How To Cook in Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds (Beginner’s Cooking Guide)

Eating Food in NNK:CW allows your character to gain all kinds of buffs for a limited time, which comes in handy when you’re trying to get through the more challenging battles in the game.

If you want to know how to use this mechanic to the fullest, then you’ve come to the right place!

How To Cook Food

Before you can cook any food you’ll have to join a Kingdom.

Once you’ve joined a Kingdom, you can access the Restaurant where you can cook food by simply heading on over to your Community Tab, then tapping/clicking Dominion.

Next, you’ll have to scroll to the far right to see your Kingdom’s Restaurant.

Tap on “Go to Marsha” and you’ll be able to Fast Travel right to that Location!

And voila! You’ll be automatically directed to Marsha — a sweet old lady who’ll help cook two types of food which we’ll discuss shortly.

TIP: Do note that Kingdoms have levels, and some Facilities may not even be unlocked if your Kingdom is underleveled.

Also, keep in mind that most Recipes will be locked if your Restaurant or Kingdom is still new and lack any upgrades.

Two Types of Food in NNK:CW

There are two types of food that you can consume for Buffs in the game:

Dishes and Feasts.

Knowing the difference between the two is very important since they each have slightly different requirements and applications in the game.

TIP: Before we differentiate the two, one other important thing to remember is that Buffs from Dishes and Feasts do stack, but they do so a bit differently.

• Buffs from Dishes stack with Buffs from other Dishes and Feasts, and you can eat one Dish repeatedly to extend its Buff’s duration.
• Buffs from Feasts, on the other hand, also stack with Buffs from other Dishes and Feasts but you cannot extend a Buff’s duration by eating more than one — so just eat one at a time!

1. How Dishes Work

Dishes are food that you can eat anytime, anywhere. They’re also easier to cook than Feasts as they require fewer ingredients to make.

The catch is that you cannot share the Buffs from Dishes with other allied players – while with Feasts, you can share them.

Also, the duration of the Buffs you get from Dishes is also generally shorter compared to the duration of the Buffs you get from Feasts.

2. How Feasts Work

Feasts are like the upgraded version of Dishes. They generally last longer and give better Buffs, which makes them more useful and precious than Dishes.

The catch is that Feasts require more Ingredients to make — not to mention you can only serve them in specific circumstances.

Considering how hard they are to make compared to regular Dishes, it’s advisable that you save them and only serve Feasts when necessary.

If you serve a Feast from your Inventory, you will be prompted with a menu that lets you choose who can eat the Feast with you, as shown in the screenshot below:

Once you’ve picked the recipients and served the Feast, a table like the one in the screenshot below will appear in front of your character. And you’re then free to eat along with the players you’ve selected as recipients.

The only locations I recommend you serve Feasts in are:

• The Kingdom Plaza
• And Field Boss Areas

But only if there are certain playable co-op Events concurrently taking place, of course.

Super Success & Failure in Cooking

When cooking, there’s a chance that you might trigger either a Super Success or a Failure.

The chances of either happening can vary depending on factors like updates, Kingdom level, upgrades, and more. But try to save up excess Ingredients just in case your cooking fails.

A Super Success has a lower chance of triggering than a Failure, but this gives you a much better version of the Dish/Feast you’ve cooked originally.

The Dishes and Feasts obtained from this will give you higher Stat and Combat Power bonuses. This makes them especially valuable if you want to min-max your damage and survivability.

While the chances aren’t that high, encountering a Failure is a very likely possibility especially if you cook a lot of food.

If you fail to cook a Dish or a Feast, you will receive nothing but an item that gives you a random ingredient.

It may not be much, but it’s something, no?

When & Where To Eat Food

There are several instances where I recommend that you eat food before or during combat.

Here’s a list of all those instances:

• Before Clearing Kingdom Defense
• Before Clearing Kingdom Dungeon
• Before Clearing Field Bosses
• Before or During Tough PVP & PVE Battles (Dishes Only)
• Before AFK Farming (Dishes Only)

TIP: For Feasts that are served before clearing Kingdom Defenses, Kingdom Dungeons, and Field Bosses, I recommend eating them one minute at most before these co-op events start. This way you can make the most out of the limited duration.

Remember, eating one Feast repeatedly will not amplify its effects, nor extend its duration. So only eat one of each kind and let your allies have their fill too. It’s called a Feast for a reason!

Also, while you can eat Feasts in your Dominion before tackling most solo content, I highly recommend saving them up for co-op battles instead – since this is by far the most efficient option.