--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I…" description: "\"It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you can push it into the realm of art, but it starts with craft. It starts with an understanding o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png" --- # It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you… ![“It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you can push it into the realm of art, but it starts with craft. It starts with an understanding of materials. It starts with an understanding of where foods are grown.” quote by Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png) > “It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you can push it into the realm of art, but it starts with craft. It starts with an understanding of materials. It starts with an understanding of where foods are grown.” [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cooking requires solid technical skill and material knowledge before it can become artistic expression. **In simple terms:** Craft precedes art in cooking. Key Takeaway Master fundamentals before seeking artistry. Themes culinary arts skill development creativity Mood inspirational reflective Type educational motivational When to use this quote - restaurant training - home cooking - menu development Key Concepts material science taste theory Questions to Reflect On - What fundamentals are you neglecting? - How can you balance skill and creativity? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on technique may stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [Cooking is not a craft to get into for money. The money may come, or it may not. But you must get into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-choi/cooking-is-not-a-craft-to-get-into-for-money-the-money-may-come-or-it/) [Roy Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-choi/) > [“It seems to me that all these factors—from the industrialization of our food to the belief that cooking for our family is a chore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruhlman/it-seems-to-me-that-all-these-factors-from-the-industrialization-of/) [Michael Ruhlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruhlman/) > [You need to know your craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorena-garcia/you-need-to-know-your-craft/) [Lorena Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorena-garcia/) > [Without craft, art remains private. Without art, craft is merely hackwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/without-craft-art-remains-private-without-art-craft-is-merely-hackwork/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Art is craft, not inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/art-is-craft-not-inspiration/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [Songwriting is as much a craft as a talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/songwriting-is-as-much-a-craft-as-a-talent/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I try to only work with people whose craft I believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnis/i-try-to-only-work-with-people-whose-craft-i-believe-in/) [Donnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnis/) > [A diva is someone who is a perfectionist, who does her best in her craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/a-diva-is-someone-who-is-a-perfectionist-who-does-her-best-in-her/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I think it's always good to learn a craft from scratch the real way, so that you've learned it from the basis, the raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-campbell/i-think-it-s-always-good-to-learn-a-craft-from-scratch-the-real-way/) [Naomi Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-campbell/) > [It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/it-is-by-losing-himself-in-the-objective-in-inquiry-creation-and/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Part of what I do is a craft, but part of what I do is a science. And I guess the craft comes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moog/part-of-what-i-do-is-a-craft-but-part-of-what-i-do-is-a-science-and-i/) [Robert Moog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moog/) > [I don't assume, because I can write screenplays, that I know how to write a novel. It's a very different world. There's a craft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/i-don-t-assume-because-i-can-write-screenplays-that-i-know-how-to/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [Whatever your craft is, be a master of it. Being half assed at something, people will eventually see through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/whatever-your-craft-is-be-a-master-of-it-being-half-assed-at/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [Muscle is good, but craft is better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wace/muscle-is-good-but-craft-is-better/) Wace > [All the craft skills that I have, I feel like I developed and honed in drama school. It's the most important thing for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/all-the-craft-skills-that-i-have-i-feel-like-i-developed-and-honed-in/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) ## More by Tom Colicchio > [I don't have a Facebook page and I don't think I will but Twitter for me is a way to take control of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/i-don-t-have-a-facebook-page-and-i-don-t-think-i-will-but-twitter-for/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [I'd like to see 'Top Chef: Amateur'. Sometimes we have an amateur chef on the show and they just can't cut it against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/i-d-like-to-see-top-chef-amateur-sometimes-we-have-an-amateur-chef-on/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [I remember in the first season going, 'This is retarded. I can't believe they're making chefs do this.' But then it actually does show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/i-remember-in-the-first-season-going-this-is-retarded-i-can-t-believe/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [A couple of months ago, I was down in Florida for the Food and Wine Festival. And this journalist grabbed me and said, 'How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/a-couple-of-months-ago-i-was-down-in-florida-for-the-food-and-wine/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [Hunger is a political issue, and there are several things politically that are keeping people hungry - not funding food stamps adequately, not funding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/hunger-is-a-political-issue-and-there-are-several-things-politically/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > ['Chef' doesn't mean that you're the best cook, it simply means 'boss.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/chef-doesn-t-mean-that-you-re-the-best-cook-it-simply-means-boss/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [If I'm doing an event, if it's a charity event, where it's a walk-around event, where I gotta put a thousand small plates out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/if-i-m-doing-an-event-if-it-s-a-charity-event-where-it-s-a-walk/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [There's a food revolution going on throughout the country. And it doesn't matter if you're down south, up north in Maine, if you're out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/there-s-a-food-revolution-going-on-throughout-the-country-and-it/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [I think steak is the ultimate comfort food, and if you're going out for one, that isn't the time to scrimp on calories or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/i-think-steak-is-the-ultimate-comfort-food-and-if-you-re-going-out/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [Most cooks try to learn by making dishes. Doesn't mean you can cook. It means you can make that dish. When you can cook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/most-cooks-try-to-learn-by-making-dishes-doesn-t-mean-you-can-cook-it/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [You have to know the classics if you want to cook modern food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/you-have-to-know-the-classics-if-you-want-to-cook-modern-food/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [Once you have your basics down, you can start breaking the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/once-you-have-your-basics-down-you-can-start-breaking-the-rules/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [We are not really privy to all that crazy stuff that goes on in the show. I go to work, eat, and talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/we-are-not-really-privy-to-all-that-crazy-stuff-that-goes-on-in-the/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [Too often, chefs just want to experiment - they want to use liquid nitrogen before they know how to use heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/too-often-chefs-just-want-to-experiment-they-want-to-use-liquid/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [I dont know too many parents that want to feed their kids soda, but high-fructose corn syrup is cheap. The price of soda in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/i-dont-know-too-many-parents-that-want-to-feed-their-kids-soda-but/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) [Explore all 70 Tom Colicchio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [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/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you can push it into the realm of art, but it starts with craft. It starts with an understanding of materials. It starts with an understanding of where foods are grown.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Colicchio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i-think-that-you-can-push-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i-think-that-you-can-push-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/tom-colicchio-9792_art_it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i_1756895.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you can push it into the realm of art, but it starts…” — Tom Colicchio", "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": "Tom Colicchio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's my belief that cooking is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i-think-that-you-can-push-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/it-s-my-belief-that-cooking-is-a-craft-i-think-that-you-can-push-it/#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 } } ] } ```