Tim Cook, Apple’s discreet CEO, offered a rare glimpse into his personal and professional life in a recent interview on the Table Manners podcast, hosted by Jessie and Lennie Ware, during his last visit to London this past Christmas. Here are the intimate details he shared.
As we can listen to in this episode available on Apple Podcasts, Cook spent almost an hour discussing his Alabama childhood, his daily routine, his retirement philosophy, his love for dark chocolate, and his favorite meals, giving us a closer look at the human side of one of the most influential figures in the tech world.
An Unconventional Retirement
When asked if he ever plans to retire, Cook was clear: “Sure, but not the traditional definition of it. I don’t see being at home doing nothing and not intellectually stimulated and thinking about how tomorrow can be better than today.” He also confessed that staying active has been a necessity since his youth: “I was working when I was 11 or 12… You want to be pushed a bit. You want to be uncomfortable a bit… I think I’ll always want to be pushed.”
An Early Riser
For Cook, the day starts very early, he wakes up at 5 a.m., sometimes even earlier. "As it turns out, it’s the part of the day that I can control the most. As the day starts to unfold, it becomes less predictable… So I love the part of the day that I can kind of block out the world and focus on a few critical things and just be silent for a while.”
His mornings begin with coffee and a protein-rich cashew cereal from Whole Foods, paired with unsweetened almond milk. And, of course, emails: “It’s in all probably 500, 600. And in some days where there’s something extraordinary going on, it will be a lot more than that.” Most of them, he says, are from employees and customers.
A Childhood Shaped by Hard Work
Cook’s upbringing in Alabama was deeply tied to hard work and discipline. He grew up "centered on work,” he recalls. At age 11, he delivered newspapers, and by 14, he was flipping burgers at Tastee-Freez, a fast-food chain.
“I was first throwing papers…and then I graduated to flipping burgers…” he says with a laugh. Cook added that he earned $1.10 an hour, below the minimum wage, which was legal at the time. His parents instilled the value of hard work, a principle he says has stayed with him throughout his life.
The Not-So-“Cook” in the Kitchen
Despite his last name, Tim Cook doesn’t cook: “C Caffè Macs is so incredible. I have lunch in Caffè Macs and I take a dinner home from Caffè Macs during the week…” He prefers fish, and when asked what his last meal would be (a tradition on Table Manners), he answered: hamachi crudo with jalapeño, branzino for a main dish with broccoli on the side, and anything chocolate for dessert—especially dark chocolate, his weakness.
He also shared his love for white wine, particularly Kistler Chardonnay, and mentioned one of his favorite restaurants, Ethel’s Fancy in Palo Alto, where he enjoys octopus.
Cook revealed that his favorite childhood meal was fried chicken. Additionally, he shared a little-known fact about Apple Park: the campus, which used to be an orchard, is home to fruit trees, including apples and cherries. The harvested fruit is used to make jams, and during the interview, Cook brought a spiced apple jam made from Apple Park’s apples to share with the hosts.
Fridays at Home and an Adventurous Spirit
Cook works at Apple Park four days a week but prefers to work from home on Fridays. The reason? “Nobody's in the office and it's depressing when there's nobody there,” he remarked. This aligns with Apple’s hybrid work model, which allows employees to work from home up to two days a week.
When not at Apple Park, Cook enjoys hiking and visiting national parks. He recently explored caves in Slovenia, showing his adventurous side.
After discussing Apple Intelligence (which Cook recently defended for being late) and explaining Genmoji to his interviewers, Cook was asked if he had a custom Genmoji. Staying true to his diplomatic style, he answered with a festive nod: “I was working on one yesterday. I love Christmas, and London is like the ultimate Christmas city. So I was looking at what would Big Ben look like with a tree out front.”
Beyond this festive comment, there were no announcements or hints about new products. However, Cook teased the audience with his classic line: “We have so many things coming up.” And surely, he means it. Because if anything is clear, it’s that Tim Cook is a man with an unyielding passion for progress—even if it means starting the day before the sun comes up.
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