Help! My Sim won't cook certain dishes. What went wrong?

[amethystdrum]

Hi! I'm already frustrated, so I would appreciate some help. My Sim is a 5-star chef who has mastered the cooking
skill at level 10. She had been able to cook every dish, and has read every cookbook. She has a task to deliver
three dishes of tri-trip steak, and no matter what I do, this particular dish would not be available to use in the cooking
menu - at least when she tries to make this dish at home. If I take her to Central Park to use the grill there the
steak is available on the menu and she is able to make them. I don't know what is wrong.

Also, she has learnt to make Ambrosia, but this dish is not available in the cooking selection either. I have obtained the
death fish and the life fruit. What do I need to do so that my sim can start making them?

[igzigpuff]

Hmm, I have a 5 star chef also and have had this challenge...but it just occurred to me I always have them use their outdoor BBQ grill to make it....so I can't remember if I ever cooked this dish on the regular stove.   Does your Sim have a BBQ grill at home to try cooking it on?

The Ambrosia is only a single serving and will not be found under the "serve" option.  Have you tried it under the "make" option?

That's all I can think of at the moment...hope it helps.

[Pam]

It might also be the time of day on the tri-tip steak.  I think it's only an evening meal when you make it on the stove at home.  On grills it will show up any time of the day because you can't make pancakes and waffles on a grill, so it has to have the grilled items available.  Using a grill at hope to complete the opportunity is a good idea.  And please let me know if the time of day makes a difference.

On the Ambrosia, it's like igzig said.  You won't find it under the "serve" group meals.  You need to choose the "have" option instead.  Like "have breakfast" and such. 

[Derenic]

one silly question

did you try the " MORE... " option if there is alot of dishes available?

[amethystdrum]

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I did purchase a grill and it still won't give me the option to cook tri trip steaks for lunch or dinner. It would appear, but unselectable. It would only work if I use a grill somewhere else other than the one at home. I found Ambrosia on the Have Meal selection, but it appears the same way as the tri trip steaks, grilled salmon, etc. Could it be that there is a glitch?

[Derenic]

Outside of house you don`t need ingredients, I guess because you pay and cook it.  So you don`t need to have them.

I guess something is wrong with the ingredients at home.

[Carl]

First, any time an option is greyed out, you should hover the mouse over it. The game will tell you why it's not selectable.

When taking screenshots for the cooking guide I had no trouble cooking all dishes (except hot dogs) indoors. My Sim at the time was using the very best stove available, which may have a grill component to it.

All dishes in the game can be cooked (for a price), without having the ingredients on hand except for ambrosia and baked angel food cake, which both require rare ingredients.

This thread reminds me. Someone said that actually shopping for the ingredients at the store is better because your Sim will buy nice ingredients, rather than the default, which seems to be normal. Something I want to test to be sure.

[Pam]

Like Carl said, it will give you a reason you can't select it when you hover over the item you want.  That should give you the problem right there.  Check it and let us know what it says.

[jinhong91]

First, any time an option is greyed out, you should hover the mouse over it. The game will tell you why it's not selectable.

When taking screenshots for the cooking guide I had no trouble cooking all dishes (except hot dogs) indoors. My Sim at the time was using the very best stove available, which may have a grill component to it.

All dishes in the game can be cooked (for a price), without having the ingredients on hand except for ambrosia and baked angel food cake, which both require rare ingredients.

This thread reminds me. Someone said that actually shopping for the ingredients at the store is better because your Sim will buy nice ingredients, rather than the default, which seems to be normal. Something I want to test to be sure.

That seems to be the case.
Even at lv0 cooking, the quality of the meal will not decrease right?
I once had a non-cooking sim cook for himself because he was hungry and he cooked normal waffles.

[Carl]

At best the boost to quality would be small anyway. The biggest factor is the number of times the Sim has cooked that meal. Eventually it's perfect regardless of what your Sim used.

[amethystdrum]

Hi Carl and Pam,

Thank you for your help. I took your advice, and hovered the mouse over the grayed area. It told me that my sim would need a counter
to be able to cook Tri Tip Steak, Ambrosia,etc. I do have a counter, but it held a paper towel holder and a food processor. After I bought
another counter, the sim is able to cook these dishes.

Thanks again!

[Pam]

Excellent!!  Problem solved!  I'm glad it wasn't anything difficult to fix.

[Carl]

Hah, didn't think of that one! Glad all's well.