The preference on ingredients and recipes is a big one. If you’re creative in what you cook and do interesting stuff, then what you make can def beat ordering off a set menu for catering to your specific tastes. I like to do pan seared sea trout with a butterbean, sorrel, garlic olive oil, lemon thing done in a pestle, with grated beetroot + crème fraiche on the side, with asparagus and mushrooms.

The other point is you can grow your own ingredients, and particularly heritage varieties that are bred for flavour but don’t transport well can be soooo good. I grow the asparagus, beetroot and sorrel, and forage mushrooms for that recipe (well, for general use and get used in that recipe). Garden produces apples, pears, plums, damsons, herbs (incl niche ones like sorrel, lovage, savoury), black/white/redcurrants, runner beans… all of which taste miles better than those varieties that have to be transported, or are flat out hard to get.

Things I do not do well are things that require economies of scale (e.g. deep frying, ramen etc.), or cuisines that I’m no good at/don’t have the ingredients for.