Creating food in Rune Factory 4 is a great way to keep your health and magic points up during long days working on your farm, or when you’re fighting a tough monster in the wild. You do not gain access to cooking immediately in the game. Instead, you need to seek out a particular NPC to gain access to it, and finding them is a bit tricky.

You won’t find the NPC you need to speak to in the main area. Instead, you need to proceed to the west of your castle’s entrance and go up the path to the left blacksmith’s shop. You want to be in the area called Selpha: Airship Way. When you enter here, proceed to the right, and you should locate a building with two giant golden lobsters in front of them. Go inside and speak to the NPC behind the counter.

Their name is Porcoline. Speak to them, and they should provide you with your first cooking table for free. The cooking table will spawn immediately next to you, which you need to take back to your room to use freely. Place the cooking table down anywhere in your room, and you immediately start using it. Porcoline will teach you your first recipe, Onigiri. To make more complicated dishes, you need to acquire recipes by naturally progressing through the game, and earning them through quests and challenges.

You want to learn how to cook if you wish to participate in the cooking contest. For those eager to start making more complicated dishes, make sure to learn how to start taming monsters to acquire their useful resources.