Definition of "cooker"

[…] I am a true † cooker of men, that is to ſay, I not only dreſs and prepare ſuch vile eatables as theſe, but that green creature, called man, I kill, and cut in pieces, aye, and devour him too, heart and all.† Cooker.] Greek, Ανθρωπομαγειρον.

1780, [usually not considered to be by Lucian], “The Ass”, in Thomas Francklin, transl., The Works of Lucian, volume II, London: […] T. Cadell, […], page 127

And, if we may believe the tale, / Her canny hand will ſcarcely fail, / Whate’er ſhe tries, to help or heal, / She’ll ſeldom blunder; / If ſhe be cooker of the kail, / She’ll gar us wonder.

1788, Robert Galloway, “On the Birth of a Seventh Daughter, Who was born on the 10th April, 1788”, in Poems, Epistles and Songs, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], Glasgow: […] W. Bell, for the Author, […], stanza IV, page 121

She was, in sooth, a most delicious cooker of delicious tit-bits.

1810, John Brewsterr, “The Retorts”, in Yorkshire Characters: […], volume I, London: […] J. F. Hughes, […], page 115

“A most excellent cooker of eggs, is Mrs. J.,” I said to my companion (silent companions are often the best of company); “most excellent. Few people can be relied upon to always cook one’s eggs properly, but Mrs. J. is one of the few.”

1898 February, Canning Williams, “The Chickens’ Parade. A Story for Children.”, in George Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume XV, number 86, London: George Newnes, Ltd., […], page 231, column 1

As the hon. Provincial Treasurer knows, he is the greatest cooker of the books, and when he leaves here he can get a job as a chef at the King Edward hotel—

1966 May 31, Legislature of Ontario Debates, Toronto, Ont.: The Queen’s Printer, page 4098, column 2

“[…] I know how to cook a steak, if you don’t.” “I am, sir, one of the world’s great cookers of steak,” Charley said.

1981, William Edmund Butterworth, Flunking Out, Four Winds Press, page 120

The question was asked by a guy named Ernie, who lives on the South Side and believes he is the greatest cooker of ribs in the land. […] Besides the admiration and envy of the nation’s rib cookers, the winner will receive a trophy and a special license plate indicating big achievement.

1984 September 14, Mike Royko, “Just one thing’s fixed — the ribs”, in Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984-1997, Agate Digital, published 2014

Duke Ellington, the royal man of jazz, claimed he was the “world’s greatest cooker of eggs” and also swore by the stimulating nature of caviar.

2001, Margie Lapanja, “Bread and Breakfast”, in Food Men Love: All-Time Favorite Recipes from Caesar Salad and Grilled Rib-Eye to Cinnamon Buns and Apple Pie, Berkeley, Calif.: Conari Press, page 29

For the British market, apples are classed as early, mid-season, or late, and subdivided into eaters or cookers.

2004, Laura Mason, Food Culture in Great Britain, page 94

[…] does not know how to pick up the liquid from the cooker, and he asks someone else to use his rig to put his part in his rig.

1995, Reyes Ramos, An Ethnographic Study of Heroin Abuse by Mexican Americans in San Antonio, Texas, page 36