Cooking is one of the most vital skills for combat-oriented OSRS players. You can't keep fighting if you have no HP, so you need to keep it topped up. Many players shift to using potions for healing purposes in the endgame (Along with overhead Prayers). But before then, food is the way to go.
If you're a F2P player, you can breathe easy, as Cooking is one of the skills in OSRS that isn't an absolute slog to max out in F2P, unlike something like Runecrafting or Prayer Not only is Cooking one of the easiest skills in OSRS to max, but it's easy for players to remain self-sufficient. It's also profitable (Though, as always, the fastest training methods lose GP rather than make GP), and you can use the profits from 99 Cooking to give yourself a head start in training other skills.
So, without further ado, let's go over the best F2P and P2P Cooking training methods.
Recommendations
High Fishing Level
If you want to be completely self-sufficient and spend the least amount of GP on your way to level 99 Cooking, a high Fishing level will do wonders. Check out our Fishing guide if you need help becoming a master angler in Gielinor.
Completion of The Cook's Assistant
After completing The Cook's Assistant quest, you can use the range in Lumbridge Castle. This range reduces the burn level of dozens of food items, most notably fish like trout and salmon. It's the best Cooking training area for low-level cooks.
Completion of Family Crest Quest
After completing the Family Crest quest, speak with Caleb while having steel gauntlets in your inventory. He will convert them into cooking gauntlets. While worn, your chances of burning swordfish, lobster, anglerfish, monkfish, and sharks decrease significantly.
Completion of Tai Bwo Wannai Trio Quest
Completing Tai Bwo Wannai Trio is necessary for cooking karambwans, the best combo food in OSRS and one of the best P2P training methods.
100% Hosidius Favour
The Hosidius kitchen is the best Cooking area in OSRS. It's extremely close to a bank chest and has an easily-accessible water source nearby. The Hosidius ranges give players an extra 5% success rate when cooking food. This bonus stacks with things like cooking gauntlets and elite Kebos and Kourend diary rewards. It's the best Cooking training area in the game. To access the Hosidius kitchen, you need 100% Hosidius favour.
Recommended F2P Training Methods
Levels 1-3: The Cook's Assistant
The Cook's Assistant is an easy 2-minute quest that will get you to level 3 Cooking and give you access to the Lumbridge Castle cooking range. For F2P players, this is the best range in the game, so get comfortable here.
Levels 3-15: Meat, Chicken, Shrimp
Meat, chicken, and shrimp all give 30 EXP upon successful cook and are easy to acquire. Shrimp is ideal if fishing yourself, as the best affordable training methods in F2P involve fish.
Level 15/25-35/40/68/99: Trout & Salmon
Cook trout until you reach level 25 Cooking, then switch to salmon (If buying fish). If fishing yourself, you'll get trout and salmon, so continue cooking them both.
If using the Lumbridge Castle range, you'll stop burning trout at level 45 and salmon at level 55. If buying fish, keep in mind that cooking salmon is profitable, but cooking trout is not.
Levels 35/68-99: Jugs of Wine
Jugs of wine are one of the fastest Cooking training methods, even in P2P, but they are a little expensive if you start making them right away. You'll no longer make jugs of bad wine if you're at least level 68, so you might want to start there.
Depending on your efficiency, you can expect EXP rates of around 400-500K/hour making jugs of wine. You will need to pay a lot of attention doing this method. From level 68 to 99, you'll only lose a little over 2 million GP. This is nothing compared to other level 99 training methods for other skills, but something to consider if F2P.
Levels 35-99: Plain Pizzas
Making pizzas will take longer than cooking fish, but it will be more profitable. Just be sure to check the GE prices before making an investment.
You can start making pizzas at level 35 Cooking and can use this method up to 99 Cooking. It gives slightly better EXP compared to swordfish (143 to 140) and can churn out EXP rates of around 180,000 EXP/hour if trained efficiently.
Levels 40-45/68/81/99: Lobsters
At level 40, players can cook lobsters. You will burn a considerable amount of them if you start at level 40, making EXP slower, but you will still make a profit (Though it won't be much at this level).
Once you get into the swing of things, lobsters offer anywhere from 110k-160K/hour.
Levels 45-68/99: Swordfish
At level 45 Cooking, you can cook swordfish. Like lobsters, you will burn a lot of them early on, but it will still be profitable and respectable EXP for F2P players. If you train Cooking to 99 using swordfish from the time you stop burning them, you'll make a little over 3 million GP profit. Not bad for F2P.
Recommended P2P Training Methods
For levels 1-30, the best training methods are identical to that of F2P players. Questing isn't necessary for training Cooking, as Cooking is a very fast skill to train.
Levels 30-40/99: Karambwans
If you're not against tick training, 1-tick cooking karambwans is the best Cooking training method in the game. Hold down your 2 key, then continuously click on a raw karambwan, then the range or fire you're cooking on.
This method is extremely click-intensive, which can make it unpopular, but under optimal circumstances, it can result in 900,000-950,000 EXP/hour.
Without tick manipulation, expect EXP rates of around 250,000-290,000 EXP/hour, which are still very respectable for a method you can start at level 30. Best of all, cooking karambwans is a profitable training method.
Levels 35-40/99: Jugs of Wine
The P2P jugs of wine training method is identical to its F2P counterpart. It's not as fast as cooking karambwans and loses GP, but it's far less click-intensive.
After you stop making jugs of bad wine at level 68, EXP rates hover in the 450,000-490,000 range.
Levels 40-65: Lobsters
Similar to cooking lobsters in F2P, it's a solid mid-level training method for cooks in P2P. You have access to the Hosidius kitchen and cooking gauntlets which will reduce burns and increase EXP rates and profit. 120,000-150,000 EXP/hour is what you can expect.
Levels 65-83: Monkfish
At level 65 Cooking, you can begin cooking monkfish. The EXP rates will be around 150K-200K/hour. The profit still won't be great at this stage, but the true value of cooking traditional fish to 99 is it's very AFK and always profitable.
Levels 83-87/99: Sharks
At level 83 Cooking, start cooking sharks. It's now that you'll see a significant jump in both EXP and GP/hour rates. If training optimally, you can get anywhere from 250,000-285,000 EXP/hour and around 250K GP/hour. Compared to monkfish's roughly 50K GP/hour, that's a huge step up.
Sharks are slightly more profitable than the last fish on our list, so if you value profit most, cook sharks to 99.
Levels 87-99: Anglerfish
Anglerfish are the last stop of your level 99 Cooking journey. They are less profitable than sharks but are better EXP. You can get around 280,000-320,000 EXP/hour if training optimally. From level 87 to 99 Cooking, you can make more than 8 million GP off anglerfish.
Conclusion
There are some alternative training methods players might want to consider, like buying pizza in the Warrior's Guild and making anchovy pizzas. Or you might consider buying potatoes with butter in the Warrior's Guild and making tuna potatoes.
However, I can only recommend those methods to Iron Man accounts who can't be bothered to fish. If you train up your Fishing, even Iron Man accounts are better off cooking sharks and anglerfish.
Cooking, along with a skill like Fletching, is a skill I recommend to newbie players looking for some level 99s to focus on. Their ease of training and profitability are just what inexperienced players need to gain some confidence during their OSRS journey. And not needing to pay premiums for pre-cooked food because you can cook it yourself truly comes in handy.
