September 22, 2026
A sentiment among some high earners is that tasks which cost less than their hourly wage ought to be outsourced such that they may spend more time working. There are some unpleasant tasks which I do not enjoy (do not ask me the frequency at which I go to the laundromat and fold my clothes!) that I occasionally consider paying someone to do. Though I do not do this as it seems like a waste of money regardless. However, one version of this outsourcing is especially irritating to me, as it misses the point of the action — cooking.
Part of the appeal of getting food as compared to making it lies in its convenience. I am guilty of this myself; when one is out of the house for most of the day, it is difficult to bring a day’s food with oneself, especially when the alternative is ten dumplings for four dollars in Chinatown. Perhaps if there were publicly available microwaves things would be different. Other factors are taste and time. Many do not know how to cook or run a kitchen efficiently such that they can get good food quickly. These latter points are what I would like to address.
No one is born knowing how to cook! The ability to make food which tastes good is learned, and can be learned at any time. That food bought while out tastes better to a person cooking at home is a matter of not yet learning a skill! This is a failure on the part of a person eating out; if they do so because of taste alone, they may want to consider learning how to make food to their liking. Furthermore, given that a person’s kitchen is more modifiable to one’s taste than a restaurant, much of what is cooked at home ought to be in line with one’s taste more often than food from a restaurant! As for time, skills such as mise en place, bulk cooking, and so on reduce the time needed to cook dishes. Meal prep is also very good for this.
Though I will not completely discount time crunches, one would be surprised how much they can cook in a limited amount of time, doubly so if one meal preps. At one point in my life, I’d cook dinner for twenty in under two hours! And for taste, this involves acquiring an amount of ingredients upfront which seems unjustifiable. This too is incorrect.
If one likes a large variety of food they will spend more upfront on ingredients. This number should be discounted by the fact that this cost will be spread over many meals. An at-home meal should always be less expensive than a restaurant meal. If one considers that restaurant prices include labor, operating cost, tax, and tip, it is hard to come to any other conclusion, even if the discount of bulk food is less. This is also true of ready-made meals, which are more expensive than scratch cooking, but less so than eating out. This holds true for fast food.
Taco Bell cheesy rice & bean burrito: $1.19, 400 kcal
At home:
And Taco Bell is the bottom of the barrel. To avoid waste, make in batches and freeze.
The greater issue with this mindset lies in its alienation. Cooking and baking need not simply be a means to an end (though cost, taste, and time are important considerations!) but rather integral skills which connect us to the world. We cook as our ancestors did and so on, technique passed from generation to generation. Resigning this work to outsourcing is an abdication of one’s humanity — it is much better to hone one’s skill in all walks of life; what is life for if not for the refinement of oneself? There is pleasure in the act of creation. A compliment to one’s food means all the more if they made it themselves.
This is not an edict against eating out; I’d much rather eat Kathi rolls out than make my own. The same goes for fried food, or others which are technically difficult. But to fall in line with the logic of comparative advantage for personal tasks is akin to a high-powered lawyer paying another to fuck their partner so they can spend more time at work. The ideal person is not a profit-maximizing agent.