History LethalChef / VideoGames

* In ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'', you're asked with assisting a sous chef in Sweetheart's Castle by preheating the oven, gathering and mixing ingredients, then putting them in the oven. Problem is, the sous chef seems to have no sense of literacy, and you're asked to gather things like "flowers" and "ping pong balls", and he tells you to preheat the oven to a mere 75 degrees (whether Celsius or Fahrenheit is unclear, but even 75 C (167 F) would barely even bake the cake). If you follow his instructions to the letter, you get...a ''thing'' so bad that it's [[CensoredForComedy mosaic-censored]], and this trope becomes literal as he takes a bite and ''dies''. The next sous chef in line is glad he's gone, and gives you proper baking instructions.

** Doing poorly enough in the [[CookingMechanics cooking minigame]] will yield a "Suspicious" version of the dish. They're the inverse of foods with the "Delicious" quality, having reduced effects and unappetizing descriptions. Hu Tao and Ayato's utility passives give them a chance to make a Suspicious duplicate of any dish they cook perfectly; the only reason you'd ever even use them over any character whose passive gives a chance to duplicate Delicious foods is that the proc rates on their passives are slightly higher in case you're fine with sacrificing quality for quantity, and it applies to all foods instead of just one category. Completing Ella Musk's commissions to communicate with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent hilichurls]] can also reward you with Suspicious foods, painting the race as this.

** Doing poorly enough in the [[CookingMechanics cooking minigame]] will yield a "Suspicious" version of the dish. They're the inverse of foods with the "Delicious" quality, having reduced effects and unappetizing descriptions. Hu Tao and Ayato's utility passives give them a chance to make a Suspicious duplicate of any dish they cook perfectly; the only reason you'd ever even use them over any character whose passive gives a chance to duplicate Delicious foods is that the proc rates on the former's passives are slightly higher in case you're fine with sacrificing quality for quantity, and it applies to all foods instead of just one category. Completing Ella Musk's commissions to communicate with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent hilichurls]] can also reward you with Suspicious foods, painting the race as this.

** Doing poorly enough in the [[CookingMechanics cooking minigame]] will yield a "Suspicious" version of the dish. They're the inverse of foods with the "Delicious" quality, having reduced effects and unappetizing descriptions. Hu Tao's utility passive gives her a chance to make a Suspicious duplicate of any dish she cooks perfectly; the only reason you'd ever even use her over any character whose passive gives a chance to duplicate Delicious foods is that the proc rate on Hu Tao's passive is slightly higher in case you're fine with sacrificing quality for quantity, and it applies to all foods instead of just one category. Completing Ella Musk's commissions to communicate with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent hilichurls]] can also reward you with Suspicious foods, painting the race as this.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' Alphen's cooking is initially lethal thanks to his tendency to go overboard on spices. One skit has even has Alphen overcook a chicken to the point that it created a bunch of smoke which [[EpicFail convinced everyone that they were under enemy attack]]. He eventually grows out of this by the time he cooks the Mabo Curry recipe, with his friends coming to enjoy the meal much to his delight.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Both Luke and Natalia had pampered lifestyles, and never had to cook for themselves before. Natalia misunderstands basic cooking instructions to the point that a stew she tried to make catches fire. Luke isn't quite as bad, but is still a close second because [[SpoiledBrat he's an incredibly picky eater]][[note]]Even after CharacterDevelopment kicks in, for some reason[[/note]]. Guy could only comment that Luke's cooking was 'avant-grade'.

** Prior to ''Persona 3'' and ''4'', it's implied that Maya Amano from ''VideoGame/Persona2'' is an awful chef to the point that her roommate Ulala does most of the cooking. To supplement this, Maya's fridge is loaded with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood canned crab]].

* A recurring theme in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' is using cooking as a way to heal after battles. Inevitably, one party member will be a danger to themselves and their teammates the moment they get anywhere near cookware. The fun thing is that every Lethal Chef is lethal for a different reason:

** Diona is a bartender who actually despises alcohol and wants to drive people away from it, so she tries to be this with her drinks. However, [[BlessedWithSuck a blessing she received as a child]] causes people who sample the {{Gargle Blaster}}s she comes up with to [[SpringtimeForHitler end up liking them]] regardless of whatever bizarre and ordinarily hazardous ingredients she puts in her brews, making her more of a CordonBleughChef.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which turns the Meat and Seafood Fry into a noxious Monster Stew.[[note]]In ''Breath of the Wild'', it only gives you a quarter heart of health at best.[[/note]] The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with [[ExtremeOmnivore Link]] himself taking [[EvenTheRatsWontTouchIt a step back as well]]. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

** In VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes there is a small Forging Bonds tale centered on both male and female Kris, it's female Kris' story, confronting the fact that they're so bad at it. Even [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Felicia]] notes she can tell something's horribly wrong. They get over by learning to consider not making the best dish they can but simply one that does good enough for the situation.

** The Raiden Shogun, Ei, reveals that she cannot and refuses to cook at all, with the implication that [[NothingIsScarier something bad would happen if she does]]. Due to this, she cannot be used to cook in the cooking minigame, and she doesn't have a specialty dish.

** Xiangling flip-flops between this, SupremeChef, and CordonBleughChef. She likes to make dishes out of any ingredients possible, and the results tend to vary as much as you'd expect. In the second piece of her backstory, her attempted MagnumOpus gave her father diarrhea so bad that he had to spend the next two days eating only white congee.

** Diona is a bartender who actually despises alcohol and wants to drive people away from it, so she tries to be this with her drinks. However, a blessing she received as a child causes people who sample the {{Gargle Blaster}}s she comes up with to [[SpringtimeForHitler end up liking them]] regardless of whatever bizarre and ordinarily hazardous ingredients she puts in her brews, making her more of a CordonBleughChef.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which turns the Meat and Seafood Fry into a noxious Monster Stew.[[note]]In ''Breath of the Wild'', it only gives you a quarter heart of health at best.[[/note]] The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with [[ExtremeOmnivore Link]] himself taking [[EvenRatsWontTouchIt a step back as well]]. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which turns the Meat and Seafood Fry into a noxious Monster Stew.[[note]]In ''Breath of the Wild'', it only gives you a quarter heart of health at best.[[/note]] The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with [[ExtremeOmnivore Link]] himself taking a step back as well. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which causes the Meat and Seafood Fry to turn into a noxious Monster Stew.[[note]]In ''Breath of the Wild'', it only gives you a quarter heart of health at best.[[/note]] The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with [[ExtremeOmnivore Link]] himself taking a step back as well. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which causes the Meat and Seafood Fry to turn into a noxious Monster Stew.[[note]]Which could either give health or take it away[[/note]] The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with [[ExtremeOmnivore Link]] himself taking a step back as well. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

-->'''Sans:''' i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a Princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which causes the Meat and Seafood Fry to turn into a noxious Monster Stew.[[note]]Which could either give health or take it away[[/note]] The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with [[ExtremeOmnivore Link]] himself taking a step back as well. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': One cutscene shows Zelda cooking a meal for Link and the Hyrulean soldiers, using a Hylian Shroom, Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Fresh Milk as ingredients. Seems to be what you expect from [[SupremeChef a Princess]]. Then she happily adds her secret final ingredient, Monster Extract, into the pot, which causes the Meat and Seafood Fry to turn into a noxious Monster Stew. The knights panic at the sight and smell of her experimental recipe, with Link himself taking a step back as well. Considering how this Zelda once asked Link to eat a live frog for a science experiment, this is likely how she normally cooks.

* Papyrus from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' only knows how to cook spaghetti, though that's using a ''very'' generous definition of "knows". [[spoiler:He learned from Undyne, who struggles to make spaghetti without burning her own house down due to her HotBlooded nature getting the better of her.]]

** Then there's [[spoiler:Chara]], who ended up putting buttercups into a cake due to a {{Spoonerism}} (they were meant to put in ''cups of butter''). As one may be able to tell, atleast one monster ended up getting sick due to buttercup poisoning. Then again, given the fact that they [[spoiler:a literal child and would thus be much more vulnerable to making [[{{Spoonerism}} Spoonerisms]] compared to an adult]] does excuse them... somewhat.

** Doing poorly enough in the cooking minigame will yield a "Suspicious" version of the dish. They're the inverse of foods with the "Delicious" quality, having reduced effects and unappetizing descriptions. Hu Tao's utility passive gives her a chance to make a Suspicious duplicate of any dish she cooks perfectly; the only reason you'd ever even use her over any character whose passive gives a chance to duplicate Delicious foods is that the proc rate on Hu Tao's passive is slightly higher in case you're fine with sacrificing quality for quantity, and it applies to all foods instead of just one category. Completing Ella Musk's commissions to communicate with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent hilichurls]] can also reward you with Suspicious foods, painting the race as this.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Link's main method of recovering hearts is based around foraging the wilds for fruits, vegetables, herbs and meat, and cooking them into various meals. Of course, a bad combination results in Dubious Food, a dish so bad that it's CensoredForComedy, and Link visibly has trouble keeping it down. Additionally, using [[EatDirtCheap gems and ores]] results in Rock-Hard Food, a staple of Goron cuisine which Link nearly breaks his teeth on.