On today's show we go into the kitchen . The kitchen is not just where we prepare meals . In many places , the kitchen is the heart of the home . It is where we start our day with a cup of coffee or tea . It's where we connect with our family and friends . We talk about our days while we make dinner or have a bite to eat . The kitchen is where we feed ourselves , body and soul . So , it can be a very busy room in the house . Sometimes you need order in the kitchen for things to run smoothly . And sometimes you need one person to be in charge . Imagine you are cooking dinner for your friends . As you are making the soup , your friend Sara tastes it and says , “This needs more salt .” So , she adds more salt . Then Harlan comes into the kitchen . He tastes your soup and says , “You didn't put enough pepper .” So he grinds some fresh black pepper into the pot and some dried herbs . Cecilia sees him . She tastes the soup and says , “You forgot vinegar . It's my secret ingredient .” Then she pours in some vinegar . You are happy to spend time with your friends . But , quite frankly , all their opinions about your soup are becoming annoying . Worst of all , you taste the soup and it's awful ! And that is where we get the expression “too many cooks spoil the soup .” You may also hear this expression with “broth ” or “dish ” instead of “soup .” You can also say simply , “Too many cooks …” and English speakers will know exactly what you mean . This expression describes an age-old problem : If too many people help to complete a task , it may not go very well . Too many people in the “kitchen ” – or too many people trying to do the same task – can turn the situation into a hot mess . But , you may ask , “If many people are trying to get something done , the task will get done faster .” After all , American English also has the expression “many hands make light work .” (This would be the opposite of “too many cooks in the kitchen .”) To answer that point , I will draw your attention to the word “cook .” Now , the cook is the leader in the kitchen . They may have assistants to help them . But the cook has the final say . So , what if a kitchen has many cooks ? Who is the leader ? And that's where the trouble comes in . Maybe you have experienced this . Let's say you are trying to do something – for example , decorate your living room . You have picked your paint and made a plan to rearrange your furniture . Then some friends come over to help . You think they are just going to do the heavy lifting and take your directions . However , your friends think you should listen to their design ideas – like Marcus . He mixes your pale yellow paint with some dark red and covers the walls with a color you hate . Your friend Winnie has strong opinions about the furniture . She replaces your couch and chair with big pillows . “But where will I sit ?” you say . She answers , “On the floor . Look how much more room you have !” Meanwhile , Talia decides to put red light bulbs in all your lamps and lights . When they leave , your living room looks dark , orange , empty , scary and awful ! Your mom comes over to see the results and asks , “What happened ?!” You can simply answer simply , “Too many cooks , Mom . Too many cooks .” Know that you can use this kitchen expression in any situation . Let's hear it used at work . Manuel , do you have a minute ? I'd like to talk to you about an upcoming project . What's the project ? Well , I need someone to lead the new marketing account and I thought you'd be interested . Yes , I would ! You'll have to work with our in-house graphics department as well as our new writing staff . But I want to be the leader of the project . If there are too many cooks in the kitchen , the project could fail . I totally agree . You are in charge . In other words , having too many managers and not enough workers is not a good situation . Actually Anna , I think we should end with a new theme song . But I've already picked out a song to end with , so ... I'm just going to play it for a second or two .