Author Victoria Rosenthal has been creating videogame-inspired dishes for a while now, and recipes for many of these are available on her Pixelated Provisions blog. The hardback Vault Dweller’s Official Cookbook is completely dedicated to the Fallout universe, and contains nearly 80 tastebud-tingling recipes for wasteland wares that fans of the series will instantly recognise.
Divided into handy sections covering appetisers, soups and stews, sides, mains, desserts and drinks, each recipe contains everything you’d expect to find in any cookbook – ingredients, preparation instructions, cooking guidelines, and a nice full-colour photo of what the end result should look like if you do it properly. Gamers with specific dietary requirements will be pleased to know that advice for adapting the recipes for vegetarians and those on gluten/lactose-free diets is included. Another especially nice touch is that official Fallout artwork can be found throughout the book, and text is even written in the same fonts found in the game, so the whole thing immediately feels authentic.
There’s definitely enough content here to create an entire Fallout meal, if the fancy takes you. Iguana on a stick for starters, Deathclaw steak with a side of Instamash for the main, followed by some Dandy Boy apples for afters, all washed down with a refreshing bright blue bottle of Nuka Cola Quantum. And if you’ve still got room after all that, Old Lady Palmer might even let you have a bite of her Sweetroll. All the favourites are here, from BlamCo Mac and Cheese to spicy Mirelurk meat, and from Brahmin fries to slow-roasted leg of Yao Guai. It’s a pretty exhaustive list, and there’s almost certainly going to be something to suit most palates.
As with any cookbook, some of the dishes are going to be quicker and easier to prepare than others. While many of the recipes suggest they can be made in around 30 minutes, novice chefs might not quite feel up to following some of the more lengthy instructions. But do definitely try the marshmallowy Fancy Lads Snack Cakes – they’re completely 100% delicious. +5 to every stat, full health regen, cure disease, cure poison, cure radiation. Wonderful!
FALLOUT: THE VAULT DWELLER’S OFFICIAL COOKBOOK / AUTHOR: VICTORIA ROSENTHAL / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: 23RD OCTOBER
