It’s probably (maybe?) a coincidence, but just a few days after CD Projekt unveiled the official Witcher Cookbook (opens in new tab), 343 Industries has announced that Master Chief is getting a fancy meal-making guide of his own.
Halo: The Official Cookbook will include more than 70 recipes, “from portable snacks you can take with you in the Warthog to decadent spreads to feed the entire squadron,” with step-by-step instructions and photos aimed at making everything accessible to chefs of all skill levels.
Time to upgrade your armory right alongside your pantry. Announcing, the official Halo Cookbook from @insighteditions! Available for pre-order right now, releasing in August.🍕 https://t.co/DBaBYA7BoM pic.twitter.com/zslDek8ZuXApril 5, 2022
The Halo cookbook is being authored by Victoria Rosenthal, who apparently specializes in this sort of thing: She’s previously made cookbooks for Final Fantasy XIV, Street Fighter, Fallout, and Destiny. She also has a long-running website called Pixelated Provisions (opens in new tab), where she recreates food and recipes found in videogames: The current front-page formula is Guild Wars 2 Crispy Fish Pancakes (opens in new tab), and dozens of other games are represented. It’s really quite impressive.
I had no idea that this kind of niche offshoot sub-genre had grown so popular, but glancing through the Amazon listings for some of Rosenthal’s other books, they look like quality products: Nice photos, detailed directions, and lore—some of it a bit perfunctory, sure, but these are cookbooks, not sourcebooks, after all.
The videogame-food crossover is definitely a thing, though: We interviewed another game cookbook author back in 2017 (opens in new tab) about the challenges of adapting World of Warcraft items like Rylak Claws into tasty recipes, and in February Halo voice actor Steve Downes shared his own personal recipe for Master Chief Chili.
There have been lots of requests for my Master Chief Chili, so here it is! #masterchiefchili #masterchief #halo #HaloInfinite #HaloInfiniteMP #spartan117 #finishthefight #xbox #recipe #chili pic.twitter.com/qPceDcZ9OQFebruary 5, 2022
No offense to the Chief, but hopefully the recipes in the official Halo cookbook are a little spicier.
The official Halo cookbook is set to debut on August 16, and is available for preorder from Amazon (opens in new tab) in a hardcover edition for $40, or $14 on Kindle.
