But who was the cook? Pictures like the one below, showing a Roman matron doing her own cooking, are nothing but projections of our own ideals from a recent past. They would suit the nostalgic views of someone like Pliny the Elder, though. In Rome the cooking was done by a slave and was deemed a very lowly task. Later, when luxury spread about, his work started to be seen as an art and a wealthy Roman's status could be measured by the price he payed for his cook.
If one wasn't rich enough to afford a cook of one's own, it was always possible to hire a 'freelance' cook for special occasions. The really poor bought their warm food in shops or from street vendors.