A Mouthful of Hilarious Cooking Memes for Amateur Chefs (September 2, 2026)

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Sep 2, 2026 7:45 PM EDT

What was the first thing you ever learnt to cook?

Every chef, whether professional or practical, has to start somewhere in their cooking journey. Perhaps they did something as basic as making toast, or they helped grandma with some kind of baking recipe that revealed the alchemy that goes into making a tasty sweet treat. Whatever they did, it ended up being the first step in a lifelong relationship of testing recipes and figuring out what is going to be for dinner every night.

While it is true that cooking can be a chore and most of us do not have the willpower to be cooking up a three-course feast on a regular basis, there is always going to be something rewarding about knowing how to make a hearty and enjoyable meal. Every dish you learn is a contribution to a life skill that you and others can enjoy for as long as you have the ability to make your way around a kitchen. Sure, there will be mistakes and even straight-up culinary disasters now and then, but it is all part of the process. Nobody got good at anything by doing everything right the first time around.

The great thing about cooking memes is that they celebrate the ability to make food in every single way. It enjoys the successes, but acknowledges that the failures are just as important, and also very funny. Keeping ourselves nourished is a very important matter, but that doesn't mean that we always have to take it seriously. Indeed, it is a pleasure that deserves a side order of humor to go with it.