Professional cooks were used in Sardinia during the Nuragic Age, as proved by the typical sculptures of the Bronze Age, and in Mycenaean Greece and they are mentioned in Linear b syllabic script.[1][2] The first Olympic champion listed in the records was a cook, Coroebus of Elis, who won the sprint race in 776 BC.[3]
Lawrence of Rome, traditionally a patron saint of cooks and roasters, is reported to have said as he was being burned at the stake in the third century, "I'm roasted on this side. If you want me well done, it's time to turn me over."[4]