No Rest for the Wicked is a traditional Soulslike for the most part but it has a different take on how healing functions. Instead of Estus Flasks that recharge on checkpoints/bonfires, you’ll instead find ingredients throughout the game world that can be used to cook meals that replenish health and provide bonuses. Here is how cooking works in the game, and how you can learn different recipes.
Cooking Explained
To cook in No Rest for the Wicked, you need to access Fire Pits spread across Isola Sacra. Simply come close to one, and press “Y” on the controller or “E” on the keyboard.
These are also marked on the map with the following icon.
Interacting with a fire pit will bring up the cooking screen with the available recipes shown. The crafting requirements and effects of each are also displayed on the right as well as how much the final meal will sell for.
For instance, the Fish Skewer instantly restores 50 Health and 50 Focus. It requires 1 Raw Carp, which you can fish for using the fishing rod in ponds and at the beach, as well as 1 Artemisia Herb, which can be picked throughout the map.
Eating a cooked meal is much more useful than simply eating raw ingredients. Eating a Mushroom only heals 10 Health over 10 seconds, while a Mushroom Soup instantly restores 34 Health.
So, always opt for meals that you’ve prepared at fire pits rather than munching on ingredients.
How to learn Recipies
Just like ingredients, you can find recipes all over the island. These can be looted from enemies, purchased from merchants, or found in treasure chests.
However, simply picking up a recipe isn’t enough. You have to learn it as well. After you’ve found a recipe, open your inventory and highlight it. Now, press Y on the controller to learn it. You’ll get a prompt confirming your decision.
Fish Skewer is the best one I’ve found so far, but Mushroom Soup is more reliable because the ingredients are easier to obtain. Make sure to stock up on a bunch of meals before you initiate a boss fight because you can’t rely on simple ingredients.
We hope this guide was helpful! Share your favorite recipes in the comments, and check out some of our other guides below.
