Truly satisfying recipes

If you want, you can complete Paper Mario: The Millennium Door without interacting with Zest T. and tasting any of her cooking. But you’d be wrong. Zest T.’s cooking is arguably some of the most powerful consumables in the game. Even just bringing a few items along the way can make Mario’s quest that much easier.

The problem is, Zess T.’s cookbook is huge, and not all of her dishes are worth the effort of preparing them. But the best ones are definitely worth it, and these are the most delicious of them all.

Ten

Zesty

One sip is all you need!

A good place to start is with some good tea. This is a special tea that will restore 20 FP when you drink it. It is one of the best FP-only items because it only requires one Golden Leaf from a Creepy Steeple to brew. This makes Zess Tea more effective and a lot cheaper than maple syrup sold in stores.

9

Electropop

An amazingly tasty way to refuel Mario!

Electropop may seem weak at first glance, but it not only restores 15 FP, and Gives Mario both an offensive and defensive buff. This buff does not directly affect damage or damage reduction, but does do It deals passive damage every time Mario is hit, stops furry enemies from drinking blood completely, and also makes it easier for Mario to attack enemies that are electrocuted.

8

Spicy Pasta

Spice up Mario’s attacks and regain HP and FP!

If you want to boost your power even further while also restoring your strength and stamina, stock up on spicy pasta, which will restore Mario’s stamina by 10 and increase his attack power by 1 point. Unfortunately, the main ingredient, fresh pasta, is a bit pricey at 50 coins per meal.

7

Shroom Crepes

A delicate dish that makes the most of high-quality materials.

Mushroom Crepes are not only delicious but also extremely effective, restoring 30 HP and 20 FP when eaten. The only downside is that one of the main ingredients is Ultra Mushrooms (the other is cake mix), which cost between 120 and 200 coins. This isn’t a problem if Mario has the money, but if not, there are probably much better ways to spend such expensive ingredients.

Shroom Crepes aren’t a bad option if you want to be efficient with your inventory space or don’t have any Jammin’ Jelly on hand, and you’ll almost never need the full 50 HP of an Ultra Mushroom, so converting the 20 points into FP isn’t such a bad thing.

6

Jelly Ultra

It’s the best restoration, but it’s expensive.

If Mario has a Jammin’ Jelly along with an Ultra Mushroom, there’s no better option than Jelly Ultra, this item is the pinnacle of recovery and combines the full effects of both items, giving the user both 50 HP and 50 FP, which is truly the ultimate, but almost too valuable to use.

With so much power packed into one item, you usually want to wait to use it until your HP and FP are both extremely low, otherwise it feels wasteful, so no matter how powerful this item is, there are better recipes in the cookbook.

Five

Zest Dynamite

Blast the bad guys away with this explosive dish!

Zest T can make several concoctions that are effective at inflicting heat on Mario’s enemies, but none beat Zest Dynamite. Serving this powerful dish will bring out the full force of Zest T’s wrath on all enemies, Seven You’ll gain damage points in the process, and they’re also cheap to make, as they’re basically just made from Fire Flowers, Coconuts, and Mystic Eggs.

Four

Zess Cookies

If real cookies tasted this good, they’d definitely become a staple food!

Sometimes a small cookie can go a long way, but Zest Cookies are often even more effective, as each cookie replenishes 15HP and 15FP, making them a better mid-level option than their direct competitor, the Maple Super, which is much more expensive and only grants 10HP and 15FP.

To make Zeth Cookies, you only need a cake mix (about 18 coins) and a Mystic Egg (a gift from Petuni), so it only takes a little effort to get them – it’ll take a few minutes, but the effort will be worth it.

3

Shroom Steak

Sometimes you just need a delicious, hearty steak dinner.

Mushroom steaks give more HP than zess cookies, giving Mario 30 points instead of 15. The FP is a bit lower at only 10 points, but the extra HP is probably worth it. To make a mushroom steak, you will need dried mushrooms or mushrooms and at least a life mushroom. A life mushroom costs at least 40 coins, making this a fairly expensive recipe.

But even at 40 coins, the Shroom Steak holds its own, since you get at least one point of HP or FP for every coin you spend on the ingredients – it’s like converting cash straight into endurance.

2

Zest Special

If you want to get even more recovery for your efforts, try making a Zest Special. It’s cheap to make, as long as you don’t mind refilling both 20HP and 20FP and running around a bit. Start by making a Healthy Salad (Tartley Leaf + Horsetail) and roasting a Life-Shroom or Slow-Shroom to make a Mushroom Roast. Then combine the roast with the salad to make a nutritious Zest Special.

1

Zest Deluxe

A true top chef doesn’t need expensive ingredients to create a spectacular dish.

Zes Deluxe of The most powerful healing item Zest T can make is also probably the most cost-effective. This sumptuous meal replenishes 40 HP and 40 FP and can be cooked by combining a Shroom Steak and a Healthy Salad. While the Healthy Salad is cheap and easy to make, the Shroom Steak requires at least a Life Shroom and a Dry Shroom, so it will cost you a few coins.

A Life Shroom costs at least 40 coins, so if Mario were to only buy the materials, a Zest Deluxe would cost at least 42 coins, but it’s still a lot better than spending 120-200 coins on an Ultra Mushroom, making the Deluxe much more usable.

Next

Best cooking recipes from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom