Cooking Guide

First of all, fishing and cooking go hand in hand - considering leveling these skills together. Many of the fishing vendors sell the recipes to cook the fish you catch. This is the fastest way to skill up your cooking. However, if you want to do it without fish, there is still a way.

We'll start with a rapid way to skill cooking for Alliance characters.

First off, start in Ironforge. Learn apprentice cooking. Learn Spice Bread. Buy enough Simple Flour and Mild Spices one floor down to get your skill to 40 which is all you can get with Spice Bread. Cook it at the fire outside the building.

Next, buy 30 mild spices one floor down from the cooking trainer. Buy 1 x Flint and Tinder and 20 x Simple Wood from Bryllia Ironbrand. Make Ironforge your home. Fly to Menethil Harbor. Boat to Auberdine. Or you can take a portal to Darnassus and fly to Auberdine from Shattrath.

Kill moonkin until you have enough small eggs to take your cooking skill to at least 60. You probably only need 20, but they are so simple to get here that you can go for 30. It only takes a few minutes if you’re higher level. Go south into Ashenvale and then out to the west coast and kill Clattering and Spined Crawlers. They will drop Small Barnacled Clam, which always contain 1 clam meat, as well as crawler meat. You will get about 50/50. Collect at least 40 of each, a few more to be safe. Run down to Shandrina in Ashenvale and buy the Expert Cookbook.

Next, use your hearth stone to get yourself back to Ironforge. Cook your small eggs so you reach at least 60 skill. Go to the cooking trainer and learn Journeyman Cooking and Boiled Clams. Buy as many Refreshing Spring Water as you have clam meat from the cooking supplier. Start cooking your clam meat. Now learn crab cake from the trainer. Cook all your crawler meat. At least make sure you get 130 skill then learn expert cooking by using the Expert Cookbook.

Fly or take the tram to Stormwind. Buy the recipe for curiously tasty omelet from Kendor Kabonka. Learn it. Buy 120 x hot spices from Edna Mullby. While you’re in Stormwind, buy 20 Alterac Swiss from Elaine Trias. Save these for later.

Fly to Darkshire in Duskwood. Run down to the Rebel Camp in Stranglethorn Vale. Buy the recipe for roast raptor from Corporal Bluth. Go around Grom’gol Base Camp and kill lashtail raptors for raptor eggs and raptor flesh. Make sure you get enough to take your skill from 130+ to 225. That may require more than 100 eggs and flesh together, depending on the distribution. You may end up with approximately 58 eggs and 46 raptor flesh after a bit of grinding. Cook all your raptor eggs first. At 175 you can learn roast raptor, but continue cooking the eggs until you’re out. Then cook the raptor flesh until you are at skill 225. Don’t leave here until you are at 225. 58 eggs can take you from 141 to 193. 38 flesh can take you to 225. Hold on to any extra flesh you have.

Use your hearth stone to Ironforge, fly to Menethil Harbor. Boat to Theramore Isle. Fly to Gadgetzan. Make it your home.

Accept the Clamlette Surprise quest from Dirge Quikcleave in the inn.

Go out to the shore and kill Steeljaw Snappers for Big-Mouth Clams that always contain zesty clam meat. You can also kill Surf Gliders, they drop more clams. Collect 10 zesty clam meat. Kill rocs for giant eggs. When you have 12 eggs, return to Gadgetzan and turn in the quest since you already have the cheese. You will learn artisan cooking which allows 300 cooking skill upon completion. Cook any extra raptor flesh you have.

Fly to Winterspring. Buy Recipe: Monster Omelet from Himmik. Grind owlbeasts north of Everlook and any winterspring owls and screechers you see for giant eggs. Collect enough to take your cooking skill from 225 to 250. You may need 25-30. There is a cooking fire next to the flight master.

Visit Malygen in Felwood and purchase Recipe: Juicy Bear Burger and Recipe: Charred Bear Kabobs. Then kill bears almost anywhere in Felwood until you get to 285.

Use your hearth stone to Gadgetzan. Fly to Silithus. Accept Desert Recipe from the Innkeeper in Cenarion Hold. Turn it in on a box in the western part of the first Twilight camp to the west of Cenarion Hold. Accept the Sharing The Knowledge quest. Turn it in at the inn. You’ll learn how to make Smoked Desert Dumplings, upon its completion, that will be orange all the way up to 300. Just kill the Dredge Crushers and Strikers all around Cenarion Hold for mats and buy soothing spices in Cenarion Hold. You may also want to turn in 10 Smoked Desert Dumplings at the innkeeper for the follow-up quest. Rewards some XP and/or gold.

If you have The Burning Crusade expansion, you can continue to 375. First you have to learn Master Cooking which is trainable with a book sold by Gaston in Hellfire Peninsula or Naka in Zangamarsh. Next, do the quest Smooth As Butter to get Recipe: Buzzard Bites. Go back and kill buzzards and cook their meat until you have 325 skill. Next, go buy Recipe: Talbuk Steak from Uriku and kill talbuks in Nagrand. They are all over the place. Cook their meat until you reach 335 skill or more.

Purchase Recipe: Crunchy Serpent and Recipe: Mok’Nathal Shortribs from Sassa Weldwell in Blade's Edge Mountains. Go out and grind raptors and serpents and cook their flesh until you’re at 375.

Skilling up your cooking beyond 375 will require the Wrath of the Lich King Expansion. Seek out Brom Brewbaster in the Howling Fjord or Rollick MacKreel in the Borean Tundra.

You should learn all the recipes that you can and make the recipes you can as you come across the meat/fish as you level. Here is one path to take:

Gather about 60 Rhino Meat and make Rhino Dogs. The skill will go green at 382 and gray at 415. If you are just trying to power the skill to 450, just gather all the Rhino Meat you can until you hit 400.

As soon as you can get to Dalaran, be sure to do the Cooking Daily quest in the Inn. Seek out Katherine Lee. This will help raise Kirin Tor faction as well as get you Dalaran Cooking Awards. 3 Awards buy you a new cooking recipe. They will require skill llevel 400 to make. You can make Might Rhino Dogs until skill 425. This will require more Rhino Meat and Northern Spices to make. You get the spices from the daily cooking quest.

At 425 you can now make a Gigantic Feast or a Small Feast to skill up to 450. This takes a lot of different meats and patience skilling up. They go green at 437 so the grind to 450 make take a lot of combines.

For the Horde!

First off, make Orgrimmar your home. Learn cooking from the cooking trainer in Orgrimmar. Purchase flint and tinder and 20 simple wood from Trak’gen. You can now make campfires to cook food wherever you want.

Go to Darkshore (fly to Ashenvale then go to Darkshore) and kill moonkin for small eggs. They drop about 55% small egg. Use those to reach 60 skill. Get 70 eggs so you at least have enough. Go south into Ashenvale and then out to the west coast and kill Clattering and Spined Crawlers. They will drop Small Barnacled Clam, which always contain 1 clam meat, as well as crawler meat. You will get about 50/50. Collect at least 40 of each, a few more to be safe.

Fly to Desolace and purchase the expert cookbook from Wulan. Use your hearthstone back to Orgrimmar. Cook your small eggs so you reach at least 60 skill. Go to the cooking trainer and learn Journeyman Cooking and Boiled Clams. Buy as many Refreshing Spring Water as you have clam meat from the innkeeper. Cook all your clam meat. Now learn crab cake from the trainer. Buy as many mild spices as you have crawler meat from the NPC beside the cooking trianer. Cook all your crawler meat. At least make sure you get 130 skill then learn expert cooking by using the Expert Cookbook. Before you leave here, buy 120 hot spices from the cooking supplier.

Get on the zeppelin to Grom’Gol (Stranglethorn Vale). Buy Recipe: Curiously Tasty Omelet and Recipe: Roast Raptor from Nerrist. Go around Grom’gol Base Camp and kill lashtail raptors for raptor eggs and raptor flesh. Make sure you get enough to take your skill from 130+ to 225. That may require more than 100 eggs and flesh together, depending on the distribution. You may end up with 58 eggs and 46 raptor flesh after a bit of grinding. Cook all your raptor eggs first. At 175 you can learn roast raptor, but continue cooking the eggs until you’re out. Then cook the raptor flesh until you are at skill 225. Don’t leave here until you are at 225. 58 eggs can take you from 141 to 193. 38 flesh can take you to 225. Hold on to any extra flesh you have.

Use your hearthstone to Orgrimmar. Fly to Freewind Post (Thousand Needles). Buy 20 Alterac Swiss from Innkeeper Abeqwa. Fly to Gadgetzan. Make it your home.

Accept Clamlette Surprise quest from Dirge Quikcleave in the inn. Go out to the shore and kill Steeljaw Snappers for Big-Mouth Clams that always contain zesty clam meat. You can also kill Surf Gliders, they drop more clams. Collect 10 zesty clam meat. Kill rocs for giant eggs. When you have 12 eggs, hearth to Gadgetzan and turn in the quest since you already have the cheese. You will learn artisan cooking which allows 300 cooking skill upon completion. Cook any extra raptor flesh you have.

Fly to Winterspring. Buy Recipe: Monster Omelet from Himmik. Grind owlbeasts north of Everlook and any winterspring owls and screechers you see for giant eggs. Collect enough to take your cooking skill from 225 to 250. You may need 25-30. There is a cooking fire next to the flight master. Soothing spices can be purchased in Everlook.

Visit Bale in Felwood and purchase Recipe: Juicy Bear Burger and Recipe: Charred Bear Kabobs. Then kill bears almost anywhere in Felwood until you get to 285.

Fly to Silithus. Accept Desert Recipe from the Innkeeper in Cenarion Hold. Turn it in on a box in the western part of the first Twilight camp to the west of Cenarion Hold. Accept the Sharing The Knowledge quest. Turn it in at the inn. You’ll learn how to make Smoked Desert Dumplings, upon its completion, that will be orange all the way up to 300. Just kill the Dredge Crushers and Strikers all around Cenarion Hold for mats and buy soothing spices in Cenarion Hold. You may also want to turn in 10 Smoked Desert Dumplings at the innkeeper for the follow-up quest. Rewards some XP and/or gold.

If you have The Burning Crusade, you can continue to 375. First you have to learn Master Cooking which is trainable with a book sold by Baxter or Naka. Next, do the quest Smooth As Butter to get Recipe: Buzzard Bites. Go back and kill buzzards and cook their meat until you have 325 skill.

Then go buy Recipe: Talbuk Steak from Nula the Butcher and kill talbuks in Nagrand. They are all over the place. Cook their meat until you reach 335 skill or more.

Go do the quest Mok’Nathal Treats which rewards Recipe: Mok’Nathal Shortribs and Recipe: Crunchy Serpent. Then grind raptors and serpents and cook their flesh until you’re at 375.

Skilling up your cooking beyond 375 will require the Wrath of the Lich King Expansion. Seek out Thomas Kolichio in the Howling Fjord at Vegeance Landing. Use this link to see what he teaches. If you are starting in Borean Tundra, seek out Orn Tenderhoof.

You should learn all the recipes that you can and make the recipes you can as you come across the meat/fish as you level. Here is one path to take:

Gather about 60 Rhino Meat and make Rhino Dogs. The skill will go green at 382 and gray at 415. If you are just trying to power the skill to 450, just gather all the Rhino Meat you can until you hit 400.

As soon as you can get to Dalaran, be sure to do the Cooking Daily quest in the Inn. Seek out Misensi This will help raise Kirin Tor faction as well as get you Dalaran Cooking Awards. 3 Awards buy you a new cooking recipe. They will require skill llevel 400 to make. You can make Might Rhino Dogs until skill 425. This will require more Rhino Meat and Northern Spices to make. You get the spices from the daily cooking quest.

At 425 you can now make a Gigantic Feast or a Small Feast to skill up to 450. This takes a lot of different meats and patience skilling up. They go green at 437 so the grind to 450 make take a lot of combines.