While real chemistry underlies them both, as it does everything, the actual application and practice is much more formless and esotheric, with rules and knowledge handed down from old masters through the ether of oral history. There is no chemical formula for a Beef Wellington or a Lobster Thermidor, just a series of steps and a list of ingredients, both of which can be altered at the whim of the practitioner, with only rough explanations of what people think happens under the hood.
In this way, cooking is very much like a witch in the woods brewing magic potions in a cauldron.