Meals for the Monarch

[Kordain]

Hey. Just a quick tip on how to feed your monarch. I'm not sure about everyone but this is useful knowledge if you're short on time and need to feed yourself.

First of all although most Throne rooms come with a larder in the castle you will need one. Most people know that the castles servant can cook meals for your King/Queen. As long as the larder is stocked with ingredients the servant will cook meals for the monarch aside from gruel. These meals are large enough to last the day and feeds everyone in the castle. Just remember to keep the larder stocked either by hunting in the forest and storing the meat or buying vegetables from the village shoppe or your own market.

I hope some of you who just read that finds this information useful. I found that it made questing and performing daily responsibilities easier and manageable.

*Edit*
On another side note. Your servant will also make more complex meals the more methods you have to cook meals. Owning a stove and a cooking pot allows the servant to bake and make stews/soups. I find this handy if you want to have different types of meals for your monarch.

[Lilygirl]

Even without a larder, my monarch's servant cooks meals aside from gruel, including large group servings of stew. In fact I don't think my servant has ever prepared gruel for my monarch (I'm playing my second ambition and I played my monarch a lot during my first ambition). My servant prepares gruel for himself.

I don't know if it's just my game but my monarch's servant doesn't required a larder at all. If the servant is provided with a stocked larder, I would believe that s/he would prepare higher quality meals more frequently but it doesn't seem necessary to me. I wish a stocked larder allowed your monarch to request a specific meal to be prepared.

[Metropolis Man]

I 2nd lilygirl's observation. I don't think a stocked larder has any bearing on a servant not cooking Gruel as my Monarch received meals from a servant without a larder. It must be a randomized element like getting meal X at the Bistro in Sims 3.

[Katluvr]

I must have unusually independent monarchs.  They seem to cook for themselves and, even with a stocked larder, if they cook without me directing them to then they always cook gruel.

[Metropolis Man]

I must have unusually independent monarchs.  They seem to cook for themselves and, even with a stocked larder, if they cook without me directing them to then they always cook gruel.

Yeah, what's up with that?   I agree. It's like in Sims 3 where you can have all of these perfect quality ingredients and often if left to their devices they'll opt for cereal, etc.

[Figwit]

I find the sims making gruel annoying too.  They can have a stocked larder and an inventory full of fish and still they go for the gruel if left to their own devices.  The larder is useful for keeping prepared meals fresh longer.  I also find it useful for those sims who can't hunt or don't have the time.  They can call in at the castle help themselves to better quality food.

[SoftKitnz]

My Monarch only kept getting gruel from their servant cause there was no other ingredients.   As soon as I bought a larder and stocked it my monarch started eating like a King should.   Also if you get your servant to make food it gives you more time to do a few other things that need doing instead of using the time to prep food.  My monarch has barely needed to buy much food anyways except for a few veggies cause he hunts and fishes all the time.

[Joria]

And what's up with the servants?  Half the time they aren't around so the monarch can't call for food!  I find the servants wandering around all over the place and after a certain time of day they simply aren't around so monarch is on their own for food.  I also had one servant that had the glutton ff.  All he did was eat, eat, eat.  He fed his monarch but rarely did the household chores.  I fed him to the beast.  lol

[Missa]

I think my servant must have the whale ate my parents trait because he makes whale stew a lot which is great! I can't believe how annoying using the larder is I don't understand why they didn't make getting leftovers the same as in sims 3. I was trying to get leftovers out and by the time I did my sim had made herself gruel and had the negative buff!

[Kordain]

I find using the larder fairly easy. All you need to do is click on the larder and select make food. You will automatically use whatever is necessary to complete the meal.

[Dusty_Monk]

I think my servant must have the whale ate my parents trait because he makes whale stew a lot which is great! I can't believe how annoying using the larder is I don't understand why they didn't make getting leftovers the same as in sims 3. I was trying to get leftovers out and by the time I did my sim had made herself gruel and had the negative buff!

My servant also makes whale-based meals. She definately doesnt have the "Whale ate my parents" trait. My Royal Adviser does, I dont know if that is relevant. My guess is that when she cooks she cooks a random meal and doesn't actually require/use ingredients.

[Chuckles_82]

If you want to stop your sim getting food on their own, you can turn off free will. It is a bit of a pain not being able to open the larder without your sim being in front of it though. I did like being able to drag and drop meals to my sim while they were out and about.

[_alphaBeta_]

Addressing the original claim, I also found a larder unnecessary. The servant has never served gruel to my monarch. It's usually some mid-quality meal whose ingredients seem to appear out of thin air. The reception hall comes with it's own larder, but it's even more ackward for a hero to use since they don't "own" it. All interactions have to be done while standing in front of it.

I think the eating commands need to be revamped a little. It would be nice to communicate your intentions ahead of time before cooking. I hate it when I make a meal when the hero is half hungry and they decide to put it down just long enough for someone else to grab it. "Cook and eat" or "cook, place in larder and take a bowl" would be really nice. Now I have to micromanage eating to a level that's unnnecessary, pausing the game as soon as the meal is put on a table and selecting "eat."

I must have unusually independent monarchs.  They seem to cook for themselves and, even with a stocked larder, if they cook without me directing them to then they always cook gruel.

I agree their free will should be smarter than that. The other way of looking at this though is to realize that "free will cooking" is an emergency measure on the sim's part to feed themselves. It may also be annoying that if you leave your sim along for five minutes, they decide to cook an amazing meal with all your precious ingredients at an inappropriate time ("Hey! I was saving that").

I think a good compromise would be for "free will cooking" to result in something simple, with the cheapest ingredients possible. Put another way: cook something simple besides gruel to avoid the negative buff. Otherwise, finer meals become part of the player's strategy and should come from them.

[Chuckles_82]

Perhaps a simpler solution would be to sell the fireplace in the hero's residence, and replace it with an oven. At least field rations don't give you a negative buff, which I think is what they automatically cook by themselves (at least, that is what all the NPCs make).

[Gael]

I like the roasting pit.  The servant makes roast boar, etc. and it seems to last longer than soups.