cookery

Etymology 1

From Middle English cokerie, kokery, equivalent to cook + -ery.

noun

1. The art and practice of preparing food for consumption, especially by the application of heat; cooking.
   Henry was not very good at cookery and most of his meals ended up burned.
   together with excellent directions for cookery, as also for preserving, conserving, candying, &c. 1475, Kenelm Digby, The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt. Opened, subtitle
2. (obsolete) A delicacy; a dainty.
   I've got a bit of cookery that will astonish him — my marinated pheasants' poults a la braise imperiale. 1839, John Espy Lovell, “Fish out of water”, in Rhetorical Dialogues, page 335
3. (archaic) Cooking tools or apparatus.
   She directed the servants, inspected both the cookery and arrangements of the table, held council with an old steward... 1800, Charlotte Yonge, The Little Duke, page 3
   ...and would not be just dead weight, as on the trail it could conveniently be filled with the cookery and other odds and ends... 1934, Gray Owl, Pilgrims of the Wild, page 101
4. (archaic) A place where cooking is done.

Etymology 2

noun

1. Obsolete form of kukri.