If there’s one thing I’m terrible at, it’s cooking. In these uncoordinated and unfortunate hands, everything from instant oatmeal to eggs somehow turns into smoke. So when one of my favorite Twitch 39daph streamers decided to play a game called Cooking Simulator, I was intrigued. What skills could a cooking newbie like me learn when the only physical consequence would be the $10 I spent buying the game? Would he emerge as a master at cutting, dicing, cleaning, and following directions?
Let me introduce you to the game. Cooking Simulator is a realistic cooking simulation game in which you can take control of a kitchen and cook recipes in an attempt to bring previously loved restaurants back to the forefront. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, add in some real-life physics and you have an experience where every little touch, movement, and movement has consequences.
Without further ado, here are some useful or fun things I learned while playing this game:
- PREPARE YOUR SPACE
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If you’re going to cook something, you need to know where everything is. From plates to spatulas, have everything ready to be used. You don’t want to be cooking and then realize that you forgot to wash your pan or that you have no idea where the pepper bowl is. So, the best course of action is to make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready on the countertop so you don’t have to run screaming over the dishes like I did.
- BUY ENOUGH INGREDIENTS
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You definitely don’t want to be that person who realizes mid-recipe that you were supposed to buy 3 cans of soup instead of 2. This is a bit of a continuation of the last tip and may seem self-explanatory, but you have no idea how many times I forget to buy something thinking I had it at home. The same goes for this game. There were times when I spent 4 minutes searching for parsley leaves without knowing I had to buy them next to the fridge, so be sure to confirm your inventory and then buy the missing items beforehand.
- THE PLATES ARE FRAGILE
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Okay, listen to me. Not that I didn’t know that plates break easily, but this game takes “fragile” to a whole new level. You could be pulling a plate out of a pile and managing to knock down three plates, or you could be cleaning a counter with a sponge and breaking a bottle. You have to be extremely careful navigating the controls or you’ll end up with shards of glass everywhere. So, whether in real life or in the virtual world, move sparingly and always be careful.
- TIMING IS EVERYTHING (… AND SO ARE THE PORTIONS.)
When following a prescription, check that your serving size is correct. Make sure the instructions say “tablespoon” and not “teaspoon” or you could end up with a completely different dish. This is especially important in the game because you are running a restaurant and will be rated for your execution of the recipe. Another element of the rating is time. You want your dish to only be on the stove for a minute if the recipe requires a minute. It can more or less affect quality, so follow the recipe as closely as possible to these details. .
- DON’T BE LAZY. CLEAN UP IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS.
While it can be really tempting to leave your clutters and dirty utensils on the countertop or sink, the best practice is to make sure you always keep things clean. In the game, it can be very easy to make a mess when the plates break with a flick of the wrist, but be sure to clean up when the game gives you time to do so. Otherwise, you will be setting yourself up for failure. And the same can be said for real life; Be sure to wash your bowls and utensils before they become home to some unwanted organisms.
- THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
And finally, keep trying! No matter what your qualification for a dish is, remember that there will always be something that can be done better next time, whether it’s making the soup a little hotter or spending a little more time with plating.
Now, to answer the question: did I end up becoming a master cook? Nope. But did I have a lot of fun trying? I bet I did! This game allowed me to channel my inner chef even when my hands couldn’t, and it gave me a lot of laughs along the way. So to all my fellow game enthusiasts and beginner cooks, I recommend this game not only to brush up on some fundamental culinary skills, but also to spend a cozy evening, screaming and dying *metaphorically* about the mechanics of janky.
