Embark on a culinary adventure with Guild Wars 2: The Official Cookbook and travelogue of the most fascinating cultures, customs, and cuisines of Tyria.
It’s time to get the guild back together and devour delicious dishes from all over Tyria. Feast upon an international buffet with this delectable culinary guide inspired by the internationally acclaimed Guild Wars video game series. Armed with recipes from the corners of Kryta to the oases of Elona and the shores of Seitung Province, you’ll impress your guildies with your cooking chops. This lore-filled skill tome includes easy to follow, step-by-step instructions and gorgeous full color photography of every dish. So whether you’re hosting a formal dinner for the Tyrian Alliance or serving up late night munchies at the Dead End Bar, Guild Wars 2: The Official Cookbook will satisfy your cravings—and your adventurous spirit.
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
Publisher: Insight Editions
Game Publisher: ArenaNet
Co-Author: Erin Kwong
Number of Pages: 192
Number of Recipes: 70
Where to buy: Your Favorite Local Bookstore, Amazon
My Contributions: Recipe Selection, Recipe Development, and Photography
My Process
I am so excited that I got the opportunity to work on the official cookbook for Guild Wars 2! It was a project that I’ve been hoping to work on since I started making cookbooks and now the finished product is out for all to enjoy. If you’ve been following my blog for some time now, you know Guild Wars 2 was the game that started my culinary adventures and the creation of Pixelated Provisions. I have been cooking from the Guild Wars 2 universe for over a decade now. The list of recipes I’ve been wanting to try from the game was very large and this book allowed me to make many of those backlogged recipes. With this project, I was able to go back to some of the oldest recipes on my site and revamp them. I’ve learned so much since I started this blog and I was happy to finally take another crack at several of my original recipes.
The cooking system in Guild Wars 2 is pretty simple; you gather ingredients and then combine them to make a dish. Where cooking really shines is the ingredient list and combinations are much more detailed than other games. Let’s take the Meatball Dinner for example. To put this recipe together, you have to make the meatballs which is a combination of egg, cheese, garlic bread, and red meat. And then you have to make the pasta and the tomato sauce that brings it all together. The final recipe uses 12 different ingredients, where in many other games you’d be able to make something like this with only 4 ingredients.
The amount of detail that the developers included with each recipe in Guild Wars 2 made it incredibly easy to develop real world recipes. I really appreciate having this much detail because it helps push the recipe in a particular direction. Also, the list of meal options in the game are some of the largest any game has offered. I’d say the hardest part of putting this project together was settling on which recipes were going to make it into the book. Once the recipes were selected, I sent the list off so ArenaNet could approve the list. After that, I got to cooking!
I may not play the game as much as I used to but it will always have a special place in my heart. One day I hope, when I have time, I’ll be able to explore Tyria again and see where the story will take my character. I will not forget all the great times I’ve had in the game, from enjoying the story, jumping through incredible jumping puzzles, and seeing how far Jeff and I could run fractals with just the two of us. This game is the reason I cook today. It was such an inspiration and got me experimenting in the kitchen. I’m so proud that I’ve finally got to put together this cookbook as a thank you to the game!
Are There Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Etc Recipes In The Book?
Yes, each recipe lists any dietary notes that might apply to those items. There is also a note about adjusting the recipes in the book to adapt them to your dietary needs. As I always say, feel free to adapt recipes to make them work for you.
My Favorite Recipes
There are many recipes in this book that I can’t get enough of. I’ve remade many of them on the regular since wrapping up the project.
When Guild Wars 2 added a bunch of fishing to the game with End of Dragons, they also added several recipes to use all the fish you catch. I love an excuse to experiment with more fish and this Crispy Fish Pancakes (pg 33) recipe did just that. Honestly, any combination of seafood that you like could work in this recipe. Just make sure to use the same total amount to keep the recipe balanced.
Savory Spinach and Poultry Soup (pg 80) was the perfect excuse to make my favorite soup of all time, Italian wedding soup. Broth, pasta, spinach, and tiny chicken meatballs make for a wonderful combo in soup form. This is my comfort soup and I never get tired of it.
I love how many varieties of mashed potatoes one can have under their belt. If you’ve been buying my books over the years, you know I have a handful of these now. The Guild Wars 2 version of Mashed Potatoes (pg 93) might be my new favorite. The tanginess of the buttermilk really makes this one pop. I love chives so being able to top this with a bunch of them adds a small bit of herby freshness to the dish.
I love plantains! The Grilled Plantains with Passion Fruit Sauce (pg 97) was a new way for me to cook up plantains. These are fried, smashed, and then fried again making them extra crispy and delicious. The sweet and spicy passion fruit sauce pairs really nicely with this. This project was for sure my first time really diving into using passion fruit, which can be a hit or miss flavor for me personally. But I ended up really enjoying this combination and enjoyed making this recipe a lot!
The Feast of Meatball Dinner (pg 107) is a very common dish I make in our house. Jeff is a pasta fiend so adding more options is always a positive. This is a great recipe for someone wanting to try their hand at making their own sauce. I think this is a great starting point and it is why I make it on the regular.
Of course two pasta dishes would make my favorite list! Poultry Piccata (pg 108) is more of a chicken dish but the pasta is the way you get to slurp up the lemony sauce of this dish. That lemon sauce brings a refreshing brightness to the lightly fried chicken. It is one of the easier fried dishes and a great way to try it for the first time.
The Meaty Rice Bowl (pg 128) is inspired by the incredible bibimbap. This is a recipe that requires a lot of putting together, but it is so delicious. I just love how many layers of flavors and textures come together to pull this dish together. As I’m writing this I’m thinking I might add this to my next shopping list to make a batch.
Peach Pie (pg 134) is a dessert that has grown on me over time. Growing up, I was always middling on both fruit pies and just peaches in general. As I’ve gotten older I find myself really enjoying the buttery, flaky crust of pies stuffed with delicious in-season fruit. I highly recommend when you make this pie to do it during peak peach season in your area, the difference is outrageous. Luckily when I was working on this project, it was peach season and I was able to pick up a batch from a local farm. This pie is now on my summer dessert rotation.
The Chocolate Omnomberry Cake (pg 161) is one that got heavily reworked from my original recipe. This for sure goes down as the recipe I’ve reworked the most since starting my cooking adventure. The original recipe used a specific brand of jam for the flavoring. For the rework, I decided it was important to avoid that so we just make our own omnomberry filling. You won’t be able to find omnomberries at your local grocery store so we go with a combination of cherry, raspberry, and blackberries to get a similar flavor profile. Chocolate and a combo of berries, what more could you ask for? I love this cake!
Most Difficult Recipe
Two recipes that stand out as the most difficult in this book because they are both time consuming and technically difficult are the Salsa Eggs Benedict (pg 115) and Mint Creme Brulee (pg 141). Benedicts come with the difficulties of poaching eggs and making a hollandaise. Both items can be tricky but with enough practice and preparation ahead of time, it will be easier to put together. Creme Brulees are another recipe that can seem pretty intimidating to make. It is another recipe that if you prepare the ingredients ahead of time, it will make putting it together so much easier. Also a kitchen torch might seem like a scarier piece of equipment to use. Just keep a fire extinguisher nearby just in case and it should all be good. It is always a good idea to practice kitchen safety at all times.
Beginners: Where To Start?
This book, like many of my other cookbooks, has recipes of many different difficulties. Some of the recipes can be a bit more intimidating and you may be wondering where a beginner cook should begin.
Some starters that are a good place to start would be the Hummus (pg 13) and Mint-Pear Cured Meat Flatbread (pg 26). Both of these aren’t too bad and you can make the Mint-Pear Cured Meat Flatbread easier by grabbing some premade flatbreads. Salads are another great starter option, like the Salad a la Consortium (pg 49) and Feast of Coleslaw (pg 53). These two require a decent amount of knife work but they are relatively easy to put together.
For baked goods, a few bread options include Cheesy Cassava Roll (pg 36) and Zucchini Bread (pg 43). Both of these are easy to mix together and bake. All you have to do is mix it all together and let it bake. If you are looking for something sweet, the Spicy Chocolate Cookies (pg 145) are the easiest option in the book. These cookies are a delicious combo of spicy and sweet.
For some warm, hearty options, Potato and Leek Soup (pg 68) and Tomato Soup (pg 71) are great starter soups. I think soups are a wonderful way to start one’s cooking adventure. It’ll teach you knife skills, a simple cooking method (boiling and maybe easy roasting), and something the recipe will have you blend it to make it smooth. Both of these recipes end up using a blender to mix everything together. These are great starting points for any new cook.
Many of the entrees are great for a beginner cook. The Filet of Rosemary-Roasted Meat (pg 119) is one of the more expensive dishes in the book but I think putting it together is very simple. A lot of the work is the preplanning you have to do in order to allow the meat to dry brine. One tip for this recipe is to get yourself a probe thermometer because it will make getting the meat to the correct temperature incredibly easy and foolproof. Another great option is the Jerk Poultry (pg 103) because all you do is marinate it and then cook it. This does require you to use a grill. So this is a great option to try that out for the first time.
Some great side dish options to pair with the entrees here would be the Mashed Potatoes (pg 86) and Spiced Mashed Yams (pg 89). Both are pretty easy to put together and go great with most main dishes.
Many of the drinks are very beginner friendly but the Avocado Smoothie (pg 171) is probably the easiest option. You put all the ingredients in a blender and blend it together. This is a great refreshing drink and one that I really enjoy.
Thank You
Thank you to Insight Editions and ArenaNet for giving me the opportunity to work on this project and create these delicious recipes inspired by the incredible world of Guild Wars. Eric, thank you for managing this project and making sure we created the best product we could. Thank you to my co-author Erin Kwong for the amazing lore write ups for this project. It was such a pleasure to work on another project with you! Again, ArenaNet thank you for creating such a vibrant world where food isn’t just an afterthought. You all inspired me to get cooking and it has really forged my path.
Thank you to my husband, Jeff, for all the help you provide with these projects. You are always pushing me to improve my work. I appreciate that he’ll listen to me workshop recipe ideas even when he has no idea what I’m talking about. He gets the benefit of tasting all the recipes and getting his thoughts on the recipes is super helpful.
If you missed the unfortunate news, Kanji passed away in late July of 2025. Kanji, I will be forever thankful for all the love and support you gave me during every project I have worked on. Kanji was always there watching me as I cooked a storm in the kitchen. He was always such a supportive boy during these projects and I will greatly miss my little sous chef. Thank you for being such a good boy!
Thank you to my agent, Kate McKean. You continue to make my life so much easier with each of these projects and I appreciate all the work you do! Without you, I would be getting confused reading all the contract legal speak. Also, huge congrats to her and her future book release that she is currently working on.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me as I’ve been working on all these projects. I’m grateful that my family is always so excited to see what I’m cooking up, my friends for grabbing extra leftovers I demand they take off my hands, and for everyone who cooks any of the recipes I have written. It really means a lot to me and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Here’s to many more delicious meals!
Review And Coverage
Coming Soon
Errata
Between the quick timelines and large amount of writing and content, errors in the cookbooks can sneak through to print. I’ve started compiling a list for those that have been pointed out to me so far. If you find any other errors in any book, please feel free to reach out to me so they can be added to these lists and adjusted in future prints.
None Currently
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