Cooking is a creative and practical skill that has been essential to human survival for thousands of years. From simple preparations to complex and delicious dishes, cooking allows us to nourish our bodies and enjoy the pleasures of the table. Trivia questions about cooking can provide a fun and engaging way to test your knowledge and deepen your appreciation for this important and enjoyable art.
Whether you're a seasoned chef or just starting to explore the kitchen, cooking trivia questions offer a glimpse into the rich history and culture of food and cooking. From the basics of ingredients and techniques to the cultural significance of different dishes and cuisines, these questions can challenge you on your knowledge of cooking history, science, and art.
Ultimately, cooking trivia questions are a fun and educational way to engage with this creative and practical skill. Whether you're a home cook, a professional chef, or simply someone with an appreciation for good food, these questions can help you broaden your knowledge, discover new recipes, and deepen your appreciation for the art of cooking. So why not put your knowledge to the test and see how well you know your cooking trivia!
35 Cooking Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- First sold in 1946, Percy Spencer used WII-developed radar tech to create the Radarange—the first of what modern day appliance for cooking food super-fast?
Answer: Microwave
- What's the name of the famously angry British host on the reality TV show "Hell's Kitchen?"
Answer: Gordon Ramsay
- From Anchorage you can see a massive wind farm across the Cook Inlet on what island named for a thing that comes in really handy when cooking?
Answer: Fire Island
- Don't hurt yourself or anyone else while thinking about this one: Abbreviated "pn," what small unit of measurement used for adding spices or sugar to your cooking is roughly equivalent to 1/16 of a teaspoon, according to Allrecipes.com?
Answer: Pinch
- Considered a loan word from Greek, what is the difficult-to-spell name of the dip or sauce made of strained yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and other seasonings? It is most often served cold as part of an appetizer.
Answer: Tzatziki
- As defined by chef Auguste Escoffier, the five "mother sauces" of French cooking are béchamel, espagnole, tomate, velouté, and what fifth sauce, which is commonly featured in Eggs Benedict?
Answer: Hollandaise
- Memphis first hosted the WCBCC in 1978 with 26 teams. The city has continued hosting the event ever since, now with four days of activities and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The WC stands for World Championship. What does BCC stand for?
Answer: Barbecue Cooking Contest
- Born and raised in Over-the-Rhine, Ronald Howes got the idea for his “Kiddie Kuisine” invention after watching street vendors use heat lamps to keep their food piping hot. What name did he give the classic children’s cooking toy?
Answer: Easy-Bake Oven
- What “b” is a cooking technique involving pouring fat or juices over, particularly meat, during cooking in order to keep it moist?
Answer: Basting
- What is the four-letter word for the paste made from fermented soybeans and barley or rice malt which is commonly used in Japanese cooking? This term can also be used to describe a type of soup thickened with the paste.
Answer: Miso
- John Torode and Gregg Wallace got an earful when they eliminated a contestant from what BBC cooking competition for a chicken rendang that wasn't "crispy" enough?
Answer: MasterChef
- In vegetarian cooking, in order to achieve a semi-solid and wiggly texture to your dessert, you might use Agar-Agar to replace what animal-derived ingredient?
Answer: Jellotine
- Zuo Zongtang was a 19th century Qing dynasty statesman and leader, though he is best known in North America because the Romanized version of his name is found on thousands of restaurant menus as what food item?
Answer: General Tso's Chicken
- In cooking, what French term means a mixture of semisweet chocolate and cream heated and stirred together, often used to fill truffles and cakes?
Answer: Ganache
- What is the name of the Japanese snack food first sold in 1966 initially described as a "chocolate covered biscuit stick?" There are now additional flavored coatings such as almond, strawberry, milk, green tea, banana, and coconut.
Answer: Pocky
- As of Season 11, Gordon Ramsay, Aaron Sanchez, and Joe Bastianich were the three restaurateurs on the judging panel of what Fox reality cooking competition series?
Answer: MasterChef
- Literally meaning ‘everything in its place’, which 3-word French term describes the measuring and preparation of ingredients prior to cooking?
Answer: Mise en place
- Which brand of frozen, handheld, filled pastries was developed over 40 years ago when brothers David and Paul Merage tried to come up with a way to keep their calzone-like creations crispy in the microwave (and, as a result of this cooking method, can easily burn your mouth like lava if you’re not careful? (Hint: They were originally called Tastywich)
Answer: Hot Pockets
- Which nonprofit on Elm Street provides foodie-praneurs with affordable access to cooking equipment and storage, as well as support for launching their businesses?
Answer: Findlay Kitchen
- Each year aspirational grillers come to Kansas City for the American Royal World Series of what backyard cooking technique?
Answer: Barbeque
- One unlucky chef served undercooked leeks to Harvard alum Natalie Portman and Tom Colicchio during a very vegetarian Elimination Challenge of what knife-packing Bravo cooking competition?
Answer: Top Chef
- A staple of baking known for its malleability and thickness, what almond-based confection is commonly used in decorative cake competitions to create figurines or other complex designs?
Answer: Marzipan
- Now his foundation awards the preeminent global cooking awards. But what man claimed that his earliest food memory came from the 1905 World’s Fair in Portland Oregon? “I was taken to the exposition two or three times. The thing that remained in my mind above all others—I think it marked my life—was watching Triscuits and shredded wheat biscuits being made. Isn't that crazy? At two years old that memory was made. It intrigued the hell out of me.”
Answer: James Beard
- Kristen Kish out-cooked Brooke Williamson in season 10 of what Bravo reality series, which was set primarily in Seattle?
Answer: Top Chef
- In Turkish, Greek, and Middle Eastern cooking, a selection of hot and cold dishes, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre, is known by what four-letter name?
Answer: Meze
- Chef Alton Brown discussed the physics and science behind cooking on what Food Network show, which ran from 1999 to 2011?
Answer: Good Eats
- What is the name of the spice blend in French cooking composed of fennel, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, and thyme? The name for this blend comes from a region in France.
Answer: Herbes de Provence
- What hyphenated French term means a water bath that is used to keep delicate items like cheesecakes and set custards from curdling, cracking, or overcooking as they bake?
Answer: Bain-marie
- A crepe-like batter that is cooked thin and stuffed with fillings such as potatoes, onions, and cheese typically forms part of the Southern Indian and Sri Lankan diets. What is the four-letter English name for this food?
Answer: Dosa
- Nodding to the cooking technique, the full-service Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chão has a name that means what "open" thing?
Answer: Fire / Flame
- What region shared by Argentina and Chile gets its name from the cooking fires of native Yanghan people, which made explorer Ferdinand Magellan call it a "land of fire?"
Answer: Tierra del Fuego
- What ethnic group of African-Americans in the Lowcountry region of the Carolinas and Georgia are often considered to have retained considerable African cultural influences, like cooking and folklore, because of their relative isolation?
Answer: Gullah
- Nestled in the MGM Grand, Craftsteak treats diners to worldwide beef courtesy of what celebrity chef and "Top Chef" head judge?
Answer: Tom Colicchio
- The New York Times Cooking section caused culinary controversy in 2018 when it suggested adding what green ingredient to your guacamole recipe for "intense sweetness and chunky texture?"
Answer: Peas
- There's a town in the Peloponnese region of Greece with a namesake food item known for its purple color and smooth meaty texture. What is this fruit?
Answer: Kalamata Olive
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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