If you share meal preparation with your partner, what sort of system do you use?

Whomever works more hours doesnt do dinner, and dinner is anything from full dinner to tuna and chips. Ha!

When I was married, I usually decided what we would have but some meals were largely his domaine and some mine so whoever’s recipe it was, usually cooked that night. I ran suggestions by him but he was pretty easygoing and we both food shopped at times. Party cooking was a little trickier – while we still each cooked our own specialties, I would sometimes lower the flames or add spices to his. On the other hand, he valued my judgment on seasoning and would have me taste. I miss his Shepherd“s Pie and Yorkshire pudding!

Usually we check in mid-day to see how the other person’s day is going. Whoever’s having the better day makes or picks up dinner. Will ask if they are having any particular cravings.

Random chance.

Along the lines of @Lightlyseared; we make it work, each makes suggestions for sides, etc but preparation is done as necessary. One rule we do have is that if one person does end up cooking then the other does clean up.
It works for us.

Rick and I just cook for ourselves. One reason is I don’t usually eat after 4:00 or so, and he doesn’t even start cooking dinner until 9 at night. I hate, hate going to bed on a full stomach.

Now, for larger meals, like family get togethers and Thanksgiving we split duties. That’s to say he’s in charge of the meats and I’m in charge of everything else.

As far as planning ahead, we’re getting ready to go camping for 5 days in Oklahoma. I prepare the menu, do the shopping, and pack the fridge in the RV. I also do 90% of the cooking. But he, of course, is in charge of whatever meat I have chosen, except for breakfast, like sausage or bacon. Only manly man meats. :D. I love camping.

Depending on what meat is available.

We both work full time, so chores, including cooking, are very much shared.

What to have is always a joint decision. We have, I’d say, less than ten meals we make on a regular basis. Some are relatively high effort and some are low. We always have a conversation in the evening about what sounds tasty and how much effort we feel capable of expending, and we pick something based on that.

My appetite is extremely bad and I often have to obey my cravings in order to get a sane number of calories into me, so I will say it’s more common for Matt to defer to what I want rather than the reverse. I appreciate that he does that for me.

We almost always cook together. The only exception is when one of us is feeling crummy, like tonight I have a bad cold and Matt is cooking, or if someone’s had a particularly rough day of work or something.

It works really well :) Matt knew nothing about cooking before we started dating, so I taught him, and I’m not exactly a master chef either. But we’ve improved together, and we’ve refined the recipes we make on a regular basis so they’ve gotten pretty yummy.

Varies. Usually, I cook and clean, since I don’t work full time. Sometimes we cook together, but usually it’s meal we don’t make often like sushi or something new my husband want to try making together.

When we were younger we both worked full time and he cooked a couple of times a week to help out. We were more into eating more of a “proper” meal then. Now, sometimes he’ll have cereal and I’ll have a salad, or whatever. We sit and have a “real” meal at home probably only 3 times a week for dinner. Twice a week maybe lunch together at home, and when we do that I usually make something nice, not just a sandwich. I make my husband breakfast only 2–3 times a month. He has breakfast before I wake up usually.

Our schedules are very different, our diets are a little different. I wish it was a little more in sync, but it’s fine. We eat out twice a week usually. It’s like vacation and almost always very nice no matter where we go I enjoy it.

My wife does Sous-Chef, I slave over the hot stove.

Just got done grocery shopping for our camping trip. I tired! As soon as the fridge and freezer get cold I can start packing the stuff away.

I work full time and the wife is semi-retired (not working, but not collecting retirement yet). She does most of the cooking. That being said, on my days off, I generally cook at least one of the days. We generally ask each other what they are in the mood for and if there is no suggestions, it is up to the imagination of the cook.