--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Noncooks think it's silly to invest two…" description: "\"Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.\" — Julia Child" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg" --- # Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two… ![“Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.” quote by Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg) > “Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.” [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. Cooking is fleeting, like ballet; investing time in a brief pleasure is worthwhile despite its shortness. **In simple terms:** Short pleasures deserve effort. Key Takeaway Value fleeting experiences. Themes cooking art time Mood joyful thoughtful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - holiday meals - quick recipes - creative cooking Key Concepts ephemerality craftsmanship joy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance effort and enjoyment? - What fleeting moments bring you joy? A Different Perspective Time may be limited for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Home cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-cooking/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [In Paris and later in Marseille, I was surrounded by some of the best food in the world, and I had an enthusiastic audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-paris-and-later-in-marseille-i-was-surrounded-by-some-of-the-best/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [People of small calibre are always carping. How affected so-and-so is! Don't you think he is silly? He was certainly quite mistaken about this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/people-of-small-calibre-are-always-carping-how-affected-so-and-so-is/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [The way the world is, I think a silly evening in the theatre is a good thing, to take our minds off terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-curry/the-way-the-world-is-i-think-a-silly-evening-in-the-theatre-is-a-good/) [Tim Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-curry/) > [My mantra is always, "Take a nap first, Matt! Then think." It's silly, but it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-moy/my-mantra-is-always-take-a-nap-first-matt-then-think-it-s-silly-but/) [Matthew Moy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-moy/) > [I always think it's silly when people talk about works of culture taking risks. Because there's not any risk involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-always-think-it-s-silly-when-people-talk-about-works-of-culture/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I think that I'm always going to think that it's silly to value certain things that no matter how many people find it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/i-think-that-i-m-always-going-to-think-that-it-s-silly-to-value/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [It's tempting to think, 'This is silly. I'm an artist. I care about my work, my work is first. I don't care about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-gadon/it-s-tempting-to-think-this-is-silly-i-m-an-artist-i-care-about-my/) [Sarah Gadon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-gadon/) > [They think I'm silly. I do silly things. I fall down and run into things. I talk to inanimate objects. I'll hold a pickup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/they-think-i-m-silly-i-do-silly-things-i-fall-down-and-run-into/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I don't know if I'd do an action movie because I don't know if I could keep a straight face; honestly, I just think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-o-dowd/i-don-t-know-if-i-d-do-an-action-movie-because-i-don-t-know-if-i-2/) [Chris O'Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-dowd/) > [Superdelegates, first off, I think, are silly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-o-meara-sanders/superdelegates-first-off-i-think-are-silly/) [Jane O'Meara Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-o-meara-sanders/) > [None of us like to think we are silly. But all must acknowledge that they are capable of silliness, from time to time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-morgan/none-of-us-like-to-think-we-are-silly-but-all-must-acknowledge-that/) [Jude Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-morgan/) > [I won't say she was silly, but I think one of us was silly, and it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/i-won-t-say-she-was-silly-but-i-think-one-of-us-was-silly-and-it-wasn/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [British cookbook author Elizabeth David led the most adventurous life but is widely credited with bringing to the fore the importance of home cooking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leong/british-cookbook-author-elizabeth-david-led-the-most-adventurous-life/) [Melissa Leong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leong/) > [In London there was no home cooking worthy of the name. When you were in funds you ate out. But only the people whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/in-london-there-was-no-home-cooking-worthy-of-the-name-when-you-were/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-boulestin/cookery-is-not-chemistry-it-is-an-art-it-requires-instinct-and-taste/) [Marcel Boulestin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-boulestin/) ## 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 Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Child" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two-hours-work-in-two-minutes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ballet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two-hours-work-in-two-minutes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/julia-child-1522_ballet_noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two_732745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent…” — 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": "Noncooks think it's silly to invest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two-hours-work-in-two-minutes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/noncooks-think-it-s-silly-to-invest-two-hours-work-in-two-minutes/#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 } } ] } ```