Sims can get up to lots of different things in the kitchen from stuffing themselves full of grilled cheese and completing the respective secret aspiration or baking many batches worth of cupcakes. When it comes down to everyday meals with every skill level increase their food will become tastier (i.e., higher quality). This is especially true when cooking meals using the gourmet cooking skill rather than the Sims 4 homestyle cooking skill. All of this is available in the base game! No extra packs required 🙂 Now, let’s explore everything that your sim’s will unlock when gaining the gourmet cooking skill!
How to unlock Gourmet Cooking Skill and Recipes in Sims 4?
When your sim first starts cooking, they will automatically be gaining the homestyle cooking skill. Sims must reach level 5 of the homestyle cooking skill order to unlock the gourmet cooking skill. Once at this level, there will be an option to “Cook a Gourmet Meal…” when clicking on a fridge, stove or oven. Select this option to unlock more recipes and start gaining the gourmet cooking skill.
What is the Gourmet Cooking Skill in the Sims 4?
Gourmet Cooking Skill Levels (What You Unlock At Each Level)
| Level | Unlocked Perks |
|---|---|
| 1 | Make a selection of classier meals than with homestyle cooking skill |
| 2 | New Recipes: Butternut Gnocchi and Chicken Saltimbocca |
| 3 | New Recipes: Herb Crusted Salmon, Spinach Frittata and Maki Rolls |
| New Fancy Spices trick move (sims will do this automatically) | |
| 4 | New Recipes: Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus |
| New Moodlet: Delicious Dish | |
| 5 | New Recipes: SimCity Cheesecake, Tiered Cake and Nigiri Rolls |
| New Air Slice trick move | |
| 6 | New Recipe: Rack of Lamb |
| 7 | New Recipes: Lobster Tortellini and Lobster Thermidor |
| 8 | New Recipe: Monte Cristo Sandwich |
| New Action: Research Advanced Cooking Techniques | |
| 9 | New Recipe: Trout Meuniere |
| New Social Interaction: Share Cooking Secrets | |
| 10 | New Recipe: Baked Alaska |
| New Action: Garnish dishes (increases their quality) |
How to Gain Gourmet Cooking Skill in the Sims 4
1. Cook Gourmet Meals
Click on the fridge, stove or oven and select the option to cook a gourmet meal.
2. Read Gourmet Cooking Skill Books
Click on any bookcase or computer in the game and select the “Buy a Book” option. Filter for skill books and scroll down to the Gourmet Cooking Skill books. Purchase the volume appropriate for the level of gourmet cooking skill that your Sim currently has. Here are the three options:
- Vol. 1: Make Food Fancy (Beginner) for levels 1 to 3 (75 simoleons)
- Vol. 2: Presentation is King (Intermediate) for levels 4 to 6 (150 simoleons)
- Vol. 3: Can You Eat That? (Advanced) for levels 7 to 9 (250 simoleons)
3. Sit in on Skill Class (requires The Sims 4 Discover University)
Use the phone to “Sit in on Skill Class” for 250 simoleons. This option can be found under the Business category on your sim’s phone. Your sim will disappear into a rabbit hole for a few hours and increase their gourmet cooking skill.
4. Enrol in a Gourmet Cooking Elective Course (requires The Sims 4 Discover University)
When enrolling in a new term of university, select a course called “Gourmet Meals: Tapas Touch” from the electives dropdown menu. It may not be one on offer every term, so you might have to wait until the next term. Your sim will gain the gourmet cooking skill by attending and doing their homework for this course.
How to Gain the Gourmet Cooking Skill Faster
Listed below are a few different ways that Sims can gain the Gourmet Cooking skill faster than normal:
- Be Inspired!
- Live in a Tier 1 or 2 sized tiny house (requires The Sims 4 Tiny Living): Gain all skills faster on this lot type!
- Purchase the “Gourmet Cooking Boost” Club Perk (requires The Sims 4 Get Together): Join or create a club and then with 400 club points you can purchase the Gourmet Cooking Boost club perk which will increase the speed your sim gains the baking skill during active club gatherings.
How to Become Inspired
- Do creative activities such as painting, writing, singing or playing the piano
- Take a thoughtful shower
- Cloudgaze or stargaze (requires The Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat)
- Drink an inspired potion
Helpful Likes
Cooking
Helpful Reward Potions and Reward Traits
Access the rewards store in the aspiration panel of the horizontal menu in the bottom right of the screen. I suggest buying the following potions and traits to master the gourmet cooking skill faster:
Inspired Potion (200 Satisfaction Points)
Morning Sim (1,000 Satisfaction Points)
Night Owl (1,000 Satisfaction Points)
Stoves and Grills Master (1,500 Satisfaction Points – comes with The Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat)
Savant (4,000 Satisfaction Points)
Don’t have enough satisfaction points? Use the satisfaction points cheat: sims.give_satisfaction_points X (replace X with the number of points you’d like to add to your sim’s current amount).
Helpful Traits
Foodie
Helpful Lot Traits
Chef’s Kitchen
Helpful Neighbourhood Action Plan (requires The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle)
Foodies Unite!
Gourmet Cooking Skill Cheat
Cheat your sim’s gourmet cooking skill to the max using this cheat code: stats.set_skill_level major_gourmetcooking X. For full instructions on how to enable cheats and then use this cheat to instantly reach any of the ten skill levels, then check out the LTS gourmet cooking skill cheat post.
Aspirations that Require the Gourmet Cooking Skill
Master Chef aspiration
Can You Make Money With The Gourmet Cooking Skill in the Sims 4?
Yes, in the same way that you can with the cooking skill. Remember that as a rule of thumb higher quality meals will result in a higher profit. Here are a few ways:
- Sell meals from your sim’s personal inventory – drag completed dishes into your sim’s inventory sale section in live mode.
- Host a sale from a food stall on any property (requires the Sims 4 City Living, Crystal Creations or Homechef Hustle)- purchase a stall (or sales table) from buy mode and then select to host a food sale.
- Open your own cafe or food shop (requires the Sims 4 Get to Work) – Start your own business and choose to sell your items at different price markups to maximise your profit.
Final Notes
This post covered all aspects of the gourmet cooking skill in The Sims 4. I hope it was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy cooking and simming!
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