No trainer teaches Cooking past 150 in World of Warcraft: Forever. You learn Expert Cooking by reading the Expert Cookbook, sold for 1 gold by Shandrina at Silverwind Refuge in Ashenvale for the Alliance and by Wulan at Shadowprey Village in Desolace for the Horde, and it raises your cap to 225.
The book asks only for Cooking 125, so you can read it well before the wall. Below we cover the ranks, where each vendor stands, how to get there, what to cook once you can climb again and how the last rank works. Vendors and prices are as of November 8, four days after launch.
Cooking Ranks at a Glance
| Rank | Skill cap | You need | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | 75 | Nothing | Any Cooking trainer |
| Journeyman | 150 | Cooking 50 | Any Cooking trainer |
| Expert | 225 | Cooking 125 | The Expert Cookbook, 1 gold |
| Artisan | 300 | Cooking 225, level 35 | The Clamlette Surprise quest |
Every Cooking trainer in the game stops at Journeyman, from Alegorn in Darnassus to Gorg at Rog’mar in the Riverglades, so going to a bigger city will not help. At 150 your food still cooks, but your skill stops rising, and it is easy to waste a stack of ingredients without noticing. Read the book at 125 and that never happens.
Our cooking guide covers learning Cooking, your first campfire and the basics. Our guide to how professions work explains the ranks across every profession.
Where to Learn Expert Cooking
| Faction | Vendor | Where | Map spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance | Shandrina | Silverwind Refuge, Ashenvale, by Mystral Lake | About 49.6, 67.0 |
| Horde | Wulan | Shadowprey Village, Desolace, top floor of the easternmost building | About 26.2, 69.8 |
Both are ordinary vendors rather than trainers: Shandrina sells trade goods and Wulan sells cooking supplies. Buy the book, then use it from your bags.
The book also trades between players, so it turns up on the Auction House. For a Horde character in the low 20s, that is often the better deal than a ride across Desolace. Our guide to where the Auction House is lists the cities.
How to Get to the Vendors
Alliance. Take the ship from Stormwind Harbor to Auberdine in Darkshore, as our guide to getting to Darnassus describes, then head south into Ashenvale to Astranaar and ride southeast to Mystral Lake. Ashenvale starts at level 18. Pick up the Astranaar flight point on the way past; our guide to how flight paths work explains why that first visit matters.
Horde. Desolace lies south of Stonetalon Mountains, and Shadowprey Village is on its western coast. It is a level 30 zone with no level scaling, per our zone level ranges, so a younger character should stick to the roads and keep moving.
What to Cook on Either Side of 150
Blizzard has not published Forever’s skill-up colors, so treat these switch points as approximate. The Professions window (K) shows whether a recipe will still raise your skill.
| Skill | Make | Ingredients | Where the recipe comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 90 to 130 | Dry Pork Ribs | Boar Ribs, Mild Spices | Cooking trainers, from skill 80 |
| About 130 to 175 | Curiously Tasty Omelet | Raptor Egg, Hot Spices | Kendor Kabonka in Old Town, Stormwind (Alliance); Keena at Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands (Horde) |
| About 175 to 225 | Roast Raptor | Raptor Flesh, Hot Spices | Hammon Karwn at Refuge Pointe (Alliance); Keena at Hammerfall (Horde), both in Arathi Highlands |
Horde cooks can buy both recipes from Keena in one visit. If you are leveling Fishing as well, our guide to training Fishing past 150 covers its own book, which is sold somewhere else entirely.
Forever gives you a reason to keep your food too: Blizzard’s deep dive recap says crafted food “can grant a small experience bonus and stat boosts.”
What Comes at 225
Artisan Cooking comes from a quest, not a book. At level 35 and Cooking 225, speak to Dirge Quikcleave in the Gadgetzan inn in Tanaris, at about 52.6, 28.0, and complete Clamlette Surprise. You need:
- 12 Giant Egg
- 10 Zesty Clam Meat
- 20 Alterac Swiss
Gather all of it before you leave for Tanaris. Turning it in teaches Artisan Cooking and raises your cap to 300, and Dirge sells Recipe: Tender Wolf Steak, the next recipe to make. You can walk straight to him: the lead-in quests, I Know A Guy… from Daryl Riknussun in Ironforge and To Gadgetzan You Go! from Zamja in Orgrimmar, are optional.
Tips for the Climb
- Train Journeyman at 50, not 75. You can learn each rank before you reach the cap, which avoids wasted crafts at both walls.
- Buy spices in bulk. Dry Pork Ribs, the omelet and the roast all use vendor spices, so stock up at a cooking supplies vendor before you sit down at a fire.
- Keep cooking near a fire you made. Any cook can set out a Basic Campfire, and our camping guide shows how upgraded campfires open up as your skill rises.
- Take Master Chef. This Legacy perk gives cooking recipes a chance at extra results; our Legacy Points guide covers how to earn it.
Every WoW Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you learn Expert Cooking in WoW Forever? From the Expert Cookbook. The Alliance buys it from Shandrina at Silverwind Refuge in Ashenvale, and the Horde buys it from Wulan at Shadowprey Village in Desolace.
Does any trainer teach Cooking past 150? No. Every Cooking trainer stops at Journeyman, which caps at 150.
What skill do you need for the Expert Cookbook? Cooking 125. Read it as soon as you get there, because your skill stops rising at 150 without it.
How much is the Expert Cookbook? The vendors charge 1 gold. On the Auction House, the price is whatever the seller asks.
Can you buy the Expert Cookbook on the Auction House? Yes, when a player has listed one. It is the easy way out if your character is too low for the trip.
How do you get Artisan Cooking? Complete Clamlette Surprise from Dirge Quikcleave in Gadgetzan, at level 35 and Cooking 225.