Winning the Cooking Contest in Sunshine Islands

Players frequently ask how to win the Cooking Contest both in Island of Happiness and in Sunshine Islands. What was conceived initially as a simple post became a video tutorial.

Here is the video:



The placement of your entry by Pierre, the presiding judge, in both games is determined by Energy Values. In other words, the higher the SR (Stamina Recovery) and FL (Fullness) values are, the more likely it is that you will win 1st Place and take home a Wonderful.

My Island of Happiness Recipes Cookbook Guide and my Sunshine Islands Recipes Cookbook Guide each contain all vital details with respect to each Recipe that you can make in these games. You will find the Basic Recipe, its Shipping Value and Energy Value, the method by which the Recipe is obtained initially as well as lists of any optional ingredients that can be added to the Basic Recipe to improve Stamina Recovery and/or Fullness.

Links to all my Guides always can be found on the right side of this page.

Although this video tutorial uses the 3rd Year Contest in Sunshine Islands for all examples, the basic principles apply to every year and both games.

Note that Shipping Values both in Island of Happiness and in Sunshine Islands always are approximate or 'average' values rather than representing the precise Values for any specific Dish that a player may cook in his/her Kitchen. The reason for this is that each item has Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness values that will determine the final Shipping Value for that specific item.

The Energy Values for these Dishes are the values for the Basic Dish without any addition of optional ingredients.

As I have cautioned players repeatedly, you need to be very aware of your own Energy Levels when fishing during a Festival as you will be unable to view your Stamina and Fullness bars. Pay attention to the physical gestures that your Character makes. At the halfway mark in terms of Stamina, he/she will wave one hand in front of his/her body. It is at this point that you should eat an item to restore lost stamina in order to protect yourself from potential unconsciousness. You can wait until the last possible moment, when your Character's knees buckle and he/she bends and claps hands together in desperation, but that is dangerous... By eating at the halfway point, you can relax a bit and focus on fishing.

Another warning: Make certain that you frequently organise your Rucksack during a Festival if you are fishing. Each item you catch will occupy a different slot, although items of the same genre can be stacked. The fact that each item has its own Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness means that you could fill every slot in your entire Rucksack with Small Fish or Branches or whatever, simply if each item varies in one of the categories. Most of the time, items of the same genre will not be identical in every respect and therefore will not stack automatically. If you catch an item but have NO empty slots in your Rucksack, your Character automatically will toss it back into the water. This involuntary rejection of the item may not constitute littering as the Witch Princess does not appear to comment delightedly upon your wicked ways, but it would be a shame to be forced to toss out a Large Fish or Fish Fossil...

Incidentally, fishing during a Festival may be a more important strategy in Sunshine Islands than in many other Harvest Moon games because there is only one grade of Fishing Rod and the items that you will be able to catch therefore depend on your Fishing Skill Levels and nothing else. Quantity therefore is far more important than quality in the initial stages of the game. As time always is precious, the only occasions on which you can fish without worrying about the clock are during a Festival or other Events on Meadow Island. There are a few Events that occur on other Islands that will allow you to fish if you seize the opportunity before the Event ends. (An Event that ends automatically will not allow any fishing but one that allows you to speak to participants afterwards will.)