Tales Of The Shire: A The Lord Of The Rings Game has an extensive cooking system that allows you to cook recipes to create meals. Interestingly and unlike other games, you can share cooked recipes with NPCs.
When you’re not out foraging, farming, and looking for resources, you can actually invite villagers over to share a meal. This is the best way to get to know your neighbors fast, building relationships that benefit everybody.
How to Make Friends in Bywater
Bywater is not a huge village, but there are many NPCs you can be friends with. Each of the 15 characters you can befriend has their own likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to food. Feeling them the right type of food is your way in.
Some NPCs like sweat dishes while others are always in salty mode. Meal preferences can also change during different seasons. And lastly, unlike other games you can’t just hand over dishes to NPCs to become their friends or gain favor.
In Tales of Shire you need to invite them over to share a meal aka a meal gathering.
How To Share A Meal in Tales of the Shire
Head inside your home and find the writing desk in your dining room. Interact with it to bring up two options: “Read Letters” and “Plan a Shared Meal.” Select “Plan a Shared Meal.” Pick where you want to host the gathering. If you haven’t unlocked other locations, you will start by hosting at your own home. As you progress, more venues become available.
The next step is choosing the villagers you want to invite over to share a meal. You can choose between 2-5 guests and based on the area and the relationship you’ve unlocked. After selecting your guests, send invitations. The NPCs will respond, and your gathering is scheduled for the planned time.
On the day of the event you will get RSVP messages from the guests who’ve accepted your invitation. The best part is that they will tell you what flavor they want to eat which makes it easier to figure out each person’s likes and dislikes.
Based on the preferences of your guests, choose from the following list of recipes:
| Recipe | Ingredients | Flavor | Unlock Condition | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventurous Shepherd’s Pie | Wood Blewit, Shallot, Peas, Potato | Sweet | Reach 4 Hearts with Orlo | Pies & Tarts |
| Baby Marrow Tart | Flour, Tomato, Baby Marrow, Egg, Cheese | Sweet | – | Pies & Tarts |
| Bundle of Sperage Rolled in Bacon | Sperage, Sperage, Bacon, Cheese | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Tom Cotton | Platters |
| Chicken Pie in a Dish | Flour, Chicken, Spinach, Egg, Hearty Vegetable | Sweet | – | Pies & Tarts |
| Cool Taters and Beans | Maize, Beans, Onion, Potato | – | Start From Small Things quest | Fresh Foods |
| Cooling Embers | Box Peppers, Maize, Cucumber, Tomato, Beans | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Delphinium | Fresh Foods |
| Cranberry Jam (Delightful) | Cranberry | Sour | – | Jams |
| Crispy Fish Pie | Flour, Dawn Dace, Stone Loach, Hearty Vegetable, Mushroom | – | Complete first main quest | Pies & Tarts |
| Crunchy Cold Salad | Cabbage, Carrot, Brown Onion, Radish | Spicy | Reach 2 Hearts with Marigold Potts | Fresh Foods |
| Creamy Pumpkin Soup | Cream, Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Onion | – | Reach 2 Hearts with Farmer Cotton | Soups & Stews |
| Creamy Rich Coney and Bacon Stew | Cream, Bacon, Coney, Mushroom, Mushroom | – | – | Soups & Stews |
| Garden Greens Summer Style | Lettuce, Cucumber, Fennel, Baby Marrow | Bitter | Reach 2 Hearts with Nora | Fresh Foods |
| Gaffer Gamgee’s Root Soup | Carrot, Parsnip, Turnip, Potato, Onion | Sweet | Reach 4 Hearts with Farmer Cotton | Soups & Stews |
| Good Night’s Forage | Butterfly Cups x3, Mushroom x2 | Spicy | – | Fresh Foods |
| Hodge-Podge | Beef, White Fluffy Tater, Carrot, Leek, Parsnip | Sweet | – | Soups & Stews |
| Lovely Tater Slices with Eggplant | Eggplant, Brown Tater, Egg, Cheese | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Hobson | Roasts |
| Magnificent Summer Fish Soup | Box Peppers, Tomato, Shallot Onion, Beans, Fish | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Old Noakes | Soups & Stews |
| Mrs Cotton’s Amazing Autumn Tart | Flour, Cream, Fruit, Fruit, Berry | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Lily Cotton | Pies & Tarts |
| Oatbarton Soup | Cauliflower, Carrot, Leek, Cabbage Sprouts, Onion | Bitter | – | Soups & Stews |
| Rainbow Salad with Chestnuts | Chestnut, Spinach, Radish, Orange, Butterfly Cups | – | Reach 4 Hearts with Nora | Fresh Foods |
| Raspberry and Rhubarb Cake | Flour, Cream, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Berry | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Rosie Cotton | Cakes & Sponges |
| Raspberry Hazelnut Sponge | Flour, Cream, Milk, Hazelnut, Raspberry | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Daisy Took | Cakes & Sponges |
| Raised Cheese Bread | Flour, Yeast, Cheese, Onion | – | Reach 2 Hearts with Sandyman | Breads |
| Rhubarb and Pepper Braised Pork | Barley, Box Peppers, Rhubarb, Sperage, Pork | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Nefi | Roasts |
| Rich Rhubarb Pie | Cream, Oats, Rhubarb, Berry | Sweet | Reach 2 Hearts with Orlo Proudfoot | Pies & Tarts |
| Saddle of Mutton Stuffed with Cheese | Mutton, Cheese, Nut, Nut | – | Reach 2 Hearts with Willow Took | Roasts |
| Silky Porridge with Tangy Rhubarb | Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Oats, Milk | Sour | Given by Orlo at start | Soups & Stews |
| Simple Sprouts Soup | Cabbage Sprouts x2, Eggplant, Potato | Bitter | Reach 2 Hearts with Fosco Burrows | Soups & Stews |
| Smart Hobbit’s Summer Platter | Box Peppers, Cucumber, Pork, Cheese x2 | – | – | Platters |
| Sticky Strawberry Jam | Strawberry | Sweet | – | Jams |
| The Bywater Dish | Flour, Cream, Mushroom, Hearty Vegetable, Fish | – | Complete Act 1 Main Story | Soups & Stews |
| Tuckborough Pikelets | Flour, Currant, Mushroom, Nut | – | Meet Delphinium in main quest | Griddle Cakes |
| Very Good Fish Cakes | Flour, Onion, Fish, Potato | – | Meet Old Noakes | Platters |
Before the meal, cook and prepare dishes in your inventory or pantry. When the gathering starts, use the decorating menu to arrange the table and place dishes in front of your guests. Matching their favorite foods will increase friendship and unlock bonuses.
Once the table is set, start the meal. Shared meals are a major way to strengthen bonds, unlock new recipes, and earn special relationship-based rewards.
The more successful gathering you host in your town, the more gathering features and rewards you’ll unlock in Tales of Shire. Like I said, this is the best way to increase your bond with NPCs in the game.
How to Serve Guests in Tales of the Shire
The last but the most important part, serve the correct dish to the guest. Go to the venue of the event and choose to start the meal. The decorating menu will pop up, allowing you to select the dishes you want to serve to your guests. You can choose the right dish according to each person’s preference.
