Can you appreciate food if you don't cook?

[Grub]

I think the real question here is not "Can they appreciate?" but "What is the difference in appreciation between cooks and non-cooks."

In reading this discussion, I am reminded of watching movies with my sister-in-law.  She has been an actress for many years and watching movies with her is a learning experience.  Rather than just enjoying the "plot" or "story line" I am enlightened with details such as ...

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That's a great analogy! I think this could be applied to many areas, like music or painting, or just about anything...

Whether you are capable of creating a meal might not affect your subjective enjoyment of it, but being knowledgeable of its preparation would certainly help you appreciate it better. Whether you gain this knowledge from talking to chefs (or other food enthusiasts for that matter), or gain it from trying to cook it yourself, is another matter. simply put, you could learn more about a meal from a 5 minute chat with a master, than a hundred hours of trying to cook it yourself... Of course, the best would be to both speak to a master, and cook yourself...

[Ninjai Fanatic]

while i think it is possible for people who don't know how to cook to truly appreciate food, I also think that it's always best to know how to cook your own food well because once you know how to cook well then you will (at least in my case) be able to fully appreciate the joys of cooking and eating at home and how much safer it is as well. You'll get everything just the way you want it, and if it doesn't come out quite right,- well, ther'e the downside because you'll only have yourself to blame.

[Pan]

Does that mean you can no longer enjoy letting someone else cook for you? I wouldn't ever want to ever feel that way (as if there were ever a risk of that for me ).

[Carrot Top]

Whether a home chef, a cordon bleu chef or a non-chef, everyone can taste when there's too much caraway in the succotash,

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I can introduce you to more than a few people who can not taste when there's too much caraway in the succotash.

And then I can introduce you to a few more who would stand around and, although they were capable of tasting the caraway, would endlessly disagree about how much was too much.

[TPO]

I don't think it is an either/or situation. I have never played football, for example, but I enjoy watching it. When I first started watching it, I had no idea what was going on but it interested me so I learned the rules so I could follow the game and figure out who the best players were.

I would hope food would be similar. You can appreciate a good meal without ever having stepped into a kitchen, but if you want to make food appreciation a regular part of your life you might be inspired to learn more about food whether through cooking, experiencing more good meals, or reading about food.