How to cook in Dragon's Dogma 2 & best ingredients to use

If you’re looking to start cooking up a storm in Dragon’s Dogma 2 then you’ve come to the right place for some culinary expertise as I break down how to cook in the game - alongside the best food and ingredients you can eat.

If you’re on the road and in the mood for some scran between grappling with Griffins and Minotaurs, then make sure to use these tips in-game for some good eats.

How to cook

To cook in Dragon’s Dogma 2, you’re going to need to first set up a camp and then use the campfire to start cooking. As you make your way to the capital, you’ll eventually get your hands on a Modest Camping Kit, like the one below. This will let you set up camp in the open world and give you the option to cook.

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You can only cook once per camp, so you need to make sure you’re cooking only the best ingredients to make the most of the time.

Best food and ingredients

The best food you can cook in the early hours of Dragon’s Dogma 2 are Beast Steaks and Scrags of Beast. When cooked, they provide various benefits including a boost in strength, stamina and health.

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There are other foods you can scavenge, such as Apples, Grapes and Fish that can restore some health, but they’re best combined into other items that will ensure a greater amount of health recovery.

What happens when food rots and ripens?

Rotting food, of course, doesn’t sound great, and it gives a weaker health benefit and has the chance to grant the Blighted status effect too.

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Rotting is something of a process in DD2, as while fruit and vegetables will rot somewhat faster (and some like the Harspud may ripen), the meat will tend to cure into an aged stage before rotting. This aged stage is when it is at its best, so cooking it at that point will give you a higher-healing consumable.

I also found that you can get Dried Meat by combining two Aged Scrags of Beast (or by accidentally falling into the Brine, but we won’t talk about that mishap).

If you’re on the hunt for even more guides, be sure to check out our Dragon’s Dogma 2 homepage for more tips like how to change your appearance, how to increase carry weight, and the best Thief build.