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This article is about the Cooking skill. For information on training Cooking, see Cooking training (F2P) (P2P).

Cooking

Cooking is a skill that allows a player to cook raw food into food that you can eat. Cooking goes hand-in-hand with the Fishing skill as the player can cook the fish they obtain shortly after a full inventory is made. If no stove/range is nearby, having an axe and tinderbox on hand can allow the player to cut down a tree and make a fire to cook the fish on. Some ranges, such as the Cook-o-matic 100 in the Lumbridge Castle or the ranges in the Hosidius Kitchen have the unique perk of burning food significantly less often than a normal range. By levelling up Cooking the player is able to cook the more profitable foods such as lobsters, swordfish, monkfish and shark. By eating cooked food you gain lost Hitpoints, which is useful for training your combat skills.

Listen to audio.
Cooking level-up music (link)
The first music that can be played when levelled up.
Listen to audio.
Cooking level-up music (link)
The second music that can be played when levelled up.

How to cook[]

Cooking is known as one of the fastest skills to train, as players can cook in many different ways as well as being able to simply buy their raw food items from the Grand Exchange.

Before the Grand Exchange was created, the bulk of players usually fished and then cooked their catches. Generally a player who is manually gathering their raw items will cook their food items on a local campfire created through the Firemaking skill near where they are gathering, or take the items they have obtained to a range and cook there.

Ranges (which provide a lower burn rate) can be easily located and are almost always well labelled on the map as a cooking pan (The cooking range icon on the map) icon. There are other assorted things that a player can cook on, seen in NPC camps, or on iron Spits. It is important to note that only meat, fish and stew can be cooked on an open fire. Foods like bread, cake, and pie must be cooked on a proper range, Most of these food items will generate an error message if the player attempts to cook it improperly while others, such as raw potatoes, will simply all burn. Raw foods loosely related to the Hunter skill, such as raw beast meat, raw chompy, and rabbit, must be cooked on an iron spit.

To actually cook something, players have to "use" their raw food item on a range or a campfire. If they have more than one food item of the same kind in their inventory, a picture of the food item will appear in the dialogue box. The player can right click on the picture and select how much he/she wants to cook. By default, you cook all the selected raw/uncooked item.

If this is your first time cooking follow these steps for maximum effect:

  • Cook on the Lumbridge range after completion of Cook's Assistant, as there is a bank directly upstairs and the range offers a lower burn rate than other ranges.
  • Cooking at the Rogues' Den has a permanent fire and is directly next to a banker (Members only).
  • If you do not want to spend much money in this skill, you can kill cows and cook the raw meat on the range or a fire.

Burning food[]

Main article: Burnt food

As players train cooking, they will sometimes fail to cook something at random. It is normal when you first begin training this skill to burn nearly anything you put before a fire or range, but as you gain more levels the burn ratio of food decreases until you reach the level where you can no longer burn them. A useful item to equip while training are cooking gauntlets. Wearing these gloves while training cooking will cut down time and money due to less food being burnt. This is useful for food such as sharks where even at 99 you have the chance to burn them; with the cooking gauntlets equipped you will stop burning sharks at level 94. Alternatively, cooking food while wearing a cooking cape will ensure that no food may be burned by the player.

All ranges have a lower burn rate than fires, but the range in Lumbridge castle has an even lower burn rate, however, to use it, you must have completed the Cook's Assistant quest. The nearest bank is the Culinaromancer's Chest in the cellar, which requires the first part of the Recipe for Disaster quest to be completed, or the bank at the top of Lumbridge Castle. This range has a reduced burn rate, however, only works on the following foods:

A table of the levels where cooking food items becomes successful 100% of the time can be found here.

Items needed[]

As Cooking is the skill of turning food from raw to edible, and there is a very wide range of available food types in RuneScape, there are many items that players need in order to cook food. Depending on what you are cooking you will need a variety of items such as water or flour. Listed below are the cardinal cooking items which are used to make the most common types of food.

Types of food[]

Meat[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing
Cooked meat Cooked meat 1 30 3
Cooked chicken Cooked chicken 1 30 3
Cooked rabbit Cooked rabbit 1 30 5
Roast bird meat Roast bird meat 11 60 6
Roast rabbit Roast rabbit 16 70 7
Cooked crab meat Cooked crab meat 21 100 10

Fish[]

Name Level XP Heals
Raw shrimps Raw shrimps 1 30 3
Raw karambwanji Raw karambwanji 1 10 -
Raw sardine Raw sardine 1 40 4
Raw anchovies Raw anchovies 1 30 1
Raw karambwan Raw karambwan (poison) 1 80 -5
Raw herring Raw herring 5 50 5
Raw mackerel Raw mackerel 10 60 6
Raw trout Raw trout 15 70 7
Raw cod Raw cod 18 75 7
Raw pike Raw pike 20 80 8
Raw salmon Raw salmon 25 90 9
Raw slimy eel Raw slimy eel 28 95 6-10
Raw tuna Raw tuna 30 100 10
Raw karambwan Raw karambwan (cooked) 30 190 18
Raw rainbow fish Raw rainbow fish 35 110 11
Raw cave eel Raw cave eel 38 115 7-11
Raw lobster Raw lobster 40 120 12
Raw bass Raw bass 43 130 13
Raw swordfish Raw swordfish 45 140 14
Raw lava eel Raw lava eel 53 30 14
Raw monkfish Raw monkfish 62 150 16
Sacred eel Sacred eel 72 109-124 -
Raw shark Raw shark 80 210 20
Raw sea turtle Raw sea turtle 82 211.3 21
Raw anglerfish Raw anglerfish 84 230 3-22
Raw dark crab Raw dark crab 90 215 22
Raw manta ray Raw manta ray 91 216.2 22

Pies[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing Effect
Redberry pie Redberry pie 10 78 10 None
Meat pie Meat pie 20 104 12 None
Mud pie Mud pie 29 128 0 Tossed at enemies.
Apple pie Apple pie 30 130 14 None
Garden pie Garden pie 34 128 12 +3 Farming
Fish pie Fish pie 47 164 12 +3 Fishing
Botanical pie Botanical pie 52 180 12 +4 Herblore
Admiral pie Admiral pie 70 210 16 +5 Fishing
Wild pie Wild pie 85 240 22 +4 Ranged, +5 Slayer
Summer pie Summer pie 95 260 22 +5 Agility

Pizza[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing
Plain pizza Plain pizza 35 143 14
Meat pizza Meat pizza 45 169 16
Anchovy pizza Anchovy pizza 55 182 18
Pineapple pizza Pineapple pizza 65 195 22

Potatoes[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing
Baked potato Baked potato 7 15 4
Potato with butter Potato with butter 39 40 14
Chilli potato Chilli Potato 41 15 14
Potato with cheese Potato with cheese 47 40 16
Egg potato Egg potato 51 45 16
Tuna potato Tuna potato 68 309.5 22

Cake[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing
Cooked fishcake Cooked fishcake 31 100 11
Cake Cake 40 180 12
Chocolate cake Chocolate cake 50 210 15

Drinks[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing
Jug of wine Jug of wine 35 200 11
Jug of wine Wine of zamorak 65 200 N/A

Note that every wine made resets the twelve second fermentation of the previously made wines, resulting in an enormous experience drop if a series of inventories are made fast enough. While being one of the fastest methods for reaching 99 cooking (yielding 400k+ EXP/hour if done optimally), it is also the most costly. There is virtually no profit made as opposed to the more traditional fish cooking. This method is also accessible to free-to-play. 

Other[]

Picture Name Level XP Healing
Sweetcorn Sweetcorn 28 104 10% of maximum

Brewing[]

Main article: Brewing
Brewing vat

A brewing vat used to create ales.

Brewing involves the fermenting of raw ingredients into ales or cider. Brewing may be considered quite useful since most of the ales boost certain stats. This can also make a number of ales valuable. It is, however, quite a slow process and so is not a viable means of training. The products are not useful for healing unlike most areas of cooking. There are two types of brew that can be made - ales and cider.

To brew ales, you have to use the fermenting vats located in either of the breweries in either Keldagrim or Port Phasmatys. Each place has only one vat, in which one ale can be brewed at a time. To start brewing ale, 2 buckets of water, 2 lots of Barley malt, the main ale ingredient, and a pot of ale yeast must be added to the fermenting vat (in that order). The main ingredient is specific to the type of ale being brewed. Once the ale yeast is added, the ale will begin fermenting. This will usually take one to two days to brew. Once it is done brewing, you can turn the valve between the vat and the attached barrel to move brewed ale to the barrel, and then collect the ale in Beer glasses or calquat kegs. The barrel will produce 8 doses of the ale. Ale in calquat kegs are in most cases considerably more valuable.

To make cider, you should first take 16 apples and 4 buckets to the cider barrel at one of the breweries in either Keldagrim or Port Phasmatys. 4 cooking apples should be added to and mushed in the barrel. An empty bucket should then be used to collect it in a bucket. Once 4 buckets are filled, add them to the fermenting vat, then add ale yeast into the fermenting vat. It will then start fermenting.

During the brewing process, it is possible for an ale to mature instead of brewing normally, in which case your fermenting vat will produce mature versions of the ales you have brewed, which have stronger effects—it is also possible, however, for an ale to turn bad, in which case the ale in your fermenting vat will become unusable.

All of the brews boost a certain skill, as shown in the table below. Some of the brews have a variable boost amount which is relative to the players level, boosting more as the players level increases.

Image Name Level Experience Total healing Boosts Distinct Ingredient Notes
Cider Cider (m) 14 182 2 Farming: +1
Strength: -2
See instructions above.
4 buckets of apple mush, 1 ale yeast. No buckets of water, barley malt, or "the stuff"
One of very few items that boost farming.
Dwarven stout Dwarven stout (m) 19 215 1 Smithing: +1
Mining: +1
Attack:- 1
Strength: -1
Defence: -1
4 Hammerstone hops Mature version is very valuable: Dwarven stout is one of the only smithing boosting items in the game.
Beer Asgarnian ale (m) 24 248 2 Strength: +2
Attack: -4
4 Asgarnian hops Apparently capable of dissolving gold, handle with care.
Greenman's ale Greenman's ale (m) 29 281 1 Herblore: +1
Attack: -4
4 Harralander Mature version is extremely valuable: Provides +2 herblore boost.Recommended to always collect this ale in a calquat keg.
Wizard's mind bomb Wizard's mind bomb (m) 34 314 1 Magic: +2/3
Attack: -4
Strength: -3
Defence: -3
4 Yanillian hops Sometimes shortened to WMB, this item boosts relative to the players magic level. Mages with a magic level lower than 50 get a +2 boost while mages 50 and above gain a +3 boost.
Dragon bitter Dragon bitter (m) 39 347 1 Strength: +2
Attack: -1
4 Krandorian hops Useful for some complex combat applications.
Moonlight mead Moonlight mead (m) 44 380 5 Heals 5 hitpoints. 4 Bittercap mushrooms This ale heals the player instead of affecting stats. This ale's mature version heals 6 hitpoints, and when gathered into a calquat keg this adds to 24 hitpoints in one inventory slot. The rumour that this decreases strength is not true.
Axeman's folly Axeman's folly (m) 49 413 1 Woodcutting:+1
Strength: -3
1 Oak roots This ale's mature version is very valuable: Provides +2 Woodcutting.
This ale is a good way for players to make a large amount of money with little effort, as the ingredients are very cheap.
Chef's delight Chef's delight (m) 54 446 1 Cooking: +1-5
Attack: -2
Strength: -2
4 Chocolate dust This ale's mature version is extremely valuable: Provides +1-5 Cooking and is a preferred alternative to spicy stew.Chef's delight works similar to the wizards mind bomb, providing a boost relative to the players level. Low level players will receive only a partial boost, while players with more experience will receive the full boost. (approximately level 60 for full boost)
Slayer's respite Slayer's respite (m) 59 479 1 Slayer: +1
Attack: -2
Strength: -2
4 Wildblood hops. One of very few items which boost slayer.

For a mature ale: Simply add +1 (or -1) to all stat effects of the basic ale. Example: Slayer's respite (m) Slayer: +2, Attack: -3, Strength: -3.

Gnome cooking[]

Main article: Gnome cooking

Gnome cooking is very complicated, and is best left with its own specially dedicated guide. The gnome foods plays a big part in the Gnome Restaurant minigame, more detailed information can be found in article linked to above but following is a general guide for how a player can get acquainted with gnome cooking.

Although it is complex, somewhat expensive, and requires a wide variety of unusual ingredients, gnome cooking can provide a good avenue to advance cooking from around 10 up to about 30 in good speed. To obtain the cookbook with all the recipes for gnome foods, a player can go to The Grand Tree in the Gnome Stronghold and find the gnome called Aluft Gianne Sr . He is on the west side of the first level up of the grand tree and is dressed as a chef. Talk with him, and offer your assistance to him. He will take you on as a kind of apprentice and tell you some basics, give you the recipe book and a small set of the basic tools you need to create gnome dishes. He will assign you a succession of dishes to prepare. Once you have prepared the dish to his satisfaction he will ask you to make another, then another moving steadily up the chart of assorted gnome foods. If you are using this method to train your cooking up and get an assignment you do not have the correct level to prepare, then you simply need to train till you do. Use the shops and resources in the gnome stronghold to make more gnome foods if you wish, or cook other foods that you may have. For each dish the player can buy supplies from the shop run by a gnome called Hudo who is found by the cooking range nearby Gianne, but ever since the shop stock update this has been severely limited. Players going through the tutorial will start by making crunchies which can stored at a bank in The Grand Tree and later sold on the Grand Exchange. As your skill levels improve you will be able to make battas then eventually bowls. Once you have completed the training exercises he gives you, you can start the minigame, which has several useful rewards.

Image Name Level Experience Total healing
Fruit blast Fruit blast 6 50 9
Pineapple punch Pineapple punch 8 70 9
Toad crunchies Toad crunchies 10 100 8
Spicy crunchies Spicy crunchies 12 100 7
Worm crunchies Worm crunchies 14 100 8
Chocchip crunchies Chocchip crunchies 16 100 7
Wizard blizzard Wizard blizzard 18 110 5
Short green guy Short green guy (SGG) 20 120 5
Fruit batta Fruit batta 25 150 11
Toad batta Toad batta 26 152 11
Worm batta Worm batta 27 154 11
Vegetable batta Vegetable batta 28 156 11
Cheese+tom batta Cheese and tomato batta 29 158 11
Worm hole Worm hole 30 170 12
Drunk dragon Drunk dragon 32 160 5
Choc saturday Choc saturday 33 170 5
Veg ball Veg ball 35 175 12
Blurberry special Blurberry special 37 180 7
Tangled toad's legs Tangled toad's legs 40 185 15
Chocolate bomb Chocolate bomb 42 190 15

Temporary boosts[]

Main article: Temporary skill boost
Cooking cape emote

A player wearing a Cooking cape (t) and performing the Skillcape emote

Image Name Boost Level to obtain/use Notes
Chef's delight Chef's delight 1 to 5 Can be brewed at Cooking icon 54 Boost by 5% of base level + 1
Chef's delight(m) Chef's delight(m) 2 to 6 Can be brewed at Cooking icon 54 Boost by 5% of base level + 2
Spicy stew Orange spicy stew -5 to +5 Cooking icon 25 -5 and +5 are rare
Cooking cape Cooking cape 1 Cooking icon 99 Also prevents food from being burnt.

Cooking Cape of Accomplishment[]

You can buy this skillcape from the Head chef at the Cooking Guild that is slightly west of Varrock once you reach 99 Cooking.

  • A Chef's hat is required for entry to the Cooking Guild. From here, a player must pay 99,000 coins for the cooking cape. If you already have a cooking cape, it can be used in place of a chef's hat for entry to the Cooking Guild.

Quests rewarding Cooking experience[]

Quest Experience
reward
Cooking req. Other requirements
Cook's Assistant 300 - -
Rag and Bone Man 500 - -
Recipe for Disaster
(Dwarf subquest)
1,000 - -
Recipe for Disaster
(Goblin generals subquest)
1,000 - -
Recipe for Disaster
(Pirate Pete subquest)
1,000 31 Cooking icon -
Big Chompy Bird Hunting 1,470 30 Cooking icon 5 Fletching icon, 30 Ranged icon
Recipe for Disaster
(Skrach Uglogwee subquest)
1,500 41 Cooking icon 20 Firemaking icon
Gertrude's Cat 1,525 - -
Recipe for Disaster
(Lumbridge Guide subquest)
2,500 40 Cooking icon -
Heroes' Quest 2,825 53 Cooking icon 55 Quest point icon, 53 Fishing icon, 25 Herblore icon, 50 Mining icon
Recipe for Disaster
(Sir Amik Varze subquest)
4,000 - 107 Quest point icon
Forgettable Tale... 5,000 22 Cooking icon 17 Farming icon
Tai Bwo Wannai Trio 5,000 30 Cooking icon 15 Agility icon, 5 Fishing icon
Recipe for Disaster
(Evil Dave subquest)
7,000 25 Cooking icon -
Recipe for Disaster
(Awowogei subquest)
10,000 70 Cooking icon 48 Agility icon
Total 44,620

Skill choice[]

Upon completing any of the following quests, players may choose to allocate experience to Cooking. These rewards usually come in the form of items, such as lamps or books, and are independent of any experience rewards directly received for completing the quest.

Quest Experience
reward
Skills available Skill requirements
Client of Kourend 500 twice Any -
Fairytale II - Cure a Queen 2,500 Any skill above 30 49 Farming icon, 57 Herblore icon
A Tail of Two Cats 2,500 twice Any skill above 30 -
The Great Brain Robbery 5,000 Any skill above 30 16 Crafting icon, 30 Construction icon, 50 Prayer icon
King's Ransom 5,000 Any skill above 50 65 Defence icon
Darkness of Hallowvale 2,000 three times Any skill above 30 5 Construction icon, 20 Mining icon, 22 Thieving icon, 32 Crafting icon, 33 Magic icon, 40 Strength icon
Curse of the Empty Lord
(miniquest)
10,000 Any skill above 50 Some players will need 31 Prayer icon
One Small Favour 10,000 twice Any skill above 30 36 Agility icon, 25 Crafting icon, 18 Herblore icon, 30 Smithing icon
Recipe for Disaster
(The final battle)
20,000 Any skill above 50 175 Quest point icon, 48 Agility icon, 50 Mining icon, 53 Fishing icon, 53 Thieving icon, 25 Herblore icon, 59 Magic icon, 40 Smithing icon, 50 Firemaking icon, 40 Ranged icon, 40 Crafting icon, 10 Fletching icon, 10 Slayer icon, 36 Woodcutting icon
Total 74,500


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