Probably somewhere in the middle. I enjoy cooking, for the most part I don't begrudge it or look at it as a necessary chore that must be tackled, get it done and over with as fast as possible. However, time is a precious resource; I still work full-time and have property to take care of and a household to run, so I can't/don't take time to revel in the process. It's the same with gardening. It used to be different a long time ago when I was younger and I didn't have as much on my plate.

I'd define the spectrum differently because you're describing an activity involving multiple steps. What's more important to enjoy, the steps taken or the end result? The journey or the destination?

For a visit to a city, it's the journey. Enjoying each of the steps, that's why you chose to have the experience. Reaching the destination or the end of the adventure isn't the objective.

For something like cooking, for me, it's the destination. The journey only enables the outcome and isn't an end in itself.

I'm more of a project cook than a "meal" cook. I do enjoy it, if I have time and headspace. I also enjoy cooking for the hordes. Making plated meals daily? No. I make stuff to be at the ready to combine however seems good in the moment. But if it's not for a big family meal, mostly at holidays, I don't like prepping and cooking for 3+ hrs. for a ten minute meal. Filling the fridge with good food to grab and assemble for a meal is much more my thing. ;)

"Filling the fridge with good food to grab and assemble for a meal is much more my thing. ;)"

I do most of my cooking for the week on the weekend, mainly Sundays. I don't mind leftovers or even eating the same thing for multiple days in a row, so this serves me well, I can just grab and go. Things might very well change when I retire, but that's quite a ways off; right now, no time to prep breakfast or lunch on workdays, and often I just have a tossed salad or bowl of popcorn for dinner if DH isn't home to enjoy a meal with.

My father was a chef. Later, a country club manager, who chose the menus with care. At home my mom sculpted our meals, they had to be quality & impressively presented. I tend to like home baked bread, but am happy with store bought bread too...kind of a person. I do cook about three times a week, then prepare salads for in between. I'm usually pretty busy & like to keep a few Tinas Burritos on hand for a quick meal, that gives us variety, since it's different than anything I would prepare myself. I'm currently on the hunt for new drinking glasses...to enhance my presentation.

After cooking for my family for over 60 years, I no longer enjoy the process, but I do relish the happy faces when people eat what I cook.

I am thankful that my DH also likes to plan meals, shop and cook for us. It gives me time to reflect on and maybe research what is taking my fancy to cook next. I enjoy the process but usually try to do things as fast as possible and don’t always plate things nicely, although I seem to enjoy the meal more when I do.

I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoy cooking, or a finished product. But I do enjoy process! So, I used to subscribe to a meal-planning program, so I knew what I was buying, prepping, making, and I clean as I go so that the cleanup is just one more step in the process. And I really enjoyed the whole process, from receiving my weekly list to putting the last serving in a lunchbox for DH to take to work. (I think my love of process is a symptom of…something? ADHD? Spectrum?)

I like the product when accompanied by good company.

I started the meal-planning thing when my kids were young and it calmed the chaos, saved money (because whatever I bought, got served). And it got me cooking and I learned a lot.

DH likes to cook, but he doesn’t plan, rarely cleans as he goes, and it drives me nuts. fortunately I generally like what he makes for dinner. When he started his own business at home, he needed the ”creative outlet” of cooking. So, if he was cooking, I realized he needed to do the shopping.

I miss the process. It was part of my whole-week process,

I cook for the end result but don't especially enjoy the process. I think I'm a very slow cook. I clean as I'm cooking, partly because my kitchen is tiny and partly because I don't have a lot of cookware, so I'll wash and re-use things as I go. I usually listen to Youtube or podcasts to make it more interesting. I cook three or four meals a week. I lived alone until I was in my mid-50s, and a meal was vegetables, made quickly and simply, or take out. When I got together with my husband, I learned how to cook meat. The hardest thing for me is making three or four things for one meal and having them all ready at the same time.

Oh, I definitely like the process and don't mind meals that take hours to prepare. I especially like to bake. I guess I'm more a "project" cook like Plllog. I don't like eating the same thing for days in a row or doing "duty" cooking, which is what I did when the kids were home. "What can I make in half an hour that doesn't cost a fortune and both kids will eat and won't make too big a mess because I don't want to be washing pans at midnight" kind of cooking? Ugh. Truthfully, before I married Elery and I lived alone supper was often a bowl of Raisin Bran or peanut butter eaten straight off the spoon.

Annie

All over the place.

Sometimes it’s a science experiment, sometimes it’s a savored and savory creative process, sometimes there’s a hot dog in the microwave.

I like and am interested in food and cooking, and can get into doing it well, but I don’t have to always eat “good food“. Sometimes I’m focused on other things, and then it’s just “subsistence cooking.”

I'm a 'just get it done' cook. For me cooking is just a form of housework, albeit the least objectionable and most creative. But I do it day in and day out for the sake of our taste buds and our health. I try to produce good food with the least possible effort for return in terms of nutrition and flavour. I can't work in mess so I clean up as I go along. Once I've sat down to eat there is nothing left to do other than put the used tableware in the dishwasher when we've finished.

I've lived alone for many years and while I don't particularly like cooking, I really like good food and healthy food. So I cook for one. I also have a vegetable garden, so I plan meals around what's ready to harvest, and that means eating with the seasons. Tomato season for example is over.

I cook only because I like to eat. I do not enjoy it. Restaurants have gotten very hit or miss, mostly miss, and are way too salty.

ETA: One thing that has really helped is the way I started using the dishwasher. Everything but cast iron and aluminum go in it and it is run every night before bed, even if not completely full. That way, everything is ready for the next day. I used to try to squeeze as many plates in as possble and had washed the pots by hand. No more! I also replaced all but baking pans with stainless steel or glass, so they can go in the dishwasher.

Thank you for your interesting responces. After thinking about it, I certainly don't want to imply that I'm a fancy cook. Im far away from that. A lot of recipes are way too complicated for my tastes, and I don't even want to attempt such a thing. I can relate to Annie1992's "duty cooking" for sure, and agree with Jupidupi about the timing of the sides. So often there's the rub, requiring some head math. Things can get too busy in a hurry, sometimes.

I think of myself as a good basic cook, and I do like to cook - I prefer my own cooking to most anything else. I'm a pretty good baker too, but I shy away from the fussy stuff. I like more simple preparations with not too many ingredients, and do as others here have related: cook/prep a big batch of something a few times weekly and enjoy the 'leftovers'. I don't mind at all having the same food several days in a row when it's delicious.

For instance, yesterday, I made a batch of what we call 'taco meat' but is really around half veggies, beans, corn, etc., and half ground meat, usually organic beef. That and a salad makes dinner for several days.

I like to listen to podcasts too when I'm working in the kitchen. I believe it's called 'bundling', which means combining a pleasurable activity with something that's a chore, but in this case it's 2 activities I like.

Cooking is an art and a science that involves lots of chemistry and physics so I enjoy the process and the end result when I have the time to indulge in the final presentation. Otherwise some simple preparation for a quick meal normally suffices for me.

“I'm currently on the hunt for new drinking glasses...to enhance my presentation”

Nicole, crystal glasses made in Italy would be nice.

I like my Fosteria American crystal. It has to be bought at estate sales and Marketplace, Ebay, etc.

It was my ”good” stuff, but now I use everyday. It is heavy and thick. The cubes on the outside make it easy to hold. Goes in the dishwasher also.

Hobbitmom, this might not fit your circumstances at all, but part of project cooking for me is trying things I wouldn't ordinarily make just for dinner. I'll set aside several hours in the afternoon, and have what to make for a quicky meal in the fridge, then make one of those fussy recipes you have to shop for specially. One that comes to mind as the epitome of this is braised duck legs with cherries. I had to hunt to find the right cherries, then when all the prep was done I opened the duck packets and one pair of legs was spoiled! So I finished with what I had--it turned out to be even better than it sounded like--a showstopper! This would have been an epic fail if done for s fancy party. As it was, I learned a lot, and there was plenty of good food in the fridge to make a nice meal around the duck that survived. So, you can have it both! Simple, easy and nutritious, daily, freezer projects, lincluding staples like stock and spaghetti sauce as well as easy rewarms like lasagna and brisket, and fiddly danged super recipes that are fun to try at least once. when one isn't counting on them for dinner ;)

Plllog...thats great! You amaze me. I visit my favorite foody sites every single day. (food porn.) I have a stack of printed recipes to make that can end up being inches high. Recipes to try soon. Then invariably, another stack gets started...Recipes to really try soon!! Ha-Ha. They range in complexity, but as a whole, are pretty basic stuff. As far as cookbooks go, I tend to think that both ATK and Kenji Lopez-Alt have great sounding recipes, but often have more steps than I want to do. Great ideas and pictures though. I will use them both for reference to see if they sort of agree with an internet recipe.

Ded - I've often wished that about many things! 😄

When our kids and grands are visiting DH and I cook breakfast for them. Our one DDIL said she was watching us and was delighted on how we moved around the kitchen.

Like we were doing a dance!

After 53 years of marraige it should be.