Cook, Serve, Delicious!
A restaurant simulation inspired by the 1999 game Ore no Ryouri.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! is a restaurant simulation game from 2012, created and published by Vertigo Gaming. Players take charge of a restaurant’s menu and daily operations, earning in-game money by preparing customer orders correctly. David Galindo directed the project, with artwork by Sara Gross and a soundtrack by Jonathan Geer. The game was inspired by the 1999 Japanese PlayStation title *Ore no Ryouri*.
In the game, the player runs a rundown restaurant in a struggling tower building, tasked with turning its fortunes around. Starting with a small budget and a choice of twenty menu items, players can expand by buying new kitchen equipment. Customers request food and drinks with various sauces, additions, and toppings. Up to eight "prep stations" allow simultaneous cooking, with orders completed by following on-screen keyboard prompts. Some meals require cooking time, letting players handle other tasks. A completed dish is graded on accuracy—missing steps, wrong ingredients, or poor cooking reduces the grade and daily earnings. The day features rush hours at lunch and dinner, plus chores like washing dishes, taking out trash, and flushing the toilet, each done with similar step-by-step actions. Between days, players can adjust the menu, buy new recipes, equipment, or decorations. Serving too many unhealthy foods or repeating the same dishes drives customers away.
Development began around March 2012, aiming for a mid-year release during a lull in major game launches. Galindo, not a programmer, used GameMaker Studio 8.1, then in beta for Windows, with plans to later support Android and iOS. The game launched on PC on October 5, 2012, and on iOS and Android on December 16, 2012, and July 29, 2013, respectively. Downloadable content titled *Cook, Serve, Delicious: Extra Crispy Edition* added ten new foods, new music, controller support, and local co-op.
Reception was generally positive. Mal Scott of *The Stereogram* called it "much, much more than the sum of its parts" and dubbed it the "Dark Souls of cooking games." Matt Porter of *Hooked Gamers* rated it 7.4 out of 10, noting it was "surprisingly difficult at times" and "has a lot of charm," but found it repetitive. *Touch Arcade*'s Jon Polson gave the iPad version four and a half stars, though he felt simplified controls didn't improve it.
- Release date
- 5 October 2012
- Platforms
- PC, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch
- Developer
- Vertigo Gaming
- Director
- David Galindo
- Artist
- Sara Gross
- Composer
- Jonathan Geer
- Number of foods in original
- 30
Lore & Background
Cook, Serve, Delicious! centres on an old, worn-down restaurant in need of repair. The tower building in which the restaurant is located has had its business drop, but management has tasked the player with changing that fortune. The player is given a small amount of money and a choice of twenty foods to place on the menu, which can be increased by purchasing new equipment. Customers ask for a variety of food and drink, as well as sauces, additions and toppings. A series of up to eight cooking stations are used to cook food simultaneously, known as 'prep stations'. Prepping food requires navigating to the customer's order and following specific steps given as keyboard button prompts. Orders can be customized, and some meals require cooking time during which other orders can be completed. A completed meal is graded by how well it was cooked, affecting income. The day cycle includes rush hours at lunch and dinner, and chores such as washing dishes and flushing the lavatory may appear. Between days, the player can adjust the menu, purchase new recipes, equipment or decorations. Menu changes are necessary to keep customers coming, as serving too many unhealthy foods turns customers away, while serving the same foods daily causes them to become stale.
Reader's Guide
Cook, Serve, Delicious! was designed and produced by Vertigo Gaming in October 2012. It was developed by David Galindo, with art from Sara Gross and music from Jonathan Geer. Among the inspirations was the PlayStation game Ore no Ryouri, released exclusively in Japan in 1999. Galindo had obtained a demo for that game through a gaming magazine and was intrigued, inspiring him to create a fan-led version in 2004 using hand-drawn graphics. After releasing The Oil Blue, he had $10,000 to put towards the project. Work started around March 2012, with plans to release in mid-2012. Galindo used GameMaker Studio 8.1, which was in beta for Windows releases. The game was released 5 October 2012 on PC, then on iOS and Android on 16 December 2012 and 29 July 2013, respectively. Downloadable content titled Cook, Serve, Delicious: Extra Crispy Edition added ten new foods, new music tracks, controller support and local cooperative gameplay. The game spawned two sequels: Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2 in 2017 and Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3 in 2020, and a spin-off titled Cook Serve Forever released in 2025. A remaster subtitled Re-Mustard is in development.
Did You Know?
- The downloadable content Extra Crispy Edition added ten new foods and local cooperative gameplay.
- A remaster titled Cook, Serve, Delicious: Re-Mustard! was announced in July 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cook, Serve, Delicious!?
It is a 2012 restaurant simulation game in which you manage a struggling eatery by accepting customer orders and preparing dishes from a limited menu. Vertigo Gaming both developed and published the title.
Who made Cook, Serve, Delicious!?
David Galindo directed the project at Vertigo Gaming, with Sara Gross handling the artwork and Jonathan Geer composing the soundtrack.
What inspired Cook, Serve, Delicious!?
The game's core concept traces back to Ore no Ryouri, a 1999 Japanese PlayStation title that featured similar kitchen-management gameplay.
What platforms is Cook, Serve, Delicious! available on?
It launched on PC on October 5, 2012, and was later ported to iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch.
What is the premise of Cook, Serve, Delicious!?
You take over a rundown restaurant in a struggling tower building and must turn its fortunes around using a small starting budget and a choice of twenty menu items.
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