My father grew up in NE Washington state during the Depression. My aunt (one of the best cooks I know) started cooking meals for the family when she was 12 years old, so that my father and grandmother, a schoolteacher, could help my grandfather with the farm chores after school. I'm sure my grandmother started teaching her to cook at a very early age.

I don't remember my mother consciously teaching me to cook, although I'm sure I learned something from watching and helping. But I had to learn to cook when I went out on my own, and I've become a good cook. I don't usually follow recipes, I cook by the creative "whatever falls out of the cupboard into the pan" method, resulting in some surprisingly good meals. My wife leaves the cooking to me quite often, although I'm not as good at such things as thickening sauces, so I recruit her.