Classic Cooking Profession Guide
Cooking allows players to create food and drinks for players to consume to regenerate health and resources. This is a secondary profession, meaning it does not take up one of the primary slots that others would, such as Blacksmithing or Mining.
If you are going to level up Cooking, we recommend leveling it alongside Fishing, as you can use most of the fish that you catch to level up Cooking.
While there are no major news for this profession on Season of Discovery, being able to cook your own stat increasing food is helpful, especially if you also sell consumables for money on the AH!
Cooking in Season of Discovery
Currently there are no new consumables or cooking-related Season of Discovery specific content. This profession still provides essential consumables, however, and some of the items cooked can also be used to fill Supply Crates for the new Durotar Supply and Logistics faction on Horde, or equivalent Azeroth Commerce Authority on Alliance.
Cooking Trainers and Where to Find Them
Just as with Fishing, you can learn Cooking from any of the Cooking trainers, but you cannot learn Expert and Artisan Cooking from trainers.
For the first 2 ranks, you can learn them from any of the following trainers.
Alliance Cooking Trainers
- Alegorn — Darnassus
- Cook Ghilm — Dun Morogh
- Craig Nollward — Dustwallow Marsh
- Crystal Boughman — Redridge Mountains
- Daryl Riknussun — Ironforge
- Gremlock Pilsnor — Dun Morogh
- Kelsey Yance — Stranglethorn Vale
- Stephen Ryback — Stormwind City
- Tomas — Elwynn Forest
- Zarrin — Teldrassil
Horde Cooking Trainers
- Aska Mistrunner — Thunder Bluff
- Eunice Burch — Undercity
- Mudduk — Stranglethorn Vale
- Pyall Silentstride — Mulgore
- Zamja — Orgrimmar
Quest Recipe Vendors
Rather than completing low level quests for Cooking recipes, you can visit Kendor Kabonka in Stormwind City to buy quest reward recipes. Note that there is no Horde-only equivalent to this vendor.
Kendor Kabonka sells the following recipes:
- Recipe: Seasoned Wolf Kabob
- Recipe: Murloc Fin Soup
- Recipe: Crocolisk Gumbo
- Recipe: Curiously Tasty Omelet
- Recipe: Gooey Spider Cake
- Recipe: Redridge Goulash
- Recipe: Succulent Pork Ribs
- Recipe: Westfall Stew
- Recipe: Goretusk Liver Pie
- Recipe: Cooked Crab Claw
- Recipe: Crocolisk Steak
- Recipe: Blood Sausage
- Recipe: Beer Basted Boar Ribs
Expert Cooking and How to Learn It
Expert Cooking can only be learned after buying a cookbook from a vendor of your faction. The book is called Expert Cookbook and costs 1 gold.
For the Alliance, you will need to head to Mystral Lake in Ashenvale and buy the book from Shandrina.
For the Horde, you will need to head to Shadowprey Village in Desolace and buy it from Wulan.
Artisan Cooking and How to Learn It
Artisan Cooking can only be learned through a questline that you can start once your Cooking skill is 225 or above and your character is Level 35 or above.
For the Alliance, head to Daryl Riknussun in Ironforge and pick up I Know A Guy.... For the Horde, you will need to head to Zamja in Orgrimmar and pick up To Gadgetzan You Go!.
Both of these quests will send you to Gadgetzan in Tanaris, where you will have to meet Dirge Quikcleave. He will ask you to give him 12 Giant Eggs, 10 Zesty Clam Meat, and 20 Alterac Swiss.
Make sure to prepare the materials ahead of time, so you do not have to make the journey twice.
Leveling Cooking from 1 to 300
Cooking is not particularly hard to level, but it can be quite expensive. We recommend leveling it alongside Fishing to make use of the fish you will catch.
You should follow the Cooking and Fishing Leveling Guide on wow-professions.com for the best method of doing so.
If you choose to level Cooking without Fishing, we recommend saving the meat you loot when leveling or cooking it immediately. This can save you time and money later on, rather than simply selling the meat to a vendor.
Making Money from Cooking
Ideally, you will want to use Cooking to make food that players will need when raiding or PvPing in the endgame phase. It is the easiest way to ensure demand of the food you are making.
Alternatively, you can also make cosmetic food, such as Savory Deviate Delight.
Future Phase Methods
Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops
The recipe for Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops is finally being added to the game with the Ahn'Qiraj War Effort and is one of the best tank foods available.
If you can get your hands on this recipe early-on, you can capitalize on the demand for the food before prices drop.
Ahn'Qiraj War Effort
There are a number of items required for the War Effort that require Cooking to make. While many very populated servers already have most, if not all, of the materials, players on smaller servers can still look to create the following items:
- First Phase of War Effort
- Second Phase of War Effort
- Third Phase of War Effort
Note that, for Rainbow Fin Albacore, Baked Salmon, and Spotted Yellowtail, you will require materials from Fishing.
Best Food for Each Class
Note that the food included in the list is all currently available in-game. While there may be better options later in the game, these are not included yet as they are not available.
- Druid — There are 4 roles for Druids, so the food varies.
- Nightfin Soup and Runn Tum Tuber Surprise for Balance and Restoration.
- Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops for Feral tanks.
- Grilled Squid for Feral DPS.
- Hunter — Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops, Runn Tum Tuber Surprise, Grilled Squid, and Nightfin Soup.
- Mage — Nightfin Soup and Monster Omelet.
- Rogue — Grilled Squid and Monster Omelet. Thistle Tea, a Rogue-only consumable is also made with Cooking.
- Paladin — There are 3 roles for Paladins, so the food varies.
- Nightfin Soup and Runn Tum Tuber Surprise for Holy.
- Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops for Protection.
- Grilled Squid and Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops for Retribution.
- Priest — Nightfin Soup and Sagefish Delight.
- Shaman — There are 3 roles for Shamans, so the food varies.
- Nightfin Soup and Monster Omelet for Restoration and Elemental.
- Nightfin Soup and Grilled Squid for Enhancement.
- Warlock — Runn Tum Tuber Surprise and Nightfin Soup.
- Warrior — Monster Omelet.
Cosmetic Food
Savory Deviate Delight
Of the potential options, Savory Deviate Delight is certainly one of the easiest and most reliable to make money with. It transforms players into a Human pirate or ninja, with the gender depending on your character's gender.
To obtain Recipe: Savory Deviate Delight, you will need to either buy it on the Auction House, or you can farm it from mobs in The Barrens. The recipe requires only 1 Deviate Fish and 1 Mild Spices.
The Deviate Fish can be found in the pools of water throughout The Barrens. You can either find these in pools or you can simply fish them from the water without a pool. Note that, if you are not fishing in a pool, the chance to receive one is much lower.
You can also buy these fish if you do not want to farm them yourself, but they are also used in the Elixir of Giant Growth and can cut into your potential profits very heavily.
Changelog
- 03 Feb. 2024: Updated for Season of Discovery Phase 2.
- 24 Jul. 2020: Guide updated for Phase 5.
- 23 Mar. 2020: Added mention of Phase 4-specific food.
- 29 Sep. 2019: Added note about saving meat to level Cooking.
- 27 Sep. 2019: Updated Making Gold section with more information on Deviate Fish.
- 28 Aug. 2019: Added section on Kendor Kabonka and updated trainer list.
- 26 Aug. 2019: Guide added.
Classic Class Guides
Classic Dungeon Guides
Classic Profession Guides
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This guide has been written by Seksi, original vanilla player and multi-class player, currently playing on Gehennas Horde. You can find him on the Classic Warrior, Mage and Shaman Discords, as well as the Icy Veins Discord.
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