That doesn't sound particularly out of line for western cuisine, at least if you look at traditional food, rather than hamburgers. A typical "classic" French di

That doesn't sound particularly out of line for western cuisine, at least if you look at traditional food, rather than hamburgers. A typical "classic" French dish takes about 4-8 hours in total to prepare all the sauces and meats and such. Even just properly browning onions takes 30-45 minutes, and that's a pre-cooking phase in many French dishes. I've been learning Greek cuisine lately and it's similar, e.g. melitzanosalata (a common side dish / spread) takes 60-90 minutes or so, and has to be done before preparing the main meal unless you have multiple ovens.