The first official cookbook based off Dungeons & Dragons lore, Heroes Feast, was published in 2020 and became a New York Times Bestseller. With 80 recipes for elves, dwarves, the Underdark, and more, it’s little wonder the team at Wizards of the Coast released a second book.
Flavors of the Multiverse presents 75 new recipes from across the planes. Is it as good as Heroes Feast? And is it user-friendly for the average D&D party?
Appearance & Content
First off, the book is beautiful. It has 200+ pages of recipes, art, and short stories. It’s so well thought-out and composed that it’s just as fun to read through as it is to cook from it. There are plenty of pictures of the recipes, though, not all of them have photos. This can be annoying when you don’t understand what exactly the recipe wants you to make. Seeing an end-product is very helpful, after all.
The short stories within follow a group of adventures across the planes. It has a lot of wit and heart and makes for entertaining reads. It’s a nice way not only to break up endless pages of recipes, but also to introduce each section of food.
Some of these sections include Ravenloft, Sigil, and the Feywild. Each with dishes inspired by the location.
Is it Healthy or Diet Friendly?
As a whole, this isn’t a healthy cookbook. Most of the recipes require sugar and unhealthy fats. Some of the healthier recipes, such as Chopforest Salad, tend to be side dishes rather than the main course. You can customize the recipes as needed to make them more on the healthy side.
If you have food allergies such as dairy or gluten, or are following a diet such as vegan or vegetarian, you won’t find much here. They stick with stereotypical fantasy genre meals and don’t include much diversity in cuisine type. You could customize some of these recipes with other ingredients, but it won’t be easy.
Some of the recipes you will find inside include:
- Halfling Game Birds: a chicken wing dish.
- Fried Soy with Vegetables: a skillet tofu and veggie dish. Contains: soy and sugar.
- Spiced Pork and Orange Peppers: baked pork on a bed of spicy peppers.
- Fire-Wrapped Golden Fish: fried fish meal. Contains: gluten.
- Undermountain Alurlyath: a sherry-based drink with lemon and cucumber.
- Green Dragon Blackbread Muffins: a pumpernickel-like bread. Contains: gluten, dairy, sugar, and eggs.
- Goldenstars: baked pasty pockets filled with sausage, potato, and leeks. Contains: sugar, gluten, eggs, and dairy.
Is it Easy to Cook From?
If you are a beginner cook, you may find most of the recipes challenging. But that is what a D&D party is for, right? Cooking a fantasy meal is a great way to bring the group together and learn new skills. You have options to cook full meals, snacks, or even just whip up some drinks. There are so many meals to choose from that there is indeed something for everyone!
Flavors of the Multiverse was provided by Wizards of the Coast. It is available now on Amazon.
