The Sea of Thieves Anniversary Update added a smorgasbord of foods to find a cook on the high seas. You can, of course, eat this delicious bounty to heal yourself, just like you did with bananas before the update. However, the Anniversary Update has also added in a new faction, The Hunter’s Call, who will pay you a handsome reward for any meaty morsels you deliver. Whatever you choose to do with your food, though, you’re going to want to cook it first. That’s why it’s time to strap in for our Sea of Thieves cooking guide!
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Benefits of Cooking in Sea of Thieves
But why learn to cook at all, you ask? Well, because it’s an important life skill and you can’t live off your mom’s cooking forever. As to why you should learn to cook in Sea of Thieves, you do it for the same reason you do anything out on the briny blue — for the gold. Meat and fish are worth significantly more when sold to The Hunter’s Call if they’ve been cooked properly first.
The other benefit to cooking food is obvious. It’s better for you! Cooked meat in Sea of Thieves restores way more health than raw meat. Beware, though, as you can also get food poisoning from eating undercooked food, which will cause you to vomit. That can be especially inconvenient when you’re trying to heal in a fight, and suddenly can’t see over your own sick.
Sea of Thieves Food Types and Where to Find Them
Food splits into three main categories in Sea of Thieves: fruit, meat, and fish. Fruit can’t be sold and there is no gain from cooking it. Just enjoy your fruit au naturel.
Meat comes from the various creatures that inhabit Sea of Thieves. Pigs, chickens, and snakes are all found on islands — and you shouldn’t have any trouble tracking them down. Sharks are also easy to find; just chill out in open water and they’ll come sniffing around soon enough. Megalodons and the Kraken, meanwhile, spawn as random encounters while you’re out at sea.
Finally, fish come from the ocean. I know, big news! You’ll also be shocked to learn that you catch them with your fishing rod. For more details on catching fish, check out our Sea of Thieves fishing guide here.
Cooking in Sea of Thieves
Once you have your raw food, head below the deck and find the stove on your ship (it’s the little frying pan next to the grog tank). Equip the food you want to cook and slap it into the pan. Then listen to that sizzle!
Food can reach four different stages in Sea of Thieves. Raw is its natural state, and it’s how you’ll find nearly all fish and meat in the game to start. After a certain amount of time in the pan, however, it will change color. The color varies between foods, but it usually starts as a gross off-white or pink. This is the undercooked stage of food in Sea of Thieves. At this point it’s worth more than it was while raw, but we can still do better! Leave it on the heat until eventually it changes color a second time. It should now be a beautiful golden brown. Congratulations, your food is now cooked! Gordon Ramsey would be proud.
If you leave your Sea of Thieves food on the heat too long after it reaches the cooked stage, it will burn and turn black. Burnt food is the worst; it’s worth less than raw food when traded into The Hunter’s Call and gives you a pitiful amount of health when eaten. Don’t. Burn. Your. Food.
The approximate timings for cooking each foodstuff are listed below. As you can see, you need to leave food on the heat for almost twice as long as necessary to burn it, so you should be fine as long as you don’t get distracted!
Cooking Timing in Sea of Thieves
This is your very basic broil. It won’t provide much extra benefit or money, but it’s better than nothing!
Undercooked
- Fish = 35 seconds
- Meat (chicken, snake, pork, shark) = 55 seconds
- Trophy Fish = 80 seconds
- Kraken = 100 seconds
- Megalodon = 100 seconds
Remember, cooked food is what you’re shooting for in Sea of Thieves. Whatever food you find, try to cook it to about this level. The meat will look nice and golden brown when it’s ready.
Cooked
- Fish = 45 seconds
- Meat (chicken, snake, pork, shark) = 65 seconds
- Trophy Fish = 95 seconds
- Kraken = 100 seconds
- Megalodon = 100 seconds
Avoid burnt food in Sea of Thieves at all costs! It’s worse than raw and basically wastes all the time you spent cooking.
Burnt
- Fish = 80 seconds
- Meat (chicken, snake, pork, shark) = 120 seconds
- Trophy Fish = 180 seconds
- Kraken = 240 seconds
- Megalodon = 240 seconds
Selling Food in Sea of Thieves
As mentioned earlier, you can sell food (except for fruit) to The Hunter’s Call before and after cooking it. Their merchants are found at Seaposts scattered throughout Sea of Thieves. Head out to the nearest Seapost, approach the vendor with your food in hand, and you will be able to trade it for a decent sum. The amount of gold varies depending on the rarity of the food and how well you cook it. For example, a perfectly cooked rare trophy fish can net you over 5000 gold! Selling food also builds your reputation with The Hunter’s Call and progress towards a variety of commendations in Sea of Thieves.
And there we have it! That’s everything you need to know about cooking in Sea of Thieves, but were too afraid (or couldn’t be bothered) to ask. Cook meat and fish to your heart’s content. Just don’t forget to eat some fruit every now and again. We wouldn’t want you to catch scurvy, now would we?
