The short version
Cooking is one of the cheapest 99s in the game and one of the quickest. Almost every efficient route spends levels 30 to 99 on karambwans. The only real choice is how hard you want to click.
| If you want | Do this | XP per hour |
|---|---|---|
| The fastest 99 | 1-tick karambwans from 30 | 464,000 at 30, 950,000 at 99 |
| Easy hours | Karambwans cooked normally | 141,000 at 30, 273,000 at 99 |
| Profit | Raw sharks, anglerfish or Sailing fish | Slower, depends on burn rate |
| Magic xp on the side | Bake Pie spell (65 Magic) | Pies never burn |
All of these assume you cook at a range next to a bank. On a fire or a range across town you lose a large part of the rate to walking.
Quest xp first
Ten quests hand out 57,620 Cooking xp between them, which would be about level 44 if you could take it all at once. You cannot, because several ask for a Cooking level before you start, but the early ones are worth doing before you cook anything.
| Quest | Cooking xp | Cooking needed |
|---|---|---|
| Cook's Assistant | 300 | None |
| Rag and Bone Man I | 500 | None |
| Big Chompy Bird Hunting | 1,470 | 30 |
| Gertrude's Cat | 1,525 | None |
| Heroes' Quest | 2,825 | 53 |
| Forgettable Tale... | 5,000 | 22 |
| Scrambled! | 5,000 | 36 |
| Tai Bwo Wannai Trio | 5,000 | 30 |
| Meat and Greet | 8,000 | None |
| Recipe for Disaster | 28,000 | 70 |
Tai Bwo Wannai Trio is the one to prioritise. It teaches you to cook karambwans safely, and the rest of this guide depends on that. Recipe for Disaster is the long-term goal: its final reward is Barrows gloves, and the full quest needs 70 Cooking, so many players train Cooking specifically to finish it.
Levels 1 to 30: fish, or the poison karambwan trick
The cheap way is to cook whatever fish you catch or buy in bulk: shrimps and sardines first, trout from 15, salmon from 25. Burn rates are high early on, which is fine because the fish cost almost nothing. A range with no walk to the bank gets through roughly 1,400 fish an hour.
The fast way is poison karambwan. Raw karambwan can be cooked into poison karambwan from level 1 for 80 xp each, and doing it with the 1-tick method gets you to 30 in under ten minutes using about 500 raw karambwan. It costs more than fish, but the time saved is large.
30 to 99: karambwans
Karambwans give 190 xp each from level 30. Buy raw karambwan, bank at a range, and cook. There are two ways to do it:
| Cooking level | 1-tick xp/h | Normal cooking xp/h |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 464,000 | 141,000 |
| 50 | 605,000 | between the two |
| 70 | 742,000 | between the two |
| 99 | 950,000 | 273,000 |
1-tick cooking means clicking the raw karambwan, then the range, then the next karambwan in quick rhythm so you cook one per game tick. It takes practice and a steady hand, and it is the fastest repeatable xp in the skill. Around 75,000 raw karambwan carry you from 30 to 99, which is roughly 14 hours of play. Normal cooking is the same trip at a relaxed pace: one click on the range per inventory. It is several times slower but needs almost no attention. Either way you burn some karambwans early and stop burning them as you level, and the cooking calculator shows today's cost or profit per karambwan before you buy a full stack.
Cooking for profit
If gold matters more than speed, buy raw fish that sells for more once cooked. Sharks from 80, anglerfish from 84 and manta rays from 91 are the classic choices, because players buy cooked versions in bulk for bossing. Lobsters, swordfish and monkfish work earlier but margins are thinner and burn rates eat them. Check the raw shark price against the cooked one before each batch, because the margin swings with supply from fishers.
Sailing added a new set of fish that cook into strong food. If you also fish them yourself, they turn two skills into one trip:
| Fish | Level | XP each |
|---|---|---|
| Giant krill | 69 | 177.5 |
| Haddock | 73 | 180 |
| Yellowfin | 79 | 200 |
| Halibut | 83 | 212.5 |
| Bluefin | 87 | 215 |
| Marlin | 91 | 225 |
Our Fishing training guide covers where each of these is caught, and the Cooking money makers list ranks the profitable dishes by today's margins.
Stop burning food
- Hosidius Kitchen: after the easy Kourend and Kebos diary, the range there gives 5% less burning, rising to 10% with the elite diary.
- Cooking gauntlets: a reward from Family Crest. They lower the burn rate on lobsters, swordfish, monkfish, sharks and anglerfish. With them on, sharks stop burning at 94; without them, sharks can still burn at 99.
- Cooking cape: once you have 99, nothing you cook while wearing it burns.
- Lumbridge Castle range: after Cook's Assistant it burns some low-level foods less often.
Invisible and visible boosts can push you past a burn level early. The Cooking boosts page lists every one, including the spicy stews that can lift your level for a batch of sharks.
Where to cook
Distance to the bank sets your ceiling. Ranges with no walk at all (the Myths' Guild, the Rogues' Den, Mor Ul Rek and a bank boat) manage about 1,435 items an hour. The Cooks' Guild (32 Cooking) and Hosidius sit just behind. Catherby, a common choice, drops to about 1,250 because of the walk.
Sailing gave Cooking two new spots. A bank boat needs 16 Sailing and 6 Construction and gives you a range with no walk to the bank. Sunbleak Island needs 72 Sailing, plus 70 Construction to build its cooking pot and bank chest. If you are levelling the newer skill anyway, the Sailing guide shows when those unlock.
Bake Pie: Cooking and Magic together
Lunar Diplomacy and 65 Magic give you Bake Pie, which cooks pies on the spot with no range and no burning. It gives around 113,000 Magic xp an hour on the side. Most pies lose money, but a few sell well, and the summer pie is a popular high-level choice for its Agility boost. It is a good option if your Magic is lagging behind.
Free-to-play Cooking
Free-to-play accounts have no karambwans, so the route is fish all the way. Cook shrimps and sardines to 15, trout to 25, salmon to 30, then tuna, lobster and swordfish as your level allows. The Al Kharid range sits a short walk from the bank, and Lumbridge Castle's range burns less after Cook's Assistant. Catch the fish yourself and the skill costs nothing but time. Rates are a fraction of what karambwans give, which is why many free players stop around tuna or lobsters and finish Cooking once they have membership, where the quest xp alone covers a good chunk of the early levels.
What Cooking levels give you
30 opens karambwans (after Tai Bwo Wannai Trio) and 32 the Cooks' Guild. 70 finishes Recipe for Disaster and Barrows gloves. 80 is sharks, 84 anglerfish and the Hosidius elite diary, 91 manta rays and marlin. Cooking is also one of the cheapest skills to max early, so it is a common first 99 for new accounts.