What to text on Tinder when she says she's been taking a cooking class at night

A cooking class at night is a commitment. She's giving up time after work, paying for something, and showing up with other people to practise a skill that isn't finished yet. Read that as a sign she likes learning something with her hands and doesn't mind being bad at it for a while. That's more useful to you than the dish itself.

Don't treat the class as a hook you need to exploit. The detail is there because she wanted you to know something about her, even if she didn't say why. The most natural reading is that she's comfortable admitting she's a beginner, which is itself a good sign on an app where most people present themselves as finished.

The easiest way to make this go somewhere is to ask about the part she's still getting wrong. Questions about what's hard, what went badly, or what she's trying to get right next tend to get a longer answer than questions about her favourite food. People like talking about the thing they're working on.

Avoid questions that test her knowledge. Asking which knife she uses or what a specific technique is called can feel like a quiz, especially if you don't know the answer yourself. Ask what she's making next, or what's taking her the longest to learn. Those give her room to talk without putting her on the spot.

Send your reply at a time that looks ordinary. Late at night, a long message about cooking can read as either a pickup line or an attempt to keep the conversation going out of boredom. During the day or early evening, a short, friendly reply looks like what it is: someone who read her profile and found it interesting.

If she replies with something short, match her length. If she asks you a question, answer it and ask one back. Once the thread has a rhythm of short exchanges that both sides keep up, you can suggest moving to a call or meeting. Don't push for a plan in the first few messages, because she has no reason yet to trust your timing.