Forums » Art & Creativity » Official Contest: Cooking 2026

What’s a birthday without a special meal and a cake? Treat the RPR to a special something for its 16th birthday!

To enter:
In this contest, you must bake or cook something. Post pictures or the recipe -- bonus points for both! Please explain in your post why you chose the meal, and how it relates to the theme.

Your entry must somehow be themed to fit one of these categories:

• The RP Repository
• Fantasy
• Science Fiction
• Science, Gaming or other Nerdly Pursuits

A cake with an RPR slogan in icing? Yes please. Your recreation of the “coney stew” that Samwise Gamgee prepared for Frodo while they were on the long path to Moria? Absolutely. Rock candy you somehow crafted into perfect d20s? Genius!

You cannot enter pictures of food other people created, nor post copyrighted recipes; ie something you got out of a cookbook or magazine. Make sure it’s truly your culinary creation.

You may use molds and other special tools, so long as they are in support of a larger effort, not just something you purchased and submitted. For example, if you were to simply submit a picture of a chocolate millennium falcon you made by pouring white chocolate into a purchased mold, you would be disqualified. If on the other hand you used the resultant chocolate spaceship as part of an asteroid-field battle themed scene cake, that would be okay.

Prizes:

• 2026 RPR tote bag - (Real life prize - we’ll ship one to you) Totebags won in contests have some surprises inside them! Please note that I won’t be able to ship this until after the genre mascot art contest completes and we know what this design will be.
  
• Greater Wand of Epicness - Grants 6 months of Epic Membership
• Wand of Epicness - Grants 3 months of Epic Membership
• Dragon's tooth - 5 extra permanent character slots
• 3 Enchanted Silk Cloaks - 3 extra permanent character slots

The first place winner will get to pick any one of these prizes. Then second place picks from the remaining prizes, then third, etc.

Deadline:
The last day to post a submission is June 7th

I have several surgical procedures scheduled for right after Epic Week, so you’re all getting a LOT of time to enter the contests while I recover this year!

Hehehe I was hoping for this one I recently came across a culinary monstrosity I'd like to recreate.

I made some really awful stew once. Your mention of Sam's coney stew had me consider trying to make the stew again, only I'll call it 'Eowyn's Stew' (from the 'stew scene' in the extended Two Towers movie)

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Ok... I made 'stew' on Sunday because it was a chilly rainy day. What I came up with is probably a cross between Eowyn's stew she tried to serve Aragorn on the road to Helms Deep and Samwise's coney stew he made in Ithilien. I didn't have rabbit so I used chicken. I tried to document what I did. I sort of do my cooking instruction a little in the style of 'Nat's What I Reckon' cooking YouTube videos.

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(Mordor?)


Make sure it’s truly your culinary creation.
It was. I sort of used what I had on hand mixed with a quick grocery run. I know there are a lot of variations on chicken stew out there. I hope this qualifies me.



Eowyn and Samwise's 'On the Road' stew.


Stuff

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 or 3 (or as many as you want) rashers of smoked bacon, chopped into roughly 1 centimetre bits.
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or more, or chicken breast, or rabbit... etc.)
• 2 fair-sized potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (Creme Royal or Yukon Gold work best, but I used basic bulk Russets for mine)
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1500 ml chicken stock (I used three cartons of the Campbell's salt-reduced stock which are 500ml each. That's roughly 6 cups)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• A handful fresh chopped parsley (My parsley was yellow and wilted so I didn't add this)
  
• Salt to taste. (Mine was salty enough with the bacon)

What to do

• Heat the Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large sauce pan (or pot) over medium heat.
• Add the smoked bacon and cook until it starts to brown.
• Add the chopped brown onions into the pot and stir until they start to soften.
• Mince the garlic cloves into the pot and stir.
• Saute the mix for a minute or so. Don't burn the garlic!
• Place the chicken thighs on top of the bacon-onion-garlic mix in the pot.
• Add the sliced potatoes, carrots, celery, chicken broth, thyme, and black pepper.
• Let simmer on medium until the potatoes become very soft and the broth thickens. It took 35-40 minutes for me.
• Remove the chicken thighs from the pot.
• Use two forks to shred the chicken. Add it back to the pot and stir.
  Taste and salt if you think it's needed. I didn't add salt as I used enough bacon to make it just about right. My dad salted it a bit in his bowl.
• Serve in a bowl with buttered crusty bread. Add a sprinkle of chopped parsley over the top of the served bowl if you have it.

Here is my finished product for lunch a day later as I forgot to take a photo of it fresh. Don't mind the chipped stoneware. A result of moving so much. I suppose I could have put the spoon handle over the chip...
Oh my. I do hope all goes well and you recover swiftly.

[img]https://ibb.co/qL662ZdR[/img]
[img]<a href="https://ibb.co/qL662ZdR"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/rK99XWmZ/Dream-Patoes.jpg" alt="Dream-Patoes" border="0"></a>[/img]

What you will need:
~2 medium-large potatoes (russet works best, but any large brown variety will do) or a pound of baby potatoes
~ A skillet or frying pan
~ cooking oil (I prefer olive oil for its health benefits)
~ seasoning salt
~ garlic powder (or fresh if you have time and want to be fancy)
~ onion powder
~ bacon bits
~ goat cheese (I recommend about 5 Oz or half a log, but measure with your heart)
~ fork
~ wooden paddle for cooking



Recipe:
1)Wash and dry the potatoes
2) Cube the potatoes
3) Heat the skillet/frying pan with oil, then toss in the cubed potatoes
4) Cover the potatoes in the skillet with a lid and let them cook, turning them over occasionally, until they are soft
{4.5) optional step: dice fresh garlic}
5) Once the potatoes are soft, add the seasonings and mix
6) Add the bacon bits and mix until potatoes and bacon are crispy
7) Transfer the beacon and potatoes into a salad bowl
8) Use a fork to crumble the goat cheese into the bowl with the potatoes and bacon, then mix to combine
9) Enjoy!!

This dish is best served hot and is tied to RPR because it's something more or less specific I craved, like a particular story, and it's reminiscent of something I had once and enjoyed but couldn't find again, at least to my satisfaction, and so I made it just like we come together to make stories based on cravings and desires here on RPR.

Excuses if this just explodes the set frame of rules, it’s just a funny joke. As I can’t cook (cf Trick or treat with Lizbeth) I thought of this:

Rucola
Paprika
Radish

and the Mayonnaise just sets

…I’m out of here

Phew skirting in just before the time is up

From the moment I saw this monstrosity / sculptural art in Pokemon ZA I knew I had to recreate it.

Taunie / Urbain's croissant curry.

I call this... "Not Your Grammeowster's Monster Meal!" Yes, that's right! It's inspired by the Grammeowster Chef from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne! That is, her signature meal, of course, featuring a broccoli-laden stewed meat, a piping-hot gratin, and a side of bread and cheeses, with a bowl of sauce or soup on the side, too. I've made mine a little differently than what fare seems to be most popularly featured by Seliana's best, but as all Hunters and their pals know, you do the best with what you've got! Nya!

So, whether it's Aptonoth or Kelbi, insects and mushrooms, or super veggies and tubers, monster hunters and their ilk always cook up a big feast! In this case, we've used something similar to Mosswine as the base of our meal, and we reduced the amount of potatoes, because, um... that's a lot! Even for a family of monster hunters such as ours! It's also a stovetop pot roast, no coals and fires, because that's just the kind of kitchen we have, nya!

You will need:
For the Pot Roast:
1 pork shoulder butt roast, bone-in, about 8lbs
Some rendered bacon fat (about 2-3 TBSP)
3 TBSP garlic powder
2 TBSP salt, plus more to taste
2 tsps cracked pepper
1 pinch cinnamon
1½ tsps paprika
2 tsps sage
2 TBSP prepared mustard (the yellow bottled kind, not the spicy powder! Although that would probably taste good, too!)
1 sprig rosemary
2 small sprigs thyme
~5 cups water, or ~4½cups water and ½ cup brewed coffee
1-2 fresh heads of broccoli, rinsed well

For the potatoes au gratin
6 small potatoes, washed
½ lb mozzarella or other melty cheese (I used mozzarella and a bit of pepper-Jack)
1 tsp cracked pepper
½ tsp salt
Light sprinkle ground nutmeg
⅔ cup flour
1 cup milk, plus ½ cup extra
2 cups water
6 TBSP butter
1 small onion

For the gravy:
~½ cup flour, mixed with a little water at a time into a thick runny slurry
2 cups broth and (optional) rendered fat/grease from pot roast
Salt and pepper to taste

So, I started with searing the meat in the pot, fat-side down, atop the bacon grease. It was a lot of meat and I knew I wouldn't be able to fit potatoes, too, alongside the roast and broccoli, if broccoli was even possible. So, I added salt, cinnamon, paprika, and garlic, and decided not to worry about it. I poured about half a cup of water slowly over the seasonings on the pork, hoping to hydrate them so they wouldn't burn onto the pot. It wasn't quite enough so I added some more water. Unfortunately, this ended up boiling the pork before searing it, but I had already poured it so I made do!

Nyan, you bet I did!
I cooked it on medium-low until most of the water evaporated, and then before I seasoned the meat with the rest of the flavorful spices and seasoning things, I did a very silly thing and tried to flip it.
I just wanted to use some implements to turn it right over... You have to be really meowscular for this, and have an almost feline sorta agility also. I used a spatula and a pair of tongs, which were not quite strong enough to simply grasp and lift and turn the meat, and I achieved a saucy splattering of hot grease from my elbow to armpit. Don't do that. I ended up just sort of massaging the meat with the tongs in attempt to pick it up, until I was able to grab it between the bone and the top surface, and scoop up the bottom with the spatula for a heavy flip.

You should probably do something different, though. Probably use a bigger pot for this. Or, simply let the meat rest a little at OFF temperature, before turning the meat and restarting the cooking again with the added water, etc., which would also reduce your risk of grease burns from pouring water straight into the hot oil. Haha.

I added sage and pepper and mustard, then the remaining water and coffee, which I hoped would give it a robust aroma (and flavor). I was right!
Then after a little while when it started to bubble and I was confident that the temperature was stable I put on the lid. After a while I turned it to even *lower* medium, and waited for it to slow down from a moderately high boil to a low boil or medium one.... which it didn't until I turned it down even further and cocked the lid!
I let the pot roast stay as it was at a medium bubble, occasionally taking off the lid to smell it, for about 3 hours, and then I turned it to low and cooked it for 2 more hours at a slightly less medium bubble. At some point during this time (later than I should have because I like to imagine Chef breathing down my neck with a timer, NOT, haha) I started my potatoes au gratin. I preheated the oven to 375F. I diced some onion into small pieces, sauteed it with butter, burnt some of the onion but scooped it out successfully, added flour, and stirred. I had added too much flour for the butter I had used, so I added some more butter, which was cold and took a little time to melt. (I don't think that changed anything, but who knows? Science! Accurate recording! That's the kind of Hunter I am!) I added some milk and mixed the roux into it somewhat laboriously. It got too thick to stir the lumps out properly, so I added water, too. Finally it was a thick but creamy and spreadable texture. I turned the heat off and kept stirring so it wouldn't cook too much further. I added cracked pepper. I washed and cut up my small potatoes into ¼-inch slices, leaving the skin on because we need all the vitamins we can eat nya nya! I spread a layer over the bottom of a glass pan, layered most of the potato slices, and spread a thicker layer of white sauce over. I added a thinner layer of potato slices and then the last of the sauce, and I salted it lightly and sprinkled on little dashes of nutmeg. I thought the sauce looked too thick, so I evenly poured the extra ½ cup of milk over the top of the top layer. I put it in the oven to heat up while I grated cheese, then added the cheese to the pan, and then about 10 minutes after I added cheese I turned the oven temperature down to 350F and covered the pan with a loose layer of foil.



About 45 minutes before the roast was done, I turned its temperature back up to the lowest medium setting, cut up my broccoli and poked it in around the edges, put the lid on again, took it off to take out the bone, and so I could add thyme and rosemary (rinsed, and lightly rolled in my hands before it was inserted into the broth), and put the lid back on. About 25-30 minutes before it was done, I skimmed off some grease and I scooped out some broth, quickly strained them in their big pan, and made a flour and water slurry for the gravy. At a low boil, I poured the slurry a few tablespoons at a time and mixed vigorously until the gravy began to form. It had a little trouble coming together, began to smooth out, then emulsified wonderfully, and then split, so I think I had the heat too high. I'm not sure. I stirred the heck out of it and then added more water, and it emulsified again after a few minutes. I lightly salted it. It later split again as it cooled, but it stayed pretty for pictures.





Somewhere between gravy panic and gravy delight, I checked the broccoli for doneness and turned off the pot. I let the meat rest for about 20 minutes with the lid on, and heat off. When the potatoes were bubbling and browning at the edges, I put them on Broil instead of Bake. I turned the oven off and left it cracked open as soon as the cheese was gilded with little brown bubbles.
I also tested the potatoes with a fork to make sure they were soft and the sauce was smooth. I didn't time them very well but I'd say they cooked for about 40 minutes.




I served all this tableside, with yesterday's soft yeast loaf, and a wedge of parmesan that was mostly for aesthetic purposes because this is really more of a roast than a stew. The roast tasted harmoniously meaty and fragrant, gently fatty rich broth flavors with a robust undertone and herbal highlights, and was quite soft and juicy. The broccoli was surprisingly delicious with rosemary and thyme flavors seeped all the way into it, and it would have been great if there were more of it (hence the recipe's option for 2 heads. Got a pot bigger than 2 gallons? Perfect). The potatoes were soft and creamy with simple but lovely flavor notes (creamy, earthy, warm, sweet-spicy-onion-cheese). The gravy was a nice finishing touch of extra meaty flavor to round out the complexity, and the bread brought the gourmet palate back to homey indulgent leisure.
Thank you for reading my giant recipe and cooking endeavors! I'll be back to edit it shortly with pictures. QUEST CLEARED

This looks so good. Huhuhuhuhu