Does it pay to cook? I guess it depends on one’s hourly salary and what they are making? For if it takes over and hour to cook and clean up then that is an hour gained in taste (hopefully) but maybe an hour lost in productivity and even fun? While if someone else is chopping away and cleaning up afterwards are you now more free to be more productive in another activity? If you enjoy the culinary arts then maybe it’s an hour added to your happiness and knowing what’s in what might even an add an hour or so toward your life. If your dish is extra messy, extra unhealthy and/or lousy maybe it’s better to visit fast food world instead. Yet if somehow the dish comes out just right then that extra time appears to melt away. In conclusion does it pay to cook might have to be determined by your taste buds before and after the last bite gets cleaned up.