Stardew Valley has been a phenomenon since it launched in 2016, bringing with it a whole new (and incredibly popular) genre of cozy games. The game contains many delicious-sounding recipes as part of the gameplay loop of farming and foraging and then cooking tasty meals with your seasonal goods, and now fans can join in with the official Stardew Valley Cookbook.
It’s a beautifully illustrated hardback cookbook with over 50 recipes from the farming simulator game, including recipes for the more esoteric meals in the game like Lucky Lunch, Seafoam Pudding, and the Strange Bun.
The Stardew Valley Cookbook is now available!
more info here: https://t.co/pjRTrFJFkq pic.twitter.com/KqkJyozMOn— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) May 14, 2024
The entire book is at least pescatarian, with many vegetarian and vegan recipes included. Animals in Stardew Valley are never slaughtered for their meat. They get to live long, happy, free-range lives, and the cookbook follows this line too.
The book is full of gorgeous illustrations and photos of the recipes, and every recipe comes with its own write-up, often by characters that will be familiar to people who play the game. Some are even introduced by in-game TV chef The Queen of Sauce.
Even if you aren’t keen on cooking, the recipe book sounds like a fantastic way to learn more about the world and characters of the charming game and to immerse yourself even deeper in the world of Pelican Town. Over 30 million copies have been sold so you certainly wouldn’t be alone in doing so.
What are the Stardew Valley Cookbook recipes like?
ConcernedApe, the solo developer who created the game, enlisted the help of a professional to develop the recipes. Susan Vu is also credited for creating recipes for the Critical Role recipe book.
There’s no way they can be as simple as they are in the game, of course. Mixing a sea cucumber, a tortilla, and a blue jazz won’t get you a delicious seafood salad in the real world. They certainly aren’t deliberately kept simple either, tending much more towards creating something delicious rather than easy – the Lucky Lunch recipe in the cookbook has 16 ingredients and requires a star-shaped stencil.
It doesn’t look like the recipes come with an estimated time to prepare either.
People are already taking to Instagram to share their successes though, and it certainly looks like the outcome is worth the effort.