What I've noticed is that it depends on their career as to where you must drag them. At first, I was just dragging them to the stove and, as long as they didn't have a "kitchen" career, that would get them making a meal. But I couldn't figure out how to get someone that had a kitchen career to actually make a meal. I asked Lady in a pm and she told me to drop that person on the table (as the others above have said) and that will let someone who has a "kitchen" career that you want them to make a meal instead of just look for snacks or work on their career.