Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook
Heroes’ Feast D&D Cookbook Series
Hardcover | Spiral Bound | Kindle
By Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Michael Witwer, and Sam Witwer
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: November 7, 2023
Good day and well met, friends! It boggles my mind to think that we are living in an age where Dungeons & Dragons has been so deeply ingrained into our culture that there are literal cookbooks to help create the perfect setting for any campaign. In my day (he says in his old man voice), we made do with Pizza Hut pepperoni pizzas and 7-Eleven Big Gulps to satisfy our sustenance needs whilst rolling our clickity clacking funny-shaped dice. Of course, teen-aged me was about as uncouth as you can imagine. A big change in my cuisine was the addition of taco-flavored Doritos. But the addition of books like Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook has really raised the bar. In fact, one might even say it has taken the gameplay up a level. Get it? Up a level? I crack myself up, you know. But anyway, you are not here for my lame jokes, soon with the review!
More than 75 dishes spread throughout seven different realms gives any home chef the choices they need to create a spectacular evening of companionship, adventure, and great food. Now, I am not going to go through each entry here, but I will tell you that the worlds they come from are Toril, Krynn, Oerth, Eberron, and other planes like Feywild, Shadowfell, the Astral Plane, and even the Outer Planes. With a wide array of cuisines from which to draw, you just know there are some treats in store for us within this gastronomic lexicon. This is the part where I regale you with my favorites and tempt you to buy the book so you, too, can have access to all this yumminess.
The very first entry is called Goldenstars and they look as amazing as they sound. Consisting of sausage and potatoes in a triangular pastry, they look like odd-shaped kolaches and I cannot wait to try them out one day soon. The next one also hails from the Yawning Portal and is called Laumberry Pie. It is essentially a small personal mixed berry pie containing raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries with a warm sugary glaze that cascades over them raising your chances of not only diabetes, but also of a taste reserved for the elder gods. If the pathways of space are more your thing, the Tears Of Selune are a spiced fish that are skewered and roasted over open flames to create the perfect crunch and still retain their savory interior. Be sure to finish your otherworldly meal off with some Green Ice Rime, also known as the Gelatinous Cube because of its shaky disposition and the ability to suspend other food and decorations within itself. Luckily, this is a dish you can consume and not the other way around.
The lighter and quite airy Cloaks are a potato-based finger food that is whipped with other ingredients to give it an almost meringue-like texture, but is baked to darken the outside and create a crust so they can be handled easier. And the spiced mac ‘n cheese spinoff called Kender Stumblenoodles must be made for no other reason than that I have an Uncle Trapspringer who used to talk about them all the time, or at least that is what Tas always told us. And speaking of Krynn, the Irlymeyer’s Dragonfire Punch sounds amazing. A brandy-based cocktail, this adult beverage is filled with a variety of fruit juices and wine to create a beautiful bouquet of tastes to wet your whistle, compliments of Otik and the Inn of the Last Home.
Next up is a Realmspace classic called Breaded Bird Cutlets, a thinner take on fried chicken and one that comes in stacks rather than chunks. These are not your basic chicken nuggies, fellow traveler. For a sweeter treat, Vada’s Vanilla Buns have all the earmarks of a carnival-style baked delight, though I personally would leave off the coconut and add extra vanilla beans. A Ravenloft staple, Quij’s Plate is a little bit of everything and sounds like a scrumptious breakfast of champions with sausage, eggs, peppers, and enough spices to make you reach for your ale a little sooner than you might think.
One of the last recipes listed is the Chickpea and Spicy Sausage Soup and it looks like a hearty stew or gumbo with enough protein to get any adventurer up and ready for whatever the day has in store. But last on my favorites list is Chirper’s Sugar Biscuits and if you think the name lends itself to a decadent dish then you would be correct. Brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, and so much more. All wrapped up in a twirl of tasty puffy dough. There are other items before and after this short list of mine one, but these are the ones that caught my fancy and I feel the need to create in the not too distant future.
There are so many choices here, regardless of your food preferences you will find something. And many of them can be adapted. of course, if you are vegetarian, have specific allergies, or what have you. As with all things D&D, it is about the experience (see what I did there?) and not just following the rules to the letter. Trust me, I have DMed any number of times and those pesky PCs seldom ever follow the original intended path. But, if nothing else, I hope I have piqued your interest as there are a plethora of choices and none of them look horrible, except maybe the Tavern Crickets. That is a big nope from me on that one. Thank you again for reading and if you read something that sounded interesting or if you know of someone who likes to cook new and exotic items, this cookbook is a great choice.
Never adventure on an empty stomach! From the D&D experts behind the bestselling Heroes’ Feast comes Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse,a mouthwatering cookbook stuffed with eclectic fare for solo adventurers and party quests alike. This culinary tour presents original recipes inspired by regions and settings from across the Forgotten Realms and beyond. All seventy-six dishes, developed by a professional chef from one of the country’s top test kitchens, are delicious, easy to prepare, and composed of ingredients readily found in our world.
The immersive recipes in Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse are perfect for sharing and entertaining. Dishes are organized by location with options for every occasion—especially game nights!—including:
• otherworldly appetizers such as Talyth and Goldenstars
• savory main courses such as Steak of the Deep and Eldeen Banquet
• alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages such as Elverquist and Kaeth
• and desserts such as Green Ice Rime and Vada’s Vanilla Bean BunsAdventure has never tasted so good!
