“Something must be done about the food.” Seeing his speculative glance Clare laid down her fork and gave him a warning scowl. “Yes, I’m a good cook, but I will not have time to work in the kitchen. And don’t try to convince me that a mistress also has to cook for her lover.” “I wasn’t thinking of wasting your valuable time in the kitchen.” He smiled mischievously. “But a mistress can do interesting thing with food. Shall I describe them?” “No!” “Another time, perhaps.”

“How as a young girl, Ismat Chugtai convinced her father to excuse her from learning how to cook, and give her instead the opportunity to go to school and get an education:“Women cook food Ismat. When you go to your in-laws what will you feed them?” he asked gently after the crisis was explained to him.“If my husband is poor, then we will make khichdi and eat it and if he is rich, we will hire a cook,” I answered.My father realised his daughter was a terror and that there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.”

“I liked the way he handled himself in the kitchen. I like men who cook. Men who cook are generally good lovers.”

“Lilith returned to her cooking. She didn't let herself think about anything but preparing the food, one ingredient at a time, a pinch of this into a bowl of that, a vial of this into a jug of that, and so it went, while the sweat ran off her in rivulets and her hair and dress clung to her, and the kitchen hummed with the droning of flies.”

“Following the food from market to the kitchen made a huge difference. to this day, this is how I cook.”

“Huh - Why is Max in the kitchen?"Dr.Martinez: "We're cooking."Gazzy: "She's just keeping you company, right?"Dr.Martinez: "No, she's cooking."Nudge: "Cooking...food?"Max: "Yes, I'm cooking food, and it's great, and you're going to eat it, you twerps!”