Cooking Is Overwhelming Now!

[drtarr]

I might be alone on this but since the last (cooking and crops) update cooking and farming have become a bit overwhelming for me. I’m starting to get used to the farming changes (since some crops linger and continue to produce every few days) but not cooking. The vast amounts of ingredients needed now in combination with the extra crafters is as I said before, Overwhelming. I’m willing to admit that perhaps as more of the game is unlocked (especially after the massive July update coming) food may be less daunting. However right now it's spoiled some of the for me. Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there. Cheers!

[SimuLord]

I found that cooking got easier when I went into it with a plan in mind. If you've got recipes with a theme/overlapping ingredients, it's easier to have them to hand when you go to fill out your to-sell inventory at the bar. Since you can only carry a limited number of foods at the same time, it helps.

[Pikachu]

Put a few large chests in your crafting (kitchen) area and put all your fruit, veg, meat, fish, brewing hops and grain in them. The oven, food prep, and brewing crafters will pull ingredients from the chests.

[Pharaoh_Phunk]

Originally posted by Pikachu:

Put a few large chests in your crafting (kitchen) area and put all your fruit, veg, meat, fish, brewing hops and grain in them. The oven, food prep, and brewing crafters will pull ingredients from the chests.

I gotta second this. Any chest in the "Working" zone (Including outside!) are accessible by all of the stations in the same zone. Try to keep a stock of base ingredients and a few prepped ones. I think last time I played, I had like 4-5 chests as they included brewing ingredients.

[Calico Witch]

Originally posted by Pharaoh_Phunk:

Originally posted by Pikachu:

Put a few large chests in your crafting (kitchen) area and put all your fruit, veg, meat, fish, brewing hops and grain in them. The oven, food prep, and brewing crafters will pull ingredients from the chests.

I gotta second this. Any chest in the "Working" zone (Including outside!) are accessible by all of the stations in the same zone. Try to keep a stock of base ingredients and a few prepped ones. I think last time I played, I had like 4-5 chests as they included brewing ingredients.

Yeah, me too. I have 6 chests in the kitchen: fruit, veggies, meat & fish, eggs, milk, cheese and condiments, and brewing items and assorted random cooking ingredients like dough and flour, and also a chest for overflow from the 2 chests filled with already prepared food and drinks out next to the fireplace near the end of the bar (in addition to what's in the bar book).

[Doc Savage]

Aside from the Chests, which are a necessity in the Kitchen area, you can do a lot to make cooking and brewing a lot easier.

Once you have a batch of something, make another one if you have nothing to cook otherwise. You can add up to 99 of them in the chest out front so go to town and make a ton of barley porridge. I have a full chest and am constantly making extra so nothing runs out. As time goes on I actually need a chest in between the kitchen and the bar to store all the extra food. (...and two for all the beer, wine and liquor...)

Cooking is just about keeping busy and keeping the stove going. Get into a routine and go to it 1st thing. Get something cooking and then get outside and collect. Come back in to open the bar and cook something. Try to make a habit of cooking as you pass by to do everything else, and get a 2nd stove when you can.

Farming is also easy. Get some Black Tea, some grapes, tomatoes, anything that will give a multiple harvest. Use these for soup stock. Peppers and Tomatoes grow quick and will give enough for the year. Many dishes use the stock, and you can just sell it in a pinch.

I use the favorite recipes to have my 30 dishes so all the junk I don't want to make is on the bottom out of the way. As times and ingredients and recipes change, I go through and pick things that are related so I can minimize the stuff I need.

I look at ease of cooking vs sell price vs ingredients needs. I'd rather make something that sells for less but has easy ingredients instead of tying up a spot with a recipe I can hardly use because shrimp aren't always available till the stores come.

Eventually you will have more ingredients than you know what to do with if you are any sort of collector or pack rat as I...

Mushroom dishes and Egg dishes are cheap to make and turn a fair profit. Potatoes are stupid easy, regular and sweet. Olive oil is a gimme once the trees ripen. Honestly, it's too easy to make a killing as a cook, specially once I get my 2nd stove. These alone will keep you open.

I make only 4 beers. I pick at the start which ones, but will always make a dark stout with honey using roasted barley from the stove and a wheat or rye along with a couple of the bottled or whatever. Only 4. I just replenish the taps. Whisky/Wine, Brandy and Rum with Black Tea in the Kegs. I don't bother with Cider, it isn't worth the effort compared to the sales of the others.

Once you get out of the 1st year you can really go to town and start developing a menu identity with all the fancy stuff. By then you can basically buy the entire food list every Thursday without batting an eye.

Oh, and in my last play through I made zero cheese. Made the menu a little more straight forward and honestly I don't miss it. I'm in the end of the 2nd year with nothing to do but collect table cloths from beatnick down at the beach.

You can do this. I know because I can and I'm dumb as a box of rocks... ?B)

Cheers..!

[Dantalion]

Originally posted by drtarr:

I might be alone on this but since the last (cooking and crops) update cooking and farming have become a bit overwhelming for me. I’m starting to get used to the farming changes (since some crops linger and continue to produce every few days) but not cooking. The vast amounts of ingredients needed now in combination with the extra crafters is as I said before, Overwhelming. I’m willing to admit that perhaps as more of the game is unlocked (especially after the massive July update coming) food may be less daunting. However right now it's spoiled some of the for me. Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there. Cheers!

I do not agree. I am very surprised that people have all these troubles. I would say that there maybe should be an easy and advanced mode in the game. So that both, people who like to craft and people who simply want to easily lead a tavern and lay back may enjoy the game.