A cook is a professional individual who prepares items for consumption in the food industry, especially in settings such as restaurants. A cook is sometimes referred to as a chef, although in the culinary world, the terms are not interchangeable.
cook (third-person singular simple present cooks, present participle cooking, simple past cooked, past participle cooked or (rare, nonstandard) cooken) I'm cooking bangers and mash. He's in the kitchen, cooking.