# Good in the kitchen or good in the garage -- Which is more important to a partner? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874 "2019-07-30T14:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/21 "2019-07-30T20:33:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Cook for me. > **Being male, I’m a good fixer** , and watching someone else do the fixing would be disturbing. I’m also a good cook (I come from a restaurant family) but my ego isn’t tied into it as much, and I have no trouble with my wife being better at some dishes (like cakes and bread) than I am. Bolding mine. What??? I know a whole slew of men who could not fix a burned out light bulb without help. Do you really think a penis makes you a fixer? Think again. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/22 "2019-07-30T20:59:15Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Bolding mine. What??? I know a whole slew of men who could not fix a burned out light bulb without help. Do you really think a penis makes you a fixer? Think again. He probably thinks that such people aren’t Real Men. I’m a hologram, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/23 "2019-07-30T21:25:41Z")
I’m both, so my wife got a great deal. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/24 "2019-07-30T23:21:05Z")
Too hot in the garage, and kitchen counters clean up real nice. Good in the Kitchen! ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/25 "2019-07-30T23:25:03Z")
Like others in this thread I can cook fine, but can’t fix worth shit. So I’ll shore up my own weaknesses thanks. Do they have a tidier/organizer/bill payer in the vendy though? Just wondering… ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/26 "2019-07-30T23:40:26Z")
Another fine cook here, with an emphasis on homemade, homegrown everything. I’ve learned how to do a lot of fixes but the workshop will never be my natural habitat like the kitchen is. I’ll take the fixer, please. He’ll be extremely well fed. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/27 "2019-07-30T23:44:51Z")
What I cook is usually edible, but Ms. P is the better cook. Our older son may be better than either of us, though. When it comes to fixing, I’m probably in the bottom 5-10 percent of the population. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/28 "2019-07-31T00:35:33Z")
I went with The Fixer. I’m not the best cook in the world, but I’m not a picky eater either. I also don’t mind cooking, and if it turns out poorly, there’s alway takeout, microwaveable meals, etc. On the other hand, if something is broken and you have to wait several days for a mechanic, plumber, electrician, or TV repair person to fix a busted car, toilet, refrigerator, TV, etc., that would be a lot more inconvenient than eating food that might not meet Bobby Flay’s standard but which I would probably be more than happy to eat. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/29 "2019-07-31T00:39:19Z")
To say nothing of the fact that a takeout meal (or even a restaurant meal) is bound to be cheaper than having a repair person come out to your house, let alone fix anything. I am married to a fixer and am so glad. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/30 "2019-07-31T02:45:28Z")
I deserve both. Just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/31 "2019-07-31T02:51:36Z")
At first I was inclined to the cook but chose the fixer instead. I can cook, fairly well too, but I can’t fix things to save me life. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/32 "2019-07-31T05:54:23Z")
With my crazy kidney-friendly diet, I have to cook for myself. Fortunately my husband appreciates whatever I make. If anything in the house needs to be fixed, I can usually do that too, but he’s much better at it. So The Fixer wins. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/33 "2019-07-31T10:29:34Z")
I can cook well enough to satisfy an average person, and my own culinary tastes are basic enough that a super duper cook might feel like they are wasting their talents on me. A fixer would have more value to me. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/34 "2019-07-31T11:15:47Z")
Kitchen or garage? The sex has to be good no matter where we do it. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/35 "2019-07-31T11:42:54Z")
Lucky for my wife, she got both. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/36 "2019-07-31T19:07:52Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > …I AM THE FIXER. {snip} give me the cook. And amazing meatloaf is pretty much required testing. Hey, **kopek** , I got 12 1/2 cents here - can we share the cook (and meatloaf!)? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/37 "2019-07-31T21:07:22Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Bolding mine. What??? I know a whole slew of men who could not fix a burned out light bulb without help. Do you really think a penis makes you a fixer? Think again. No, but it is something expected of us. Like cooking was expected of women when I was growing up. That my father was a good cook was odd in the mid-50s. Which is not to say that some men are bad fixers and some women are bad cooks. And my penis comes with a tool belt, so there. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/38 "2019-07-31T21:07:55Z")
An amazing cook who can make heavenly food and presumably work around my dietary limitations? Gimme! The whole fix-it mechanic thing I can either take care of it myself or find a reputable repair person (I’m doing that now, anyway). I sure would like a break from the daily cooking once in a while, though! ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/39 "2019-07-31T22:52:25Z")
I went with the cook. Hell, I’d def take the cook over Biggus Dickus, …, Bankus Maximus, and Tall Bloke anyday ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874/40 "2019-07-31T23:02:37Z")
I need very little repair work, and when I do I hire people. But I eat everyday. Sometimes multiple times a day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-in-the-kitchen-or-good-in-the-garage-which-is-more-important-to-a-partner/837874.md?page=3)