Image via Larian Studios, 10 Speed Press, and Wizards of the Coast
Food isn’t always top of mind in a game like Baldur’s Gate 3… until you’re out of supplies to fuel your long rest at camp, that is. But in Andrew Wheeler’s upcoming official Baldur’s Gate 3 cookbook, A Feast for a Tenday, food takes center stage. Though it is, first and foremost, a collection of recipes inspired by the game, the book is a new Baldur’s Gate 3 adventure in and of itself. And this time, it’s told through the lens of the food that keeps our adventuring party going.
A Feast for a Tenday combines gorgeous photographs and illustrations with delicious recipes for everything from Owlbear Egg to Grilled Mini Space-Hampster and beyond. But in the recipe descriptions, readers also get to experience one former inkeeper’s version of the game’s story, complete with romance, intrigue, and a few interruptions from the bard Volo.
I had the pleasure of chatting with the author, Andrew Wheeler, via email to learn more about how this thrilling tome came together. Wheeler has a storied history in creating all manner of Dungeons & Dragons content, including several of our favorites here at Bonus Action. So, it was a real delight for our team to get to talk about this latest project!
How the Baldur’s Gate 3 Cookbook Delivers a Culinary Adventure on the Page and In the Kitchen
Via email, the team at Bonus Action got to ask all about how a video game tie-in cookbook like A Feast for a Tenday comes together. Enjoy our Q&A with author Andrew Wheeler below!
Amanda Kay: I’ve always been curious about this as someone who loves cookbooks based on video games and pop culture. How does a project like this come about?
Andrew Wheeler: “Wizards has had a lot of success with cookbooks like Heroes’ Feast and Flavors of the Multiverse. As a passionate mixologist I was brought on to write the official D&D cocktail book, Puncheons & Flagons, and I think they liked the voice and creativity I brought to that project and decided I would be a good fit for a BG3 cookbook!“
Amanda Kay: How do you go about testing the recipes for a large project like this? Have you ever tested something and had it turn out weird? How do you troubleshoot the recipes?
Andrew Wheeler: “We had a brilliant recipe developer, Rebeccah Marsters, who would turn my outlines and ideas into real, workable recipes, and if ever anything wasn’t working, we would talk through our options. It was a really fun collaboration, and I’m grateful Rebeccah could make my most ridiculous proposals into reality, from a murky stew inspired by bread soup to blackened rat skewers made from chicken thighs!“
Amanda Kay: When approaching a cookbook like this one, where did you start? Were there certain in-game recipes you knew had to make the cut from the beginning?
Andrew Wheeler: “We started with an exhaustive list of all the food mentioned in the game, but we always knew we would have to make some cuts and to add some new dishes to keep the contents varied. There are a lot of fish stews in the video game, for example, and we couldn’t adapt all of them!
We also wanted to draw from a cross section of cultures and locations from the game, and to have recipes inspired by certain characters, like La’ezel’s Plum Fizz and Astarion’s Cinnamon Rolls!”
Amanda Kay: I see that the recipes in the book are organized by course and camp location. How did you come to that structure?
Andrew Wheeler: “The game has such a strong structure inside an open world experience, so I wanted to make the book feel like a supplement to that. The book places you in the position of a player’s character going through the beats of the game with several recipes that you can pinpoint to specific events in the game. The book also draws on the specifics of each location to inform many of the ingredient choices or how some recipes are discovered along the way.”
Amanda Kay: What is the biggest challenge of translating a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 into a collection of recipes? Was there anything in the game that was just too tricky to adapt for a real-world recipe? Beholder Eye Stalks, maybe?
Andrew Wheeler: “Beholder Eye Stalks are in the book! So are Neogi Claws. We had to get very creative with some of the grosser-sounding food items in the game, and to come up with a narrative reason why these recipes could be made with “substitutions” for fictional ingredients! Honestly, I love that sort of challenge, so I’d like to think nothing was too tricky to adapt!“
Amanda Kay: Do you have a favorite recipe from the book that you’re especially excited for readers to try?
Andrew Wheeler: “Halsin’s Rack is delicious, and I suspect I’ll keep coming back to that recipe! I love treacle tart, so that was a personal favorite to include in the book, and the pickled sunmelon salad is such a treat for summer. Oh, and Baalor Ale, that has a real kick to it!“
Amanda Kay: Are there any recipes that you think would be particular favorites for main companion characters like Astarion, Lae’zel, Karlach, etc?
Andrew Wheeler: “We actually have a bunch of recipes in the book that are marked as “romanceable,” meaning they’re perfect for a date or a seduction! You’ll find a lot of the accompanying text gives an idea of which companion character might be especially interested in each romanceable recipe!“
Amanda Kay: How would you say this work compares to your previous D&D writing, such as the Young Adventurers guides?
Andrew Wheeler: “There’s a lot of overlap! The Young Adventurers’ Guides are very focused on the lore of the game. They introduce new and young players to D&D via worldbuilding rather than rules. Writing this book and Puncheons & Flagons, I also got to think about the world and the lore first. and to come up with story hooks and narrative details that expand on the experience of playing D&D! Writing this book was like living in Faerûn, and hopefully that’s an experience that translates to the reader!“
If you, like me, can’t wait to try out Astarion’s Cinnamon Rolls and discover a brand-new culinary adventure in the official Baldur’s Gate 3 cookbook, you can grab your copy now. A Feast for a Tenday was released on November 3rd.
**Bonus Action received a review copy of A Feast for a Tenday to inform our coverage**
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