
The latest beta patch brought a fantastic assortment of
Cooking recipes, finally getting started on implementing that profession in full. Throughout
The Burning Crusade, they really stepped up Cooking as something you want to learn.
Wrath of the Lich King seems to be expanding that. Many of the cooking recipes are great for battle as usual, but they've also expanded on the
Delicious Chocolate Cake bit and made some things that are just for fun, and there are also some cool things like gaining
Tracking abilities from eating a specific food. Food for your pets has returned as well, bigger and better than ever, supplying Stamina
and Strength instead of just one or the other.
Honestly, despite all of the awesome stat food, I have to say my favorite recipe I've seen so far is Critter Bites. The description states,
"Throw a critter bite to a critter to control it. Critters are small non hostile level 1 creatures." By 'control it' I suppose they could mean it becomes a pet like if you were to
Mind Control a mob as a Priest, but it's more likely it becomes a temporary vanity pet. I haven't had an opportunity to try it yet, but you can be sure I'll run out and do it as soon as I get a chance.
The unfortunate part of this is that... a lot of the recipes are totally inaccessible, such as the Critter Bites I mentioned above. Like the
Jewelcrafting gem cuts, there are daily quests implemented that award tokens, which in turn are exchanged for recipes. The quests are implemented, but the quest
items are not, and thus the quests can't be completed. You can't buy anything from the vendors, either. The basic recipes are there for all to see, though, and for those of you not in the
Wrath of the Lich King beta we have a
Wrath Cooking gallery started up for you!
Edit: I forgot to mention, all of the recipes in the gallery I was able to learn with 375 Cooking. You can learn everything here essentially straight out of
BC, so there's likely a lot more on the way.