I Am Setsuna is a fantastic new addition to the JRPG genre that draws much of its style and mechanics from the classics. Unfortunately, this means quite a lot of the game is left without explanation which leaves many players grasping for answers to some of the game’s more mysterious features.
Of all the quizzical elements in I Am Setsuna, obtaining food and recipes is easily one of the least explained. In fact, players could go the entire game without ever seeing a purchasable item appear in the Chef vendor’s sales window. It can make you wonder whether you’re missing something or if all the Chefs are just really bad at their jobs. Well as odd as it may seem, food is not bought from the Chef the first time you acquire it. Instead food is gained by speaking with various townsfolk in every town across the game.
If the proper green materials, or Ingredients, are in your inventory, the villager will request said materials and provide the player with a food item. However, this isn’t all as after obtaining the food from the townsfolk, you will also be gifted the recipe for the item. Be sure not to sell your Ingredients as townsfolk will not make you food if you don’t have everything they need. To find out what materials to sell and when, check out our guide here.
After acquiring the recipe for any food item, it can then be taken directly to any Chef. The Chef will ask for the recipe and once given, the food item will be purchasable from the Chef’s sales window. You don’t have to turn in recipes immediately and can give multiple recipes at once, so don’t feel like you need to be visiting the Chef more than you’d like to. Food can wind up being very expensive, but the effects are certainly powerful. Eating food will grant the player bonuses for the next fight they engage in such as increased experience, drops, and elemental resistances.
Moral of the story? Pick up any and all green materials, talk to literally everyone, and drop by the Chef once and awhile (he tends to get lonely).
