That's a good sound bite statement but does not really follow from the original post, nor seems to be very accurate. What exactly is the relation between a chef work and a programmer, and what is the equivalent of recipe in programming?
> what is the equivalent of recipe in programming?
A software design of course.
But programming can (and also should) be play. For me it's explorative and playful, I'm just trying to make a fun thing happen or see what things I can connect together in what interesting ways. I imagine it's the same for kids taking their first steps by making lights flash with a RPi and Python and then wondering what they can do next (led by imagination).
The latter is very much like being in a kitchen and throwing ingredients together, trying things out to see what tastes good.
I think limiting ones thinking of programming to the former sort devalues it.