Cookin' with Crisco - Master Cooking in World of Warcraft, part I

If a cooking profession in World of Warcraft seems like an odd profession to have in a RPG game loaded with action, adventure, and comedy, then you obviously don't killed enough in game. Cooking is one of the five secondary professions (archaeology was added for Cataclysm) that you can have and can be a great way of getting buff points from the food you make. Cooking is actually a great side career for those characters that 1. aren't magic users or 2. can't heal themselves.

Every character needs food and drink after a battle in order to keep themselves from dying, however having to constantly buy food or even potions can drain those precious gold resources that are supposed to be save for getting that epic mount you want; cooking enables you to use the resources you may have come across in your travels to make really tasty food that will either leave you as being "well fed" or even give you boosts to your skill areas, like strength or mana pools.

Cooking usually paired up with that of fishing, as many of the recipes will call for some type of fish to be used. Cooking is also a great way of doing something with some of the mob meat you pick up after kills (when they aren't used in quests) and like with some of the other professions, quests that require a certain amount of items can be easily made if they are of the food variety.

The master level of cooking begins as they other professions, at level 300, with your character usually being within the 40-50 range to make items, though in some cases, you'll need to be at level 65 in order to actually use them. Luckily, you can sell items that you can't use either to a vendor or on the AH where you will most likely get the most money from level 65 players looking for food.

Since the introduction of the second expansion of Wrath of the Lich King, those doing cooking can now look forward to daily quests

that can net you some awards, especially that of Chef's Hat, which cuts down your cooking time to half a minute. If you're struggling in getting your cooking level up, try some of these daily quests on top of your regular questing rotation.

Cooking, like any of the other professions, needs to be picked up as soon as your able in order to prevent you from going back to the beginning to pick up items that you may have already had. Not to mention that it is a time consuming measure to kill level 6 bears at level 75; assuming for the first ten minutes, but utterly boring as time ticks by for twenty pieces of meat.

To learn the master cooking level, you will need to go to your trainer and train for it. Here are some of the recipes that you can get when you're a master cook; the majority of these will most likely come from your trainer, however you can also find these at a vendor, the AH, or even as a drop from mobs and bosses.

• Stormchops - obtained at level 300 as a random drop from various places; is a rare recipe that charges you with energy that causes lightning to zap nearby enemies for 30 minutes.
• Feltail Delight - obtained at level 300 from a vendor; restores 4320 points of health, while gaining 20 points for stamina and spirit for 30 minutes.
• Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops - obtained at level 300 from the "What Tomorrow Brings" quest in Silithus; restores 4320 health, while gaining 15 points to your stamina for 15 minutes
• Kibler's Bits - obtained at level 300 as a random drop from various places; is a recipe for hunter pets (has been said to work on DK ghouls as well); makes the pet bigger for five minutes. It's pet tested and hunter approved.
• Blackened Sporefish - obtained at level 310 from a vendor; restores 4320 health, giving you 20 points towards your stamina and 10 points to mana.
• Roasted Clefthoof - obtained at level 325 from a vendor; restores 7500 health, while gaining 20 points in strength and spirit for 30 minutes.
• Golden Fishsticks - obtained at level 325 from a vendor; restores 7500 health, while increating your spell power by 23 points and your spirit by 20 points for 30 minutes.
• Talbuk Steak - obtained at level 325 from a vendor; restores 7500 health, while gaining 20 points in both stamina and spirit for 30 minutes.

In the next part of this series, we'll take a look at what master cooks can do from level 325 to level 350, as well as the achievements that your cooking prowess can bring!

Cooking Profession from World of Warcraft

Cooking Profession from WoWHead

Image Credit: World of Warcraft/author