Hey! What do you think, does Severus like cooking? I headcanon him having masterchef level skills with a knife because of all the chopping of ingredients he probably has to do for potions. And I think he'd actually finds that rather calming to do. But back at Cokeworth, where there's no Hogwarts meals, do you think he'd enjoy having to cook himself, experimenting with flavors etc, or would it be too much of a chore / remind him too much of his day job. (I personally lean to him really liking it, and kinda missing cooking while at Hogwarts).
I see where you're coming from anon but I will have to disagree.
There's no doubt in my mind that he must be extremely skilled with a knife. This being said I don't think he had much occasions in his life to cook. I think that when he was a kid he'd help his mom and liked it as it was bonding time. I can even picture him trying to cheer her up because they didn't have much to eat and she was feeling bad about it. I think it'd be one of his fondest memories with her and it really paved the way for his love of potions.
Then he went to Hogwarts and for years he only cooked when he went home. We don't know how or where he lived during his DE days, so he might have cooked a bit but I think he was pretty busy with potion making for his DarkLord™ so either he was living somewhere with house elves or he had a DE roommate maybe taking care of it? If he was living alone I think he was just eating very simple meals because he must have been quite tired (I mean potions+socializing+spying+meetings+DE activities? thats's a lot). After that he went back to Hogwarts.
I don't headcanon him as cooking much during his summers in Spinner's End as an adult. The place is just too unpleasant for him. It's a mental cage he's trapped in, filled with ghosts and regrets so I imagine him more just... feeding himself, like a true bachelor living alone in his 30s? Not that he'd never do it but I think it would be a slow degradation over the summer: at first he'd cook then less and less as the toll of being there weighed on his mental health.
But would he cook at Hogwarts anyway? It wouldn't be surprising if the quarters of the living-in professors had a kitchenette. Snape sounds like someone who would sometimes skip the Great Hall dinners just because he doesn't feel like seeing anybody (mood). So *elijah wood voice* mAyBe?
I think he would find it calming because it is a bit like potions and the activity quiets his mind. This being said it is very similar to his work and the repetitiveness of it might dilute the gained benefits.
But what I think is canonly relevant is that he's passionate about magic so there's purpose in potion making for him. I'm not sure he'd find that same purpose in cooking. Also Severus doesn't strike me as a hedonist for food. I talked about this in my Snape&Food essay, but not only did he grew up with very little and simple meals, but his self-depreciation later in life wouldn't allow him to pursue much sensory pleasures. Cooking yourself a nice meal is self-care. He's not about that.
His potion skills tell us he could be a very good cook. He'd come up with great ideas, be a timing expert, understand super well his ingredients and how flavors work together.
I think he'd enjoy and find purpose in cooking with someone or for someone though.
