With the November 2021 update came the ability to cook in Animal Crossing – at last! We can finally shower our most-loved residents with delicious gifts.
However, some players have noticed that, no matter what they do, they can’t unlock the cooking functionality in ACNH.
Help is at hand, though. We’ve done the research and detailed all the information you need to finally unlock cooking in Animal Crossing!
What you need before unlocking cooking in Animal Crossing
Before you can unlock the cooking mechanism in ACNH, you need to have a 3-star island. For many newer in-game features, having a 3-star island is a prerequisite, so the sooner you hit the milestone the more fun you can unlock!
Your resident services building should be upgraded from a tent to its permanent building, and you should have unlocked all areas of your museum, including sea creatures and the art gallery, with at least one donation in each section.
If you haven’t already, make sure you’ve completed all of Tom Nook’s workshops, including the item customization class. This is a key milestone that most players don’t realize they need to have completed before they can upgrade their cooking skills!
If you’ve done all the above and KK Slider is either due to play on Saturday, or is playing that day, wait until the next day to unlock cooking.
Most events are paused on days that KK Slider comes to town, so don’t panic if you don’t see the functionality available when our music-loving dog is playing a set in town.
How to unlock cooking in ACNH
So you’ve ticked all the boxes to unlock cooking, now make sure your ACNH is running the latest version! If it is, it’s time to progress.
You’ll need the Nookphone upgrade before you can learn any recipes, so visit Resident Services and purchase the ‘Be a Chef! DIY Recipes+’ for 2,000 Nook Miles at the Nook Miles Terminal.
Along with the upgrade to your Nookphone, you’ll learn a few new recipes, including a stove so you can cook up your first culinary masterpiece!
How to find more cooking recipes
Since the 2.0 update, there’s a whole load of ways to increase your learned recipe roster so you can experiment with new dishes:
Buy the recipe kit from Nook’s Cranny
In the Nook’s Cranny cabinet, you’ll find the ‘Basic Cooking Recipes DIY’ selling for 4,980 bells. You’ll get even more recipes with this kit, including basics like whole wheat flour and brown sugar.
Balloon drops
Like most things in Animal Crossing, balloons can help! As well as standard furniture DIYs, you can also receive cooking recipes from your balloon drops.
There’s no confirmed correlation between balloon color and the gift inside, so stay on the safe side and shoot down every balloon you see – you never know what’s inside!
Message bottles
Much like balloons, the two-daily message bottles that wash up on your island shores will often contain cooking recipes.
If you’ve noticed your message in a bottles not spawning for a while, help is at hand! Check out our guide on how to get message bottles to spawn on your island again.
Island residents share recipes
Ever visited an islander who’s been mid-craft, only to be gifted the DIY recipe by the neighbor in question? Well, cooking recipes are the same.
If you visit a resident in their home and they’re flipping their frying pan or rustling up lunch on a stove, speak to them to receive the cooking DIY they’re working on.
Catching fish leads to cooking DIYs
Catching fish isn’t just good for your Critterpedia or to get closer to completing the Cast Master challenge, it can also lead to learning more cooking DIYs!
After upgrading your Nookphone and receiving cooking capabilities, catching certain fish will automatically unlock specific recipes. Some fish that do this are sea bass, olive flounders, and anchovies!
Remember that you have to catch these fish fresh; having them in your storage isn’t enough to learn the cooking recipes.
Cooking recipes from Brewster and Daisy Mae
Two fan-favorite NPCs, Brewster & Daisy Mae, can help you increase your learned dishes.
The Roost sablé cookie DIY is part of Brewster’s reward scheme for purchasing a certain amount of coffee. But Daisy Mae is even more generous, giving away four secret cooking DIYs in exchange for turnips.
With these two NPCs, you can learn some brand new recipes without too much effort, although they will require substantial bell investments!
How to cook recipes in ACNH
With recipes in hand, it’s time to cook your dishes! Use a stove in your home, outdoors, or in a resident’s home – any stove will work! Remember workstations won’t help you cook, they’re for crafting items only.
Make sure you have all the right ingredients for your recipe, and then follow the same steps you would if you were crafting an item at a workstation.
You can eat, gift, or sell your cooking creations. However, if you eat your dishes, you’ll increase your fruit buff, giving you the strength to dig up trees or destroy rocks.
Remember that eating food gifted to you or found on your travels doesn’t mean you’ll automatically learn how to make the dish in the future; you still need DIYs, just like crafting items.
Cooking in ACNH
To unlock the cooking mechanism in ACNH, make sure you’ve completed all of Tom Nook’s workshops, have a 3-star island, have contributed to all areas of your museum, and KK Slider has performed in the plaza.
Once you’ve done all of the above, head to Resident Services to start your culinary journey!
As the game progresses, you may find yourself with an ever-increasing stash of duplicate DIYs… we know the feeling!
But struggle no longer – check out our guide on how to make use of your duplicate DIYs!