--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one would call me a great cook, but…" description: "\"No one would call me a great cook, but over years of cooking, for me, confidence has replaced ambition.\" — Tom Junod" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg" --- # No one would call me a great cook, but over years of… ![“No one would call me a great cook, but over years of cooking, for me, confidence has replaced ambition.” quote by Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg) > “No one would call me a great cook, but over years of cooking, for me, confidence has replaced ambition.” [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Through repeated practice, confidence can replace the drive for achievement, leading to personal satisfaction. **In simple terms:** Practice builds confidence, not ambition. Key Takeaway Value skill over status. Themes confidence self-improvement humility Mood proud content Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career development - hobby pursuit - personal mastery Key Concepts skill mastery self-efficacy intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel fulfilled without ambition? - How does confidence affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Confidence may mask underlying insecurity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ## Related quotes > [“After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian confidence dimmed, that famous confidence was all too often replaced by cynicism, modesty by cockiness, sincerity by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/after-the-age-of-pericles-as-athenian-confidence-dimmed-that-famous/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [With just an elementary school education, my father worked as a short order cook for forty years before retirement. He liked to boast that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-padilla/with-just-an-elementary-school-education-my-father-worked-as-a-short/) [Alex Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-padilla/) > [People say they don't have time to cook, yet in the last few years we have found an extra two hours a day for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/people-say-they-don-t-have-time-to-cook-yet-in-the-last-few-years-we/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“A dinner made by a great cook is a vision of the world to come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-storace/a-dinner-made-by-a-great-cook-is-a-vision-of-the-world-to-come/) [Patricia Storace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-storace/) > [I did want to share with you one of the greatest lessons I've learned over the years cooking for my kids - there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mina/i-did-want-to-share-with-you-one-of-the-greatest-lessons-i-ve-learned/) [Michael Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mina/) > [I spent several years cooking on a line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-garces/i-spent-several-years-cooking-on-a-line/) [Jose Garces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-garces/) > [After all these years of cooking and writing recipes, I am still amazed every time I notice how even the minutest of variation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/after-all-these-years-of-cooking-and-writing-recipes-i-am-still/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [I am from Spain, but my family and I have made America our home. For the last 17 years, I have been cooking Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-from-spain-but-my-family-and-i-have-made-america-our-home-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My daughter Alexandra once told me, "Mother, you're a pioneer. Now, hardly anybody cooks, but you were one of the first to stop." After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/my-daughter-alexandra-once-told-me-mother-you-re-a-pioneer-now-hardly/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [I would say, probably 7 or 8 years into my cooking career, it stopped being about just food for me. Food's really fun, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samin-nosrat/i-would-say-probably-7-or-8-years-into-my-cooking-career-it-stopped/) [Samin Nosrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samin-nosrat/) > [It takes a great cook to pull life truth from poultry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bauer/it-takes-a-great-cook-to-pull-life-truth-from-poultry/) [Joan Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bauer/) > [Whenever I am stressed, I cook a good meal for my wife. Many people don't know this, but I'm actually a great cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-rama-rao-jr/whenever-i-am-stressed-i-cook-a-good-meal-for-my-wife-many-people-don/) [N. T. Rama Rao, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-rama-rao-jr/) > [I've never been a great cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-highmore/i-ve-never-been-a-great-cook/) [Freddie Highmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-highmore/) > [My mom was a great cook and also a very creative cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-burrell/my-mom-was-a-great-cook-and-also-a-very-creative-cook/) [Anne Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-burrell/) > [I know who in the family is a great cook. I know where the great recipes are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irma-s-rombauer/i-know-who-in-the-family-is-a-great-cook-i-know-where-the-great/) [Irma S. Rombauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irma-s-rombauer/) ## More by Tom Junod > [Every artist can make art only from the materials at hand, and many of the child stars who try to mature into artists can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/every-artist-can-make-art-only-from-the-materials-at-hand-and-many-of/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [I wasn't learning to sing because I thought I could; I was learning to sing because I knew I couldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/i-wasn-t-learning-to-sing-because-i-thought-i-could-i-was-learning-to/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [We might accept pit bulls personally, but America still doesn't accept them institutionally, where it counts; indeed, apartment complexes and insurance companies are arrayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/we-might-accept-pit-bulls-personally-but-america-still-doesn-t-accept/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [I collect songs because I want to control what I - what everybody within earshot - listens to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/i-collect-songs-because-i-want-to-control-what-i-what-everybody/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [Any child can tell you what Google does - Google gives you the answers. But Google doesn't, not really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/any-child-can-tell-you-what-google-does-google-gives-you-the-answers/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [My mother was not a country girl. She was a Brooklyn girl, born and raised in Flatbush, and then a Long Island girl, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/my-mother-was-not-a-country-girl-she-was-a-brooklyn-girl-born-and/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [That there is as yet no drug for immortality - or, for that matter, for muscle growth in the infirm - does not mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/that-there-is-as-yet-no-drug-for-immortality-or-for-that-matter-for/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [I am not running for president, but I've always known if I ever did run for president - or local dogcatcher, for that matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/i-am-not-running-for-president-but-i-ve-always-known-if-i-ever-did/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [Josh Ozersky was a meat man. He knew meat, revered it, studied it, sang it, evangelized it, wrote about it, and, of course, ate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/josh-ozersky-was-a-meat-man-he-knew-meat-revered-it-studied-it-sang/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [I was a bully in fifth and sixth grade. I wasn't one of the bullies - I wasn't strong or dominant enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/i-was-a-bully-in-fifth-and-sixth-grade-i-wasn-t-one-of-the-bullies-i/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [I have about 25,000 songs on my computer and play them mostly on shuffle, which means that the songs I've played the most are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/i-have-about-25-000-songs-on-my-computer-and-play-them-mostly-on/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [Before the Beatles could give us 'The White Album', they had to achieve disorienting success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/before-the-beatles-could-give-us-the-white-album-they-had-to-achieve/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [Ask people who know him for a description of Bob Dylan outside the prerogatives of fame and the obligations of art, and they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/ask-people-who-know-him-for-a-description-of-bob-dylan-outside-the/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [I had heard a lot of stories about my father and celebrities, most of them from his own mouth. In his stories, famous women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/i-had-heard-a-lot-of-stories-about-my-father-and-celebrities-most-of/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [You learn a lot about America when you own a pit bull. You learn not just who likes your dog; you learn what kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/you-learn-a-lot-about-america-when-you-own-a-pit-bull-you-learn-not/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) [Explore all 103 Tom Junod quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No one would call me a great cook, but over years of cooking, for me, confidence has replaced ambition.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Junod" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-over-years-of-cooking-for-me/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-over-years-of-cooking-for-me/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/tom-junod-5058_ambition_no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-ov_2204541.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No one would call me a great cook, but over years of cooking, for me, confidence has replaced ambition.” — Tom Junod", "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 Junod", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No one would call me a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-over-years-of-cooking-for-me/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-over-years-of-cooking-for-me/#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 } } ] } ```