Cooking

Save for using the bathroom and sleeping, no activity is more crucial to a Sim than eating. Food is a central part of every Sim’s life, so having a Sim around who can actually cook is a boon to everybody’s mood.

However, very few Sims are awesome in the kitchen right away—even those with the Natural Cook trait. Cooking must be practiced. It’s hard work, but it has great rewards. Very few things offer a pick-me-up quite like a good meal.

Acquire by: Class, Prepare Meals, Read Cookbook

Development tools: Books, Meal Preparation Interactions, Foodstuffs, Recipes

Development Benefits

Sims must eat to survive. At first, Sims have access to just a handful of recipes, but can also just grab quick meals out of the fridge. Quick meals have zero prep time, are eaten quickly, and reduce hunger.

However, quick meals and snacks do not help develop the Cooking skill, nor can they be served to groups of Sims like a full meal.

The shortcomings of quick meals make developing the Cooking skill so important. Not every member of a household needs to excel at the skill, but a general acquaintance with it is very useful.

Prepared meals build the Cooking skill while being made, can serve groups of Sims, and if made well, can improve mood.

Quality of Food

As the Sim develops the skill, the food they make improves. The more recipes learned also improves the variety of dishes served, which has a positive effect on every Sim who eats them.

When a Sim first tries to cook a recipe, there is a good chance they will fail and create a disgusting version of the dish. It is still edible, but it hits Sims with a negative moodlet.

A recipe’s quality is affected by the Sim’s level of Cooking skill and the number of times they’ve cooked the dish. Eventually, a dish the Sim once botched will provide great happiness, inspiring moodlets such as Good Meal and Amazing Meal.

Recipes Learned

Two types of recipes are opened by developing the Cooking skill: learned recipes and acquired recipes. Learned recipes are purchased in the bookstore, but cannot be opened until the skill reaches a specific level.

The acquired recipes are those automatically gifted when the Sim reaches a specific cooking level.

learned recipes

acquired recipes

Skill Challenges

Star Chef: Star Chefs have prepared at least 50 meals, so they clearly know their way around the kitchen. The dishes they prepare are higher quality and thus more pleasing.

World-Class Chef: World-Class Chefs have prepared at least 75 dishes and are masters of the kitchen. World-Class Chefs prepare meals significantly faster.

Menu Maven: Menu Mavens have learned to prepare all recipes. Recipes are earned by improving the Cooking skill and can be purchased at the bookstore. Menu Mavens prepare higher quality food.