Cooking for a Colossus: A Guide to Getting Cooked Food in Grow a Garden

In the whimsical world of Grow a Garden, your trusty shovel and green thumb are your primary tools, but as the game has evolved, so has the need for a more diverse skill set. The recent Beanstalk Update introduced a new, permanent feature: cooking. This mechanic isn’t just a fun new way to use your crops; it’s a crucial part of the new friendship system, which is centered around the giant NPC, Goliath, and his new Friendship Shop. This guide will walk you through the process of getting cooked food, from acquiring the necessary tool to crafting delicious recipes that will help you forge a friendship with the giant and unlock his exclusive store.

The First Step: Acquiring a Cooking Kit

Before you can whip up a single meal, you’ll need a Cooking Kit. Unlike a traditional tool, this item is not purchased from a shop but earned through completing in-game achievements. The most straightforward way to get your hands on a Cooking Kit is by completing the “Common Achievements” found in your Garden Guide. These achievements, which are designed for new players, require you to perform basic tasks in the game, such as:

• Shovel 100 Plants
• Harvest 200 Carrots
• Gift 1 Carrot
• Sell 500 Strawberries
• Gift 5 Strawberries

Once you’ve completed all five of these simple tasks, you can claim your reward from the Achievements menu. You can also earn a Cooking Kit by completing the more difficult “Rare” and “Mythical” achievements, but the “Common” ones are by far the fastest way to get started. The Cooking Kit is a cosmetic item, so you’ll find it in your cosmetics inventory. Simply place it in your garden, and you’re ready to start cooking!

The Art of Cooking

Once your Cooking Kit is in place, you can start combining your various fruits and vegetables to create cooked food. The process is simple: approach the kit with a crop in your hand, and you’ll see an option to interact with it. As you add ingredients, they will appear on a board, and a timer will start counting down. There are a huge number of recipes to discover, and the rarity of the ingredients you use will affect the rarity of the final product. Higher-rarity food items are crucial for the next step, as they give you more “friendship points” with the giant.

Some known recipes include:

• Burger: Pepper, Corn, and Tomato
• Waffle: Pumpkin and Watermelon
• Salad: Two Tomatoes
• Hot Dog: Pepper and Corn
• Pizza: Corn, Pepper, and Tomato
• Ice Cream: Two Bananas

These recipes are just the beginning, as the game encourages you to experiment with different combinations. The more creative you get, the higher the chance of creating a powerful, high-rarity food item that will be invaluable for the Giant’s Friendship Shop.

Building Friendship and Unlocking the Shop

Now that you have your cooked food, you’re ready to start building your friendship with the giant. To reach him, you must first help to grow the Beanstalk, a community event that requires you to donate plants to a character named Jack. Once the Beanstalk reaches the clouds, you can teleport up to the top where you will find Goliath. He is the key to unlocking the new Friendship Shop. To do this, you must feed him the cooked food you have made. Each food item you give him will contribute to a friendship meter above his head. The rarer the food, the more points you will get. A Rare Soup might give you a few points, while a Mythical or Divine dish can give you a massive boost.

As you increase your friendship level with Goliath, you will unlock new items in his Friendship Shop. The items in this shop are a mix of rare seeds, powerful pets, and exclusive cosmetics that are not available anywhere else. By mastering the art of cooking, you’re not just creating delicious food; you’re building a relationship that will give you access to some of the most sought-after items in the game. Happy farming and happy cooking!