RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that’s been seeing adventurers journey on since 2001. Famous for its epic quests, including the defeat of the Culinaromancer, an evil wizard who specialises in food spells, now you are formally invited to embark on another food-related adventure in the form of RuneScape: The Official Cookbook. Will you be able to scour the lands of Gielinor for ingredients and cook every single recipe within its pages?
RuneScape: The Official Cookbook is published by Titan Books, who have previously released other gaming/food hybrid books such as Apex Legends: The Official Cookbook. The book is written by Sandra Rosner and every recipe has been tested by recipe developer Jarrett Melendez, so you can be sure that they will work in your kitchen. It is a hardback book with a suitably ‘fantasy’ feel about it, having an embossed title on the front cover and rune decorations throughout.
The book is divided up into chapters, each with an introduction from a character or two from the game. For example, Pirate Pete, the piratical representative on the Secret Council of Gielinor, introduces the starter chapter with a special request to try his favourite fish cakes, which are one of five savoury dishes in this chapter.
In all there are nine chapters which also include soups and stews, sauces, side dishes, main course, puddings, cakes and sweet snacks, breads and drinks. The book contains 65 recipes in total with a good mix of sweet and savoury choices.
The recipes have been written to match dishes from the game, such as green gloop soup, a dish made from cave slime cooked by goblins. In the cookbook, this is interpreted as ham and pea soup which has the same appearance as its inspiration but promises to taste a lot more pleasant.
Another example is Terrible pie, which you can make in the Let Them Eat Pie quest in RuneScape by using either a manky crayfish or a stinking potato on the maggoty pie shell. The book’s interpretation uses the same ingredients but less revolting versions.
The connection with RuneScape doesn’t end there though, as RuneScape: The Official Cookbook contains an ‘Achievement Diary’ at the start, where you can record how many recipes from each chapter you have cooked and a few kitchen quests to complete, categorised by difficulty, such as the tricky task of making your own puff pastry. And, if you manage to complete the ultimate quest of cooking all the recipes, there is a quest certificate at the end of the book that you can cut out, frame and place in your kitchen to prove your culinary prowess.
Each recipe is presented with a short description outlining how it links to the game as well as the yield (how many it serves), prep time, cook time and difficulty level (novice, intermediate and master). As with all cookbooks you also get given an ingredients list plus a step-by-step method. The ingredients list often contains a special, optional RuneScape ingredient which will not usually be available in your local supermarket such as gnome spice or bittercap mushrooms, but these add to the fun aspect of this book.
In a more practical addition, if any specialised equipment is needed (such as a Dutch oven) this is also included. Most of the ingredients are easily recognisable, however for more exotic ones, like kefir and galangal, there is a handy ‘IRL ingredients guide’ at the end of the book that explains what the ingredient is and how it is used.
In previous books from Titan – that of Minecraft: Gather, Cook, Eat! Official Cookbook, for instance – we have criticised the fact that measurements and temperatures were very US centric, but are happy to see this addressed in RuneScape: The Official Cookbook, with both metric and imperial (or cup) measurements, and celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures provided. That said, some are not very helpful with oven temperature being directly converted. I don’t know about you but we can’t set our oven to 93.3°).
However, on a more positive note, the recipes themselves are written very clearly and often contain helpful tips such as the internal temperature you are looking for when cooking a particular meat, or how to spot a fresh fish. This makes cooking from RuneScape: The Official Cookbook easy for both novices and masters alike.
Some recipes also come with a full sized colour photo of the finished dish, which is helpful to show cooks what a less familiar dish, like Stuffed Snake (also known as the filo pastry pie Börek), should look like. We appreciated the way the photographs are styled to look as though they are part of the RuneScape world with items like pints of ale, daggers and gold goblets making appearances.
Cooking the recipes in RuneScape: The Official Cookbook will not only take you on a trip around the fictional realm of Gielinor but also our planet. There are dishes from all parts of the world such as Pollo Pibil and Carne Asada from Mexico, Japanese Curry, Ube Caramels influenced by the Philippines and Thai Yellow Coconut Curry.
RuneScape: The Official Cookbook is a great crossover for fans of both RuneScape and cooking, and dedicated players will enjoy how the game is interleaved with the dishes. Plus, each copy of the book comes with a code for a new and exclusive Chef’s Outfit to redeem in the game, so you can look every inch the chef both in the game and real-life.
So, gather your knives, pots and pans and embark on an epic quest to defeat the Culinaromancer for good!
Huge thanks go out to Titan Books for providing us access to Runescape: The Official Cookbook for review. Grab a copy for yourself from Titan direct. It’s on Amazon too if you so prefer.Â
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