Monster Hunter Wilds: Pre-Hunt Cooking Guide

Hunting monsters is serious work — you need to be fully prepared, and that starts with a good meal. Here’s how to prepare and enjoy your own food in Monster Hunter Wilds.

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Table of contents

Cooking and Eating Meals in Monster Hunter Wilds
Which Meals to Cook?

Cooking and Eating Meals in Monster Hunter Wilds

Unlike Monster Hunter: World and Rise — where you could simply ask a friendly Palico to prepare food — you’ll need to cook your own meals in Monster Hunter Wilds.

You can do this in two ways:

• By cooking inside your tent
• By using the Portable BBQ Grill

Whenever you accept a new quest, take time to prepare. I recommend heading to your tent, switching to the BBQ Menu by pressing L1 or R1, and selecting Grill a Meal. Alternatively, choose the Portable BBQ Grill from your inventory, press the square button to use it, and start cooking from there.

Which Meals to Cook?

In the cooking menu, you can select a recommended, custom, or favorite meal. Recommended meals are simple — they use one Ration plus any extra ingredients from your inventory. Cooking with just a Ration gives you a 30-minute buff: +50 Health, +150 Stamina, and +2 Attack. Adding ingredients extends the duration by 20 minutes.

The recommended meal is a solid choice and should be your minimum prep step before a hunt.

If you want full control over your buffs, pick the custom meal option. You can choose one Ration (meat, fish, or vegetable — each boosting stats like attack, defense, or elemental resistance), one ingredient, and finishing touches.

Ingredients and finishing touches enhance your meal further, providing bonuses such as improved gathering rates or reduced damage taken.

Once you’ve made your choices, begin cooking — your Hunter will eat automatically, and you’ll be ready to head out.

That covers the basics of cooking and dining in Monster Hunter Wilds. For more game guides and updates, be sure to check The Escapist.