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TBC Anniversary Cooking Leveling Guide 1-375
Cooking is one of the best “always useful” secondary professions on TBC Anniversary realms because it upgrades your leveling speed, your dungeon pace, and your raid performance. The biggest advantage is that Cooking can be leveled almost entirely with cheap meat and fish that you naturally loot while questing, so it scales extremely well in a fresh economy.
This TBC Anniversary Cooking leveling guide covers the full launch period with Outland open. It follows the same Ultra cheap AH route mindset: craft in stable brackets, rely on repeatable recipes, keep progression smooth, and avoid overpaying for limited vendor recipes when an alternative exists.
How Cooking Leveling Works in TBC Anniversary
Cooking leveling is a simple pipeline built around one rule: you always want a recipe that stays orange for as long as possible, using materials that are easy to farm or cheap on the Auction House. The cheapest routes use vendor ingredients early, then switch into high-drop meats (raptors, wolves, bears), then finish with Outland meats that are constantly farmed by everyone leveling through zones.
You do not need Fishing to level Cooking, but pairing Cooking with Fishing is the cheapest long-term combo because many strong recipes come from fish. If the Auction House is overpriced, farming your own meat is usually faster than competing with price spikes.
Ultra Cheap AH Route Rules (What Keeps Cooking Affordable)
- Start with vendor ingredients (flour, spices) and do not buy them from the AH.
- Pick one “stable meat recipe” per bracket and commit to it instead of bouncing between 6 recipes.
- If a limited-supply recipe is being camped, swap to the alternative recipe listed in the table.
- Do not brute-force yellow recipes into deep green. Craft a few extra and move on.
- In Outland, choose the recipe based on whichever meat is cheapest on your realm today.
Trainer Breakpoints and Required Tools
Cooking is trained in major cities and upgraded through a mix of trainer ranks, a book, and a quest. If you skip upgrades, your skill will cap and stop progressing.
- Apprentice Cooking: train at level 5 (starter rank)
- Journeyman Cooking: train at skill 50 (requires character level 10)
- Expert Cooking (150+): requires Expert Cookbook (book vendor, not a trainer upgrade)
- Artisan Cooking (225+): requires the quest “Clamlette Surprise” (requires character level 35+)
- Master Cooking (300+): requires Master Cookbook in Hellfire Peninsula
Tools you should buy early:
- Basic Cooking Supplies from the Cooking Supply vendor (Simple Flour, Mild Spices, etc.)
- Optional: keep a small bag reserved for meats so you do not delete leveling materials by accident
Cooking 1-65 (Vendor Starter Bracket)
This bracket is intentionally simple and gold-friendly. You level Cooking with vendor ingredients first, then swap into the easiest early meat recipe you can farm in bulk.
| Skill range | Craft | Craft count | Materials needed | Why this step is used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-40 | Spice Bread | 60 | 60 Simple Flour, 60 Mild Spices (vendor) | Cheapest possible leveling start, no farming required |
| 40-65 | Roasted Boar Meat (or Spiced Wolf Meat) | 35 | 35 Chunk of Boar Meat (or 30 Stringy Wolf Meat) | Stable meat craft, very easy to farm early |
Cooking 65-130 (Journeyman Meat Pipeline)
This section is smooth and repeatable. You upgrade to Journeyman, then pick one cheap meat recipe to carry most of the bracket. After 110, you take a short bridge recipe to reach the Expert stage cleanly.
| Skill range | Craft | Craft count | Materials needed | Notes for trust and cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65-110 | Coyote Steak (or Boiled Clams) | 65 | 65 Coyote Meat (or 65 Clam Meat + 65 Refreshing Spring Water) | Very stable bracket carry, easy to batch craft |
| 110-130 | Crab Cake (or Dry Pork Ribs) | 30 | 30 Crawler Meat, 30 Mild Spices (vendor) | Clean bridge to 130 with simple mats |
Cooking 130-225 (Expert Cookbook Route)
At this point you want to secure Expert Cookbook so you can push past 150 smoothly. The cheapest path uses two ultra stable recipes based on raptor materials, which are consistently available on most realms because raptors are farmed constantly while leveling.
| Skill range | Craft | Craft count | Materials needed | Why this step is used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 130-175 | Curiously Tasty Omelet | 50 | 50 Raptor Egg | Extremely stable craft, clean points with no vendor spices needed |
| 175-225 | Roast Raptor | 50 | 50 Raptor Flesh | Reliable carry to 225 with a simple meat source |
If raptor materials are overpriced on your realm, you can use alternatives like Soothing Turtle Bisque, Mithril Headed Trout, or other vendor-accessible recipes. The goal is staying on a repeatable recipe, not chasing perfect variety.
Cooking 225-300 (Artisan Quest and Clean Finish)
To continue past 225, you must complete the Artisan Cooking quest chain that ends with “Clamlette Surprise” in Gadgetzan. Prepare the materials first, then travel, so you do not waste time waiting on Auction House restocks.
Artisan Cooking Quest Requirement (Must Do)
- 12 Giant Egg
- 10 Zesty Clam Meat
- 20 Alterac Swiss
After you complete the quest, you can push to 300 with a stable chain that uses common meats.
| Skill range | Craft | Craft count | Materials needed | Why this step is used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 225-250 | Tender Wolf Steak (or Monster Omelet) | 25 | 25 Tender Wolf Meat (or 25 Giant Egg) | Stable bracket carry with easy-to-source mats |
| 250-285 | Juicy Bear Burger | 40 | 40 Bear Flank | Reliable mid-range push with predictable farming |
| 285-300 | Smoked Desert Dumplings | 15 | 15 Sandworm Meat | Clean finish to 300, short and controlled |
If Smoked Desert Dumplings are inconvenient to unlock for you, you can swap 285-300 to Baked Salmon or Lobster Stew using vendor recipes in Feralas. The cheapest method depends on what is available on your realm.
Cooking 300-325 (Outland Starter Meat Route)
Outland Cooking begins with easy meat recipes in Hellfire Peninsula. The cheap strategy is choosing the most accessible recipe that stays orange and can be crafted in a clean batch.
| Skill range | Craft | Craft count | Materials needed | Trust notes (why this works) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300-325 | Ravager Dog (or Buzzard Bites) | 30 | 30 Ravager Flesh (or 30 Buzzard Meat) | Fast Outland start, very common leveling meat |
Important note: to train above 300 in Outland, you need the Master Cookbook from Hellfire Peninsula. Buy it early so you do not hit a hard cap mid-session.
Cooking 325-355 (Nagrand Stable Carry)
This section is where Cooking becomes extremely cheap on most realms because Nagrand meats are farmed in huge volume. Pick the recipe whose meat is cheapest on your Auction House today and commit to it.
| Skill range | Craft | Craft count | Materials needed | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 325-355 | Talbuk Steak | 40 | 40 Talbuk Venison | If Talbuk meat is cheapest on your realm |
| 325-355 | Roasted Clefthoof | 40 | 40 Clefthoof Meat | If Clefthoof meat is cheapest on your realm |
| 325-355 | Warp Burger | 40 | 40 Warped Flesh | If you are buying from Terokkar vendors and want pure convenience |
Cooking 355-375 (Final Outland Finish)
The last 20 points are solved by choosing one final recipe and staying disciplined. Both finish options use heavily farmed meats, but vendor availability can differ by faction. If one recipe is camped on your realm, swap to the other instead of overpaying.
| Skill range | Finish option | Craft count | Materials needed | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 355-375 | Mok'Nathal Shortribs | 60 | 60 Raptor Ribs | Very stable finish if the recipe is easy to buy on your side |
| 355-375 | Crunchy Serpent | 60 | 60 Serpent Flesh | Great alternative if serpent meat is cheaper or the recipe is easier to access |
Total Materials Summary (Shopping List Mindset)
These totals match the baseline route above. Your exact numbers can vary slightly due to yellow skill-ups. The safest cheap approach is buying baseline amounts first and adding more only if you truly need it.
Classic 1-300 Materials (Clean Shopping Table)
| Material | Total amount | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Flour | 60 | Spice Bread |
| Mild Spices | 90 | Spice Bread, Crab Cake |
| Chunk of Boar Meat | 35 | Roasted Boar Meat |
| Coyote Meat | 65 | Coyote Steak |
| Crawler Meat | 30 | Crab Cake |
| Raptor Egg | 50 | Curiously Tasty Omelet |
| Raptor Flesh | 50 | Roast Raptor |
| Giant Egg | 12 + 25 | Artisan quest + (optional) Monster Omelet alternative |
| Zesty Clam Meat | 10 | Artisan quest |
| Alterac Swiss | 20 | Artisan quest |
| Tender Wolf Meat | 25 | Tender Wolf Steak |
| Bear Flank | 40 | Juicy Bear Burger |
| Sandworm Meat | 15 | Smoked Desert Dumplings |
Outland 300-375 Materials (Baseline Checklist)
| Material | Baseline amount | Used for | Buy notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ravager Flesh | 30 | 300-325 Ravager Dog | Often cheap because Hellfire is crowded early |
| Talbuk Venison | 40 | 325-355 Talbuk Steak | Choose this if it is the cheapest Nagrand option |
| Clefthoof Meat | 40 | 325-355 Roasted Clefthoof | Great alternative if clefthoof meat is cheaper |
| Warped Flesh | 40 | 325-355 Warp Burger | Usually stable due to high mob density farming |
| Raptor Ribs | 60 | 355-375 Mok'Nathal Shortribs | Very common farm material, often cheapest late |
| Serpent Flesh | 60 | 355-375 Crunchy Serpent | Choose if serpent meat is lower price on your realm |
| Master Cookbook | 1 | Required to train above 300 | Buy in Hellfire Peninsula early to avoid caps |
Ultra Cheap AH Checklist (Fast, Repeatable, No Waste)
Buy Timing: Meat Prices Spike During Prime Time
On Anniversary realms, meat and fish prices spike during leveling rush windows and raid prime-time. The cheapest sessions happen when you buy during farm-heavy hours and craft during calmer hours. If materials are inflated, stop after a checkpoint and continue later when prices cool down.
Farm vs AH Discipline: Cooking Is Flexible
If your Auction House is cheap, buying materials can be faster than farming. If the AH is inflated, farming your own meat for 30 minutes can save a surprising amount of gold. The cheapest cooks always compare both options before committing.
Conclusion
Cooking 1-375 on TBC Anniversary realms is efficient when you level it like a pipeline instead of a random recipe list. The Ultra cheap route works because it starts with vendor ingredients, transitions into stable high-drop meat recipes (raptors, wolves, bears), then finishes in Outland with meats that are permanently farmed in Hellfire, Nagrand, and Blade’s Edge.
In Classic brackets, Spice Bread gives the cheapest start, raptor-based recipes provide clean Expert progression, and the Artisan quest unlock keeps your path smooth into the 200s. In Outland, Ravager Dog starts your Master path quickly, Nagrand carries you through the mid-350s with flexible meat choices, and the 355-375 finish is solved by committing to one stable recipe and crafting in a single batch. If you buy smart, farm when the AH is inflated, and avoid deep green spam, Cooking stays predictable and gold-friendly all the way to 375.