5 Secret Tips to Master Cooking Dash

The Time Management genre used to be the cornerstone of PC casual gaming, until a few years ago, when it found a new life on mobile. Cooking Dash proudly stands at the forefront of that change, being one of the first highly successful game of its kind. Cooking Dash is based on the iconic Time Management series, originated on PC, Diner Dash. Unlike its PC counterparts, Cooking Dash runs on a Free-To-Play model. This is great news because you can essentially play the game for free, but for someone who is as competitive (and impatient) as I am, it can also become frustrating and costly. Here are a few less-obvious Cooking Dash tips I have compiled during my years playing this addicting game!

Simple Must-Know Cooking Dash Tips

1. Pay Attention to Upcoming Events

One of the most helpful Cooking Dash tips I have ever come across is to regularly check for the upcoming events. This crucial information can be found on the game’s official Facebook page and the Customer Care section in the game itself. The Customer Care section usually lists the upcoming events for the next two weeks, which allows you to plan your upgrades and venue unlocks accordingly. For example, if Series Finale will be unlocked for a certain venue in the next week, I will make sure to portion much of my resources to upgrades for that venue, in order to prepare for the Series Finale and earn the special reward.

2. Use Prep Recipes and VIPs Strategically

As you progress further and further into the game, you will unlock a variety of Super Customers and VIPs. The Kitchen allows you the prepare special recipes to serve these customers and these recipes are extremely important to achieve a high score on a level (or sometimes, to pass it at all). Each VIP customer also has its “preferred” venue to be used in, in which Happy Hour will be activated. I do not personally find Happy Hour to be particularly useful, although it adds a little more time to the level and allows for more tips from customers.

The key to using VIP customers strategically is to experiment – mix and match different VIP with a different venue and see which works best to your advantage. A few examples would be I like to use Auto Serve in Enso Sushi, Adventurous Eats and Chew Orleans, Fast Flo in Table Steaks and Dinerland, and Time Bonuses in Big Belly Deli. I also find Prepmonition to be unnecessarily distracting.

3. Try Your Best in Trial of Style

Trial of Style is an in-game event that has you competing across venues with other players. My general goal is to try to rank in the top three of the leaderboard at the end of the event. this is because there is usually a drop-off in prizes from top three to fourth place. Several seasonal events will also reward you with special prizes if you rank in top three of Trial of Style. My Trial of Style strategy is a combination of the first and second tips. I mostly unlock or upgrade venues according to what is required for the upcoming Trial of Style, and spend the next few days racing through the required level threshold. It is also incredibly helpful if you use the “right” VIP for each Trial of Style venue.

4. Purchase Auto-Chefs

Yes, Auto-Chefs are expensive and can cost up to 200 or 300 gold. However, I often find them to be worthy of investment, especially because you do not need to spend an egregious amount of coins and gold to upgrade a number of prep stations. This is why it is vital to place in the top three of Trial of Style and complete event goals since the prizes are usually premium Prize Wheels and award you with Auto Chef tokens. These tokens can be used to apply for a significant discount on Auto Chefs. Also, do not forget to spin the free Deal Wheel daily!

5. Don’t Miss Out on Free Gold!

This might not sound like much of a tip, but you would not believe how many people forget that free gold does exist! By watching advertisement videos, Cooking Dash allows you to earn up to 8 free gold a day. In addition, you can also complete other Tapjoy offers, such as downloading games and signing up for free trials, and earn even more free gold. From time to time, there is also an event that offers you 2x the amount of gold for completing these offers. I usually take advantage of this event and stock up on gold for future upgrades and unlocks.

Love Cooking Dash? Help Flo manage restaurants and hotels in the newly-released Diner Dash Adventures!