From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
cookery
n 1: the act of preparing something (as food) by the application
of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed
who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation
of meals to his wife" [syn: cooking, cookery,
preparation]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cookery \Cook"er*y\ (k[oo^]k"[~e]r*[y^]), n.
1. The art or process of preparing food for the table, by
dressing, compounding, and the application of heat;
cooking.
[1913 Webster]
2. A delicacy; a dainty. [Obs.] --R. North.
[1913 Webster] Cookey