Cooking is an essential skill for every Sim in The Sims, as they need to satisfy their hunger. However, there’s always a danger that comes with cooking—your Sim can accidentally start a fire and potentially ruin the entire house, or worse, meet an unfortunate end.
To prevent these disasters, it’s a smart move to teach your Sim how to whip up meals. As their cooking abilities improve, they’ll be able to cook more quickly, freeing up time for other activities. This guide offers tips on how to enhance your Sim’s cooking skills effectively.
Why Is the Cooking Skill Important?
Food made with basic cooking skills won’t satisfy a Sim’s hunger very well. The more adept a Sim becomes in the kitchen, the tastier and more satisfying the meals they prepare will be. Additionally, Sims who lack cooking skills run the immediate risk of igniting a fire, and those with fewer than three skill points remain at high risk of doing so.
If an unfortunate fire breaks out, make sure to call the fire department and try to extinguish it right away; otherwise, your house might meet its demise.
To minimize fire hazards, opt for safer cooking methods like using a microwave or preparing salads from the refrigerator, as these methods are less likely to cause kitchen fires. As your Sim practices, their cooking skills will progress over time. Once they reach a level three cooking skill, you can start letting them use a stove.
Safety First
To further enhance safety, install a smoke detector from the buy mode. If a fire occurs, the smoke detector will automatically alert the firefighters. Here’s how to find one:
- Open the Buy Menu by pressing F2 or clicking the furniture icon.
- Click the Miscellaneous button (the triangle icon).
- Find the Electronics section (the stereo player icon).
- Purchase a Smoke Detector for 50 Simoleons and place it near your cooking area.
If there’s a small fire, your Sim can put it out themselves. Just click on the fire and select the extinguish option.
It’s always best to have a smoke detector installed. That way, if anything goes wrong, the firefighters will take care of it.
How to Build the Cooking Skill
To enhance your Sim’s cooking abilities, it’s helpful to have the following items:
- Microwave Oven
- Stove
- Grill
- Refrigerator
- Bookshelf (for cookbooks)
In The Sims, cooking regularly or reading cookbooks are effective ways for Sims to improve their cooking skills. If your Sim is starting from scratch, consider buying a cooking guide. Here’s how:
- Access the Buy Menu by pressing F2 or clicking on the furniture icon.
- Click the Miscellaneous button (the triangle icon).
- Open the Knowledge category (the bookshelf icon).
- Purchase a Precarious Designs D.I.Y. Bookshelf (or any other bookshelf) and place it in your home.
- Click on the bookshelf and select "Study Cooking" to improve your Sim’s skills.
When your Sim cooks using the refrigerator, they’ll do their best to make meals that are appropriate for their skill level. Using the stove will help them level up even faster, allowing them to reach max cooking skills quickly.
Tips for Building Cooking Skills
If your Sim has no cooking experience, it’s wise to have them study cooking until they reach at least level three. Reading cooking books can also help them max out their cooking skills.
Studying cooking can elevate their Fun Needs if it sparks their interest, which you can check in the Job category for your Sim. Keep in mind that even after a Sim achieves maximum cooking skills, there’s no guarantee they won’t start a fire. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to have a smoke detector.
Cooking on a grill can also boost cooking skills, but it has the highest potential for starting fires, and the meals prepared on it usually aren’t of the best quality. You might consider buying a grill for decorative purposes in your backyard, but your Sims may use it on their own.
If a Sim excels in cooking skills, they might find a fulfilling career in the culinary arts, earning up to 930 Simoleons a day.