Cooking Skill
| Cooking | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Skills |
| Type | Skill |
| Skill Group | Crafting |
| Max Level | 10 |
| Total XP | 32,775 |
| Skill Books | Cooking Skill Books |
| Best Occupation | Chef (+4) |
The Cooking Skill governs how much a character gets out of food. Each level makes cooked dishes more nutritious and lets ingredients go further. It belongs to the Crafting group.
Food runs out quickly in a long run, so stretching it matters. A skilled cook uses less of each ingredient and gets more nutrition from it. Cooked meals also lift the mood, and spices add a stronger boost against boredom and unhappiness. A high level even allows small amounts of rotten food in a recipe. The Chef starts with the most Cooking skill. The Burger Flipper also starts with a solid head start.
How to Level Cooking
Cooking experience comes from three kinds of work. Cooking food over heat gives experience. Crafting cooking recipes gives experience. Adding ingredients to an evolved recipe such as a soup, stew, salad or sandwich gives experience too.
Butchering a chicken or turkey is one of the best early recipes. Making bread dough, a baguette, cake batter or guacamole also gives a good amount. Jarring preserved food gives a solid chunk as well.
The Cook Show on Life and Living TV gives a large boost in the first days. Cook Show tapes and the tape Making Sushi at Home help as well. Watching only pays off in the first three levels, unless experience spills over from a level-up.
The Crafty and Fast Learner traits each raise the experience rate to 130 percent. The Slow Learner trait lowers it to 70 percent.
Recipe magazines teach dishes that a character does not know from the start. Delicious Meals, Good Cooking, Grandma's Kitchen, Italian Delights and World Cooking are some of them. These magazines unlock dishes rather than speed up experience. A character who starts as a Chef, a Burger Flipper or with Keen Cook already knows many of these dishes.
Repeating easy recipes is the steadiest training. Each finished dish gives experience, so many small meals beat one large feast. Soups and stews are forgiving and take up leftover ingredients. They make good practice dishes, since almost any vegetable or meat finds a place in one.
Cooking books turn up on house shelves and in bookstores. Read the volume that matches the current level before a long cooking session.
The XP each Cooking level asks for, with the running total from level 0.
| Level | XP Needed | Total XP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 75 |
| 2 | 150 | 225 |
| 3 | 300 | 525 |
| 4 | 750 | 1,275 |
| 5 | 1,500 | 2,775 |
| 6 | 3,000 | 5,775 |
| 7 | 4,500 | 10,275 |
| 8 | 6,000 | 16,275 |
| 9 | 7,500 | 23,775 |
| 10 | 9,000 | 32,775 |
Cooking Level Effects
Each level reduces how much of an ingredient goes into a dish. At level 10, an ingredient goes almost a third further than at level 0. Each level also raises the nutrition an ingredient adds, though the gain flattens out at the high levels.
Adding ingredients gets very slightly faster with each level.
Rotten food becomes usable at level 7. A small share of rotten ingredient can go into a dish without harm. Level 9 doubles that share.
Cooking skill also matters for poison. Evolved recipes with three or more ingredients can be poisoned with bleach or another poisonous item. A higher level makes poison easier to spot in food. It also makes a cook's own poison harder for others to detect. Food found to be poisoned shows a skull icon.
Soups, stews and salads each take up to six ingredients plus spices. The cooking level decides how much hunger each ingredient adds to the dish. A higher level gets a fuller meal from the same handful of food. The gain is largest in the low levels and slows down near the top.
Cooked meals ease boredom and unhappiness more than raw food does. A skilled cook can keep a base fed and in good spirits through a long winter.
Cooking Skill Books
The Cooking Skill Books come in five volumes. Each volume speeds up experience for two levels. Cooking I: "Better Burger Flipping" covers the first two levels. Cooking V: "Ruban Vert Gourmet - Complete Cooking Techniques" covers the last two. Reading each volume just before its levels gives the most benefit.
The five volumes, the levels each one speeds up, the XP bonus while those levels are trained, and how long each takes to read. Reading times are game time at the default two minutes a page. Sitting down and wearing Reading Glasses each cut the time by a tenth, the Fast Reader trait cuts it by about a third, and Slow Reader adds a third.
| Volume | Image | Levels | XP Bonus | Pages | Read Time | Spawn ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking I: "Better Burger Flipping" | 
|
1 to 2 | x3 | 220 | 7 h 20 min | /additem Base.BookCooking1
|
| Cooking II: "Essential Home Cooking Guide" |
|
3 to 4 | x5 | 260 | 8 h 40 min | /additem Base.BookCooking2
|
| Cooking III: "Flavorful Cuisine - 1993 Edition" |
|
5 to 6 | x8 | 300 | 10 h | /additem Base.BookCooking3
|
| Cooking IV: "Professional Tips from a Master Chef" |
|
7 to 8 | x12 | 340 | 11 h 20 min | /additem Base.BookCooking4
|
| Cooking V: "Ruban Vert Gourmet - Complete Cooking Techniques" |
|
9 to 10 | x16 | 380 | 12 h 40 min | /additem Base.BookCooking5
|
Set of Cooking Books bundles all five volumes in one item and unpacks into them.
| Item | Image | Spawn ID |
|---|---|---|
| Set of Cooking Books | 
|
/additem Base.BookCookingSet
|
Cooking Starting Levels
The Chef begins with four levels of Cooking. The Burger Flipper begins with two levels. The Keen Cook trait adds two levels at character creation.
A Chef gets more from every ingredient from the very first meal. That head start stretches early food supplies and brings rotten food use much closer.
These occupations and traits start a character with levels in Cooking.
| Name | Image | Type | Levels | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chef | 
|
Occupation | +4 | -2 |
| Burger Flipper | 
|
Occupation | +2 | +2 |
| Keen Cook | 
|
Trait | +2 | -3 |
Cooking Recipes
At the lowest level, cooking covers everyday dishes. Cereal, oatmeal, beans, omelettes and meat patties are simple and quick. Bread dough, baguettes, cakes, cookies, muffins and biscuits come from baking.
Butchering whole chickens and turkeys into pieces also counts as cooking. Sushi, maki, onigiri, calamari, breaded shrimp and onion rings cover more unusual dishes.
Preserved food in jars keeps a harvest edible for a long time. Evolved recipes such as soups, stews, salads, stir-fries, pies and sandwiches take many ingredients at once.
A sealed jar must be cooked on a stove or fire after jarring. An uncooked jar rots as fast as loose food. Properly cooked jars stay fresh for many weeks, which carries a summer harvest through the cold months.
Some raw foods make a character sick. Steak, salmon and eggs are among them. Cooking them first makes them safe and lets them go into salads and sandwiches. Stoves work while the power lasts, and a campfire takes over once it fails.
Every recipe that asks for Cooking or trains it, one tab per level asked.
| Name | Image | Recipe | Crafting Materials | Tools | Skill | Station | Learned | Spawn ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack-o'-lantern | 
|
Carve Pumpkin | 1x Pumpkin | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.HalloweenPumpkin
|
| 2x Chicken Leg | 
|
Cut Up Chicken | 1x Chicken (Whole) | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.Chicken
|
| 2x Turkey Leg | 
|
Cut Up Turkey | 1x Turkey (Whole) | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.TurkeyLegs
|
| Bowl of Beans | 
|
Make Bowl of Beans |
|
- | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.BeanBowl
|
| Cake Batter | 
|
Make Cake Batter | Fork | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.CakeBatter
| |
| Gravy | 
|
Make Gravy |
|
Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.Gravy
| |
| 5x Guacamole | 
|
Make Guacamole | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.Guacamole
| ||
| Jar of Bell Peppers | 
|
Make Jar of Preserved Food |
|
Bread Knife | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | Yes | /additem Base.CannedBellPepper
|
| Beef Patty | 
|
Make Meat Patty | 40x Ground Beef | - | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.MeatPatty
|
| Bowl of Cereal | 
|
Pour Bowl of Cereal | - | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.CerealBowl
| |
| Bowl of Oatmeal |
|
Pour Bowl of Oatmeal |
|
- | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.Oatmeal
|
| 2x Fried Onion Rings | 
|
Prepare 2 Breaded Onion Rings |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.FriedOnionRings
| |
| 2x Squid Calamari | 
|
Prepare 2 Squid Calamari | 1x Squid | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.SquidCalamari
|
| Baguette | 
|
Prepare Baguette |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.Baguette
| |
| Biscuits | 
|
Prepare Biscuits |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.Muffintray_Biscuit
| |
| Bread | 
|
Prepare Bread Dough |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.Bread
| |
| Fried Shrimp | 
|
Prepare Breaded Shrimp |
|
- | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.ShrimpFried
|
| Cake Preparation | 
|
Prepare Cake |
|
- | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.CakePrep
|
| Baking Tray with Chocolate Chip Cookies | 
|
Prepare Chocolate Chip Cookies |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.CookieChocolateChipDough
| |
| Baking Tray with Chocolate Cookies |
|
Prepare Chocolate Cookies |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.CookiesChocolateDough
| |
| Maki | 
|
Prepare Maki |
|
Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.Maki
|
| Plain Muffins |
|
Prepare Muffins |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.BakingTray_Muffin
| |
| Baking Tray with Oatmeal Cookies |
|
Prepare Oatmeal Cookies |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.CookiesOatmealDough
| |
| Omelette | 
|
Prepare Omelette |
|
Fork | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.EggOmelette
|
| Onigiri | 
|
Prepare Onigiri |
|
Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.Onigiri
|
| Pancakes | 
|
Prepare Pancakes |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.PancakesRecipe
| |
| Pie Preparation | 
|
Prepare Pie |
|
Rolling Pin | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.PiePrep
|
| Pie Dough | 
|
Prepare Pie Dough |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.PieDough
| |
| Pizza | 
|
Prepare Pizza |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.PizzaRecipe
| |
| Baking Tray with Shortbread Cookies |
|
Prepare Shortbread Cookies |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.CookiesShortbreadDough
| |
| Baking Tray with Sugar Cookies |
|
Prepare Sugar Cookies |
|
Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.CookiesSugarDough
| |
| Fish Sushi | 
|
Prepare Sushi |
|
Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | Yes | /additem Base.SushiFish
|
| Ice Cream Cone | 
|
Scoop Ice Cream | Spoon | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.ConeIcecream
| |
| Cow Skull | 
|
Slice Animal Head | 1x Cow Head | Bread Knife | Cooking: 0 | In Hand | No | /additem Base.Cow_Skull
|
| 6x Baloney Slices | 
|
Slice Baloney | 1x Baloney | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.BaloneySlice
|
| 3x Bread Slices | 
|
Slice Bread | 1x Bread or Bread | Bread Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.BreadSlices
|
| 5x Cake Slice | 
|
Slice Cake/Pie | 1x Cake or similar | Bread Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.CakeSlice
|
| 6x Ham Slice | 
|
Slice Ham | 1x Ham | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.HamSlice
|
| 6x Pizza Slice | 
|
Slice Pizza | 1x Pizza or Pizza | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.Pizza
|
| 10x Pumpkin Slice | 
|
Slice Pumpkin | 1x Pumpkin | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.PumpkinSliced
|
| 4x Salami Slices | 
|
Slice Salami | 1x Salami | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.SalamiSlice
|
| 10x Watermelon Slice | 
|
Slice Watermelon | 1x Watermelon | Large Knife | Cooking: 0 | Any Surface | No | /additem Base.WatermelonSliced
|
Notes
- Stale ingredients other than the base keep a dish fresh, so use them up in recipes.
- A stale base ingredient makes the whole dish stale.
- Spices reduce boredom and unhappiness in cooked dishes.
- Watch The Cook Show early for quick levels.
- At level 7, small amounts of rotten food become safe to cook with.
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