9 Best Food Compliments (Praising Words For Cooking)

Complimenting someone’s cooking doesn’t have to be a tricky thing to do. Once you know some of the best praising words available, you’ll have an easy time with them. This article will look at the best alternatives you can use for praising someone’s cooking.

How Can I Compliment Someone For Their Cooking?

There are plenty of options we can use in this case. This article will explore the following ones:

• This dish tastes amazing
• Your food is exceptional
• Please do surprise me again next time
• Splendid! Simply, splendid!
• My compliments to the chef
• *Chef’s kiss*
• Did you make this from scratch?
• I can’t believe how nice this is!
• I’d love to come back here to taste this again

The preferred version is “this dish tastes amazing” or “your food is exceptional.” We can use both when we are blown away by the quality of someone’s cooking, which is one of the best ways to compliment them. Everyone will be grateful to hear phrases like this.

This Dish Tastes Amazing

“This dish tastes amazing” is a simple and effective compliment. We can use it to show that we are amazed at the quality of the dish, which is usually enough to show the chef how much we appreciate their cooking.

There are plenty of other adjectives we can use in place of “amazing,” too. It’s up to you which one you think works best.

Check out some examples to see it in action:

• This dish tastes amazing! Thank you!
• Oh, my word! This dish tastes incredible!
• I can’t believe it! This dish tastes perfect!

Your Food Is Exceptional

“Your food is exceptional” is one of the best compliments you can give. It’s simple, and it gets straight to the point. We use it to show that “your food” (i.e. “the chef’s”) is beyond any other description. That’s how good it was.

We can use this to be as obvious as we need to be with our compliment. It does not come with any hidden meanings. Some of the best compliments are the ones that state exactly what we want them to say.

Here’s how it works:

• Your food is exceptional! Though, I’m sure everyone tells you that.
• I must say, your food is exceptional!
• Your food is exceptional! I’ll be coming back here again!

Please Do Surprise Me Again Next Time

“Please do surprise me again next time” works well when you’ve allowed someone to make a meal for you without telling them what you want. Usually, they have made you something you wouldn’t even have considered without them surprising you.

The idea with this one is that you are so taken aback by the taste of the dish you’d love for them to surprise you again.

It doesn’t have to be with the same dish, and sometimes we would prefer if they gave us another new sensation to try. Still, this phrase works well to compliment someone’s cooking ability.

These examples will show you how it works:

• Oh, wow! Please do surprise me again the next time I’m here.
• Please do surprise me again next time! I would never have thought to have that.
• Please do surprise me again next time! That was truly magnificent.

Splendid! Simply, Splendid!

“Splendid! Simply, splendid!” is a polite and posh phrase we can use. It’s not common to find in many places, but it’s a posher way of showing that we are speechless because of the quality of the food.

When we repeat two adjectives like “splendid,” it’s a way of showing that we don’t know what else to say. This is a common tactic when giving compliments to someone because it shows you are so surprised that you don’t know what else to say.

Here’s how it works:

• That was splendid! Simply, splendid!
• Splendid! Simply, splendid! I can’t think of any better words than that!
• Splendid! Truly, splendid! You have outdone yourself yet again!

My Compliments To The Chef

“My compliments to the chef” is an obvious compliment. We can use it after a meal when we might not know who the chef is that made the food. However, we still want to thank them for what they created, and we can’t believe how good it tasted.

While we can use this phrase with friends, it’s more common to use it at a restaurant when you don’t know who made the dish. Sometimes, you might ask to see the chef to thank them personally (which is a really polite way to show them that you loved the meal).

If you do choose to use this with friends, you’ll mostly do so in a more sarcastic manner. While the sentiment is the same (and you did appreciate the food), you know who “the chef” is if it’s one of your friends, so you don’t need to be as general with their name.

Here’s how it works:

• Well, I must say, my compliments to the chef. I haven’t had something like that in a long time.
• My compliments to the chef! I’ll make sure to write a positive review about this place.
• My compliments to the chef! Thank you for such an incredible experience, sir.

*Chef’s Kiss*

“Chef’s kiss” isn’t a direct compliment. Instead, it’s a gesture. We create this gesture by pressing our thumb and forefinger together, kissing them, and releasing them. It’s a universal sign that food tasted delicious.

While this is a well-known hand gesture, you might want to be careful who you use it with. Sometimes, words are a little more effective at showing how much you enjoyed the meal.

However, if you’re in the presence of friends, a simple “chef’s” kiss” movement could be all you need. It shows them that you were impressed with their cooking and that you’d love to have more at a later time.

Let’s see how it works in these examples. We’ll make “chef’s kiss” in asterisks to show you that it’s a gesture:

• *Chef’s kiss* This is the best thing I’ve had!
• *Chef’s kiss* You really have outdone yourself with this one, Matthew.
• *Chef’s kiss* Thank you for a delightful meal.

Did You Make This From Scratch?

“Did you make this from scratch” is an interesting one. It’s interesting because it’s a question we ask rather than a direct compliment. However, the implication is that we simply cannot believe they made it all themselves, and we want to draw attention to this.

The question is already quite useful to compliment a chef. However, if you want to take it a step further, you should try and be really encouraging and polite after they reply telling you that they did make it from scratch.

This way, you can really show them how effective their cooking was and how much you enjoyed it. Your disbelief that they made it from scratch is good, but you can really bring it home by making sure they know how much you loved it.

Here are a few examples to show you what we mean:

• Did you make this from scratch?
• Of course, I did!
• I honestly can’t believe that! It’s so good!

• Did you make this from scratch?
• Yes!
• I’m amazed! It tastes exactly as it would do at a professional restaurant!

• Did you make this from scratch?
• I did, indeed.
• That’s unbelievable! It tastes wonderful.

I Can’t Believe How Nice This Is!

“I can’t believe how nice this is” works as a compliment because of a few reasons. Firstly, we can’t “believe” it, which shows that we’re almost speechless because of how good the food was. Also, “nice” is a kind adjective we can use to describe a food dish.

When showing someone our disbelief as we do here, we often make them feel better about themselves. It’s a great way to show someone that we really appreciate their cooking, and we can’t believe how well they managed to prepare the dish.

Here are a few examples to show you how it works;

• I can’t believe how nice this is! I’ll have to get the recipe from you, though I doubt I’ll be able to recreate it!
• I can’t believe how nice that was! You’re an amazing cook!
• I can’t believe how nice this is! I’m blown away!

I’d Love To Come Back Here To Taste This Again

“I’d love to come back here to taste this again” is a great way to show a chef how impressed you were with their cooking. It works both in restaurants and in people’s homes, and we encourage you to try it if you want them to feel good about themselves.

We can use a phrase like this to make people feel loved. It’s a great way to show them that we really appreciated their cooking. After all, we’re telling them that we can’t wait for our next visit to taste their food again.

Here are a few examples to show it to you in action:

• I’d love to come back here to taste this dish again! You’ve won me over.
• I can’t believe how good that was. I’d love to come back here to taste this again!
• That was unbelievable! I’d love to come back and taste this dish once more!

You may also like:
8 Better Ways To Say “Enjoy Your Meal”
10 Words For Someone Who Is Overly Complementary
10 More Polite Ways To Say “No Thanks, I Am Full”
10 Best Poetry Compliments (Praising Words For A Poem)
10 Best Compliments For Singing (Praising Words For A Singer)
11 Best Compliments For Students (Praise From Teachers)