By 300 you can create food that will give you insane buffs. It's worth it. Trust.

Furious Crawdads!!!!!!

Sagefish Delight offers a nice buff of Well Fed for mid level players. Deviate Savory Delight is also a nice recipe. Cooking isn't a waste. Especially since it is a secondary skill.

At level 70 there are some daily cooking quests, these can randomly give you a cooking recipe that can sell for a lot.  Also some items like Blackened Basilisk meat give you a well fed boost that increases my locks Spell damage.  So many uses :)

and money u can make when 70!
golden fish, huge spoted fetail, cravtad and so on....
i make over 200g per day for, about, 1 hour fishing

the point: full cooking and fishing are a poorman's alchemy and herbalism... easier to farm and grind, sometimes (the food is) more benficial in buffs, and, there are now cooking and fishing quests.
Take advantage of whatever you can get.

If for example you'd like to fish out some crawdad for free, and cook it up for free and enjoy a +30 stamina buff for free, then then fishing and cooking may be worth your time.

If you want to, you can always buy food with buffs on the AH.  You'll just have to spend time elsewhere to get gold.  If you don't like fishing, then that may be appealing to you.

Also, and if you don't have a gathering profession at 70, fishing is a great alternative, you can probably make just as much gold as mining, skinning, or herbalism.

What's the point of Cooking you say? Obviously dude you don't see the ultimate +stats on the food!  30 stam, 20 spell crit, 20 agilty, 20 strength, I'm 375 and my guild loves me for the food I cook up for raids.

guys, please note that the OP was posted more than a year ago... and shame on the guy who ressurected this dead thread.