> If I describe the dish I want, and someone else makes it for me, I was still the catalyst for that dish. It would not have existed without me. So yes, I did "cook" it.

The person who actually cooked it cooked it. Being the "catalyst" doesn't make you the creator, nor does it mean you get to claim that you did the work.

Otherwise you could say you "cooked a meal" every time you went to MacDonald's.

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elliotbnvl 3 days ago | parent [-]

Why is the head chef called the head chef, then? He doesn’t “cook”.

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9rx 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

To differentiate him from the "cook", which is what we call those who carry out the actual act of cooking.

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elliotbnvl 3 days ago | parent [-]

Well, don’t go around calling me a compiler!

	▲	9rx 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		If that's what you do, then the name is perfectly apt. Why shy away from what you are?

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beaker52 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The difference is that the head chef can cook very well and could do a better job of the dish than the trainee.

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krapp 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

"head chef" is a managerial position but yes often they can and do cook.