be to make something very good with the fewest possible ingredients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urbain-dubois/the-ambition-of-every-good-cook-must-be-to-make-something-very-good/) [Urbain Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urbain-dubois/) > [I'm not sure I'd write a good cookbook, but I might make a good cooking show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-m-not-sure-i-d-write-a-good-cookbook-but-i-might-make-a-good/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I don't like gourmet cooking or 'this' cooking or 'that' cooking. I like good cooking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-beard/i-don-t-like-gourmet-cooking-or-this-cooking-or-that-cooking-i-like/) [James Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-beard/) > [Neither me or my wife are any good at cooking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/neither-me-or-my-wife-are-any-good-at-cooking/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it… If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-beard/the-secret-of-good-cooking-is-first-having-a-love-of-it-if-you-re/) [James Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-beard/) ## More by Julia Child > [I had my first French meal and I never got over it. It was just marvelous. We had oysters and a lovely dry white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-had-my-first-french-meal-and-i-never-got-over-it-it-was-just/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [My father was in real estate, banking, and land management. As family life, it was very conventional, happy, and comfortable. We weren't wealthy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/my-father-was-in-real-estate-banking-and-land-management-as-family/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [I never feel lonely in the kitchen. Food is very friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-never-feel-lonely-in-the-kitchen-food-is-very-friendly/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [We are so bemused by our own petard, that we are unable to look at things objectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/we-are-so-bemused-by-our-own-petard-that-we-are-unable-to-look-at/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [If you're buying tomatoes pick them up and smell them-they should have a lovely perfume. They need to be kept at fifty degrees or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-re-buying-tomatoes-pick-them-up-and-smell-them-they-should/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [The perfect dressing is essential to the perfect salad, and I see no reason whatsoever for using a bottled dressing, which may have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-perfect-dressing-is-essential-to-the-perfect-salad-and-i-see-no/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [I think one of the terrible things today is that people have this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-think-one-of-the-terrible-things-today-is-that-people-have-this/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“Standing up through the Citroen's open sunroof, my six-foot-three-inch, red-cheeked sister pointed a long, trembling finger at the perpetrator and with maximum indignation yelled:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/standing-up-through-the-citroen-s-open-sunroof-my-six-foot-three-inch/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-only-real-stumbling-block-is-fear-of-failure-in-cooking-you-ve/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [In the 1960s, you could eat anything you wanted, and of course, people were smoking cigarettes and all kinds of things, and there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-the-1960s-you-could-eat-anything-you-wanted-and-of-course-people/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [I was kind of an innocent hayseed from a middle-class, utterly nonintellectual background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-was-kind-of-an-innocent-hayseed-from-a-middle-class-utterly/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry- architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“It was fun, although we felt like pawns, or prawns, in the maelstrom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/it-was-fun-although-we-felt-like-pawns-or-prawns-in-the-maelstrom/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Many of the delicious soups you eat in French homes and little restaurants are made just this way, with a leek-and-potato base to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/many-of-the-delicious-soups-you-eat-in-french-homes-and-little/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) [Explore all 230 Julia Child quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) ## More Cooking quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I enjoy cooking, but stick to modern dishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-enjoy-cooking-but-stick-to-modern-dishes/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“In the back of the fridge I checked out some stewed apples destined to fester. I examined them closely and reckoned they had only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-brown/in-the-back-of-the-fridge-i-checked-out-some-stewed-apples-destined/) [Helen Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-brown/) > [My Mom always cooked healthy. Greek food lends itself to cooking healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cora/my-mom-always-cooked-healthy-greek-food-lends-itself-to-cooking/) [Cat Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cora/) > [Cooking brings me so much joy. I love everything, down to the execution of the plate to picking out fresh ingredients at the market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-budig/cooking-brings-me-so-much-joy-i-love-everything-down-to-the-execution/) [Kathryn Budig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-budig/) > [Recipes don't work unless you use your heart!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-jones/recipes-don-t-work-unless-you-use-your-heart/) [Dylan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-jones/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I have a great time cooking and eating Thai green chicken curry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-have-a-great-time-cooking-and-eating-thai-green-chicken-curry/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There are times when born hollandaise heads, as well as nouveaux turbot freaks and recherche escargotphiles alike crave the saignet abundance of a New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-greene/there-are-times-when-born-hollandaise-heads-as-well-as-nouveaux/) [Gael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-greene/) > [Speaking of trust, ever since I wrote this book, 'Liespotting,' no one wants to meet me in person anymore - no, no, no, no,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-meyer/speaking-of-trust-ever-since-i-wrote-this-book-liespotting-no-one/) [Pamela Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-meyer/) > [Balance is key in cooking - you want a little acid, a little sweet, a little savory - the flavors should be harmonious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simmons/balance-is-key-in-cooking-you-want-a-little-acid-a-little-sweet-a/) [Gail Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simmons/) > [A combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman and the pantologist, assisted by the skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellwanger/a-combination-of-the-qualities-of-the-scholar-the-master-cook-the/) [George Ellwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellwanger/) [Browse all 2,937 Cooking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Eating is the secret to good cooking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Child" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cooking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/julia-child-1522_cooking_eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking-218_2186438.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Eating is the secret to good cooking.” — Julia Child", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Julia Child", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Eating is the secret to good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/eating-is-the-secret-to-good-cooking/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```