The short version
30-second read- 1-tick karambwans are fastest from 30. They run 464,000 to 950,000 XP an hour, take roughly 15 hours to 99 and end about 7.7M up at wiki prices.
- Jugs of wine stop failing at 68. Below that failed jugs become bad wine for no XP, and 68 to 99 costs about 5.3M over 25.5 hours.
- Fish pay best but take longest. Tuna to anglerfish is about 47 hours from 30 and finishes roughly 11.2M up, mostly from anglerfish.
- 1-tick next to a bank, not in Hosidius. Rogues' Den, the Myths' Guild and inner Mor Ul Rek beat Hosidius by 10–20%, and gauntlets do nothing for karambwans.
Cooking 1–99 at a Glance
1-tick karambwans are the fastest Cooking XP, from 464,000 an hour at 30 to 950,000 at 99, and jugs of wine reach 470,000–490,000 from 68 without any tick tricks. Karambwans, sharks and anglerfish all finish their level ranges in profit at wiki prices; wines cost about 5.3M from 68.
The XP rates and profit totals below come from the OSRS Wiki’s Cooking training page, checked on 14 October 2026. They are the wiki's figures for efficient play, so expect to land a little under them. XP per hour barely moves, but the profit on fish and the cost of wines follow the Grand Exchange, so recheck prices before you buy in bulk.
1-Tick Karambwans vs Wines vs Fish
Almost every 99 Cooking comes from one of these three, and they trade XP, attention and GP against each other. Figures are from the wiki's Cooking training page on 14 October 2026 prices; the fish column follows the tuna, lobster, monkfish, shark and anglerfish ladder.
| Detail | 1-tick karambwans | Jugs of wine | Fish (tuna to anglerfish) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts at | 30, after Tai Bwo Wannai Trio | 35, but bad wine until 68 | 30 (cooking gauntlets from lobsters up) |
| XP/hr | 464,000 at 30 to 950,000 at 99 | 470,000–490,000 from 68 | 85,000 (tuna) to 330,000 (anglerfish) |
| Hours | About 15 for 30–99 | About 25.5 for 68–99 | About 47 for 30–99 |
| GP over the stretch | About +7.7M | About −5.3M | About +11.2M |
| Attention | Very high: one click every tick | High: 14 wines every 16.8 seconds | Low: 67.2 seconds per inventory |
| Best for | Mains who can hold the rhythm | Mains who will not tick-manipulate, F2P | AFK, profit, Ironman food |
Verdict: 1-tick karambwans if you can click on the tick for about 15 hours and want to be paid for it; jugs of wine if you want the fastest XP with normal clicking and accept a 5.3M bill; fish if you want to half-watch and finish richer than you started.
The option people forget is normal-speed karambwans: 141,000–273,000 XP an hour in the Hosidius kitchen, about +8.7M over 30–99 and roughly 50 hours of very low effort.
Pick Your Method
Every XP rate here is the wiki's figure for efficient play. GP per XP is profit (+) or cost (−) at 14 October 2026 Grand Exchange prices.
| Method | Levels | XP/hr | GP per XP | Attention | Requirements | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poison karambwans, 1-tick | 1–30 | 1 to 30 in under ten minutes | About −126,000 total (500 raws) | Very high | None | Mains rushing 30 |
| Fish ladder, sardine to salmon | 1–30 | Slower, not given by the wiki | −0.12 to −6.41 | Low | None | Cheap start, Ironman, F2P |
| Karambwans, 1-tick | 30–99 | 464,000–950,000 | +0.59 | Very high | Tai Bwo Wannai Trio | Main, fastest |
| Karambwans, normal speed | 30–99 | 141,000–273,000 | +0.67 | Low | Tai Bwo Wannai Trio; Hosidius kitchen to 96 | AFK profit |
| Jugs of wine | 68–99 | 470,000–490,000 | −0.43 | High | Grapes and jugs of water (35 to make) | Fast without ticking, F2P |
| Bake Pie | 10–99 | 147,000 (redberry) to 490,000 (summer pie) | Mostly −3.57 to −12.69 | Medium | Lunar Diplomacy; also 113,100 Magic XP/hr | Magic XP on the side |
| Lobster to monkfish | 40–80 | 120,000–200,000 | −0.22 to +0.33 | Low | Cooking gauntlets help | AFK, food |
| Shark to anglerfish | 80–99 | 275,000–330,000 | +0.97 to +1.08 | Low | Gauntlets; Hosidius elite diary from 84 | AFK profit |
| Servery pineapple pizza (Hosidius Mess) | 65+ | 150,000–200,000 | Free | Very high (hop worlds) | 65 Cooking | Ironman, UIM |
Short version: karambwans at either speed are the best value from 30, wines are the fastest XP that needs no tick timing, and fish are what you cook when you want food or GP at the end.
Cooking 1–99 XP Rates by Level
Cooking is one of the few skills where the fastest route and a profitable route are close together. Karambwans from 30 and anglerfish from 84 both end in profit over the full stretch, and jugs of wine are fast and cheap from 68.
| Levels | Method | XP/hr | Total GP over the range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–30 | Poison karambwan, 1-tick | 1 to 30 in under ten minutes | About −126k for 500 raws |
| 30–99 | Karambwan, 1-tick | 464,000 at 30 to 950,000 at 99 | +7.7M |
| 30–99 | Karambwan, normal speed | 141,000 to 273,000 | +8.7M |
| 30–40 | Tuna | 85,000–100,000 | About break-even |
| 40–68 | Lobster | 120,000–165,000 | −123k |
| 68–80 | Monkfish (or swordfish) | 165,000–200,000 | +455k (swordfish +230k) |
| 68–99 | Jugs of wine | 470,000–490,000 | −5.3M |
| 80–84 | Shark | 275,000–285,000 | +1.0M |
| 84–99 | Anglerfish | 305,000–330,000 | +9.8M |
| 91–99 | Manta ray (alternative) | 285,000–300,000 | +8.2M |
Karambwans need Tai Bwo Wannai Trio. Without it every raw karambwan you cook turns into a poison karambwan. Wines need level 35 to make, but below 68 some jugs turn to bad wine and give no XP, so the method really starts at 68. The wiki puts 68 to 99 on wines at about 62,000 jugs and 25.5 hours.
Hours to 99 Cooking
Hours are XP or items needed divided by the wiki's rate, rounded. The XP gaps come from the wiki's Experience table.
| Route | XP needed | Rate used | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–30, 1-tick poison karambwans | 13,363 | 168 successful cooks | Under 10 minutes |
| 30–99, 1-tick karambwans | 13,021,068 | 5,000 karambwans an hour (75,185 needed) | About 15 |
| 30–99, normal-speed karambwans | 13,021,068 | 1,385–1,435 karambwans an hour (71,289 needed) | About 50 |
| 68–99, jugs of wine | 12,429,399 | 470,000–490,000 XP/hr (62,147 jugs) | About 25.5 |
| 30–99, fish (tuna to anglerfish) | 13,021,068 | 1,365 fish an hour at Hosidius (64,392 raws) | About 47 |
| 84–99, anglerfish only | 10,083,058 | 305,000–330,000 XP/hr | About 31–33 |
On the wine route, add the time to reach 68 first: 591,669 XP from level 30, which 1-tick karambwans clear in about an hour at their 30–70 rates.
Cooking 1–99 Level Path
Cooking breaks into five stages between level 1 and 99. Skip the fish ladder at any point if you have done Tai Bwo Wannai Trio and want karambwans instead.
- 1
1–30: Cook’s Assistant (300 XP), then either 1-tick poison karambwans (no quest needed, 168 successful cooks, buy at least 500 raws because early burns are high) or sardines, herring, mackerel, trout, pike and salmon in five-level steps.
- 2
30–40: tuna, or karambwans once Tai Bwo Wannai Trio is done.
- 3
40–68: lobsters.
With cooking gauntlets they stop burning at 64 on a normal range.
- 4
68–80: jugs of wine, or swordfish and monkfish if you want sellable food.
- 5
80–99: sharks, then anglerfish from 84 for the profit.
Where You Cook and What You Wear Decide Your Burn Rate
Cooking has no tools to buy. The whole equipment question is about burning less, and there are three separate levers for that: the heat source, your gloves, and eventually the cape.
| Choice | Effect on burning |
|---|---|
| Fire | Burns most often at a given level, and some foods cannot be cooked on one at all |
| Standard range | Burns less than a fire at the same Cooking level |
| Hosidius Kitchen range | Needs the easy Kourend & Kebos diary. Adds 5% to your success chance, or 10% with the elite diary |
| Lumbridge Castle range | Needs Cook’s Assistant. Lowers the burn level of low-level foods such as trout, salmon and pies |
| Cooking gauntlets | A Family Crest reward. Sharply cuts burning on lobster, swordfish, monkfish, cooked kyatt, shark and anglerfish, and does nothing for karambwans |
| Cooking cape | Bought at 99. While you wear it you never burn food, and unlike the gauntlets it covers every food |
The gauntlets only cover that fixed list of fish, so if your plan is to cook something outside it, the location you pick is doing all the work. The levels where the main foods stop burning, from the wiki's Cooking/Burn level page:
| Food | Range, no gloves | Cooking gauntlets | Gauntlets + Hosidius (easy diary) | Gauntlets + Hosidius (elite diary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lobster | 74 | 64 | 60 | Already safe by 84 |
| Monkfish | 90 | 86 | 82 | Already safe by 84 |
| Shark | Still burns at 99 | 94 | 89 | 84 |
| Anglerfish | Still burns at 99 | 97 | 93 | 87 |
| Karambwan | 99 | No effect | 93 (Hosidius alone) | 87 (Hosidius alone) |
Fastest XP Methods
1-tick karambwans are the fastest Cooking XP in the game: about 464,000 an hour at 30, climbing to 950,000 at 99. They take constant attention.
Jugs of wine are the fastest method without tick manipulation, at up to 490,000 XP an hour from 68. Unfermented wines ferment, for 200 XP each, once 12 seconds pass without you making another.
If you would rather not do either, sharks and anglerfish give 275,000 to 330,000 XP an hour and make money.
Where to 1-tick karambwans
Use a fire or range right next to a bank. The wiki names three: the everlasting fire in Rogues' Den under the Burthorpe pub, the stove in the Myths' Guild (Dragon Slayer II) and the sulphur vent in inner Mor Ul Rek, which you can only enter by showing a fire cape. The Hosidius kitchen is 10–20% slower for 1-ticking because the bank is further away, even though it burns less.
The wiki's rates assume 5,000 karambwans an hour at Rogues' Den, with 5,470 as the ceiling. Cooking gauntlets do not change the karambwan burn rate, so they make no difference here.
1–30 without the quest
Before Tai Bwo Wannai Trio every karambwan you cook comes out as a poison karambwan, which still gives 80 XP. 1-ticking them takes you from 1 to 30 in under ten minutes: you need 168 successful cooks, but buy at least 500 raw karambwans because the burn rate is high early. The wiki prices that at about 126,000 coins lost. If you will not tick-manipulate, cook the fish ladder instead; it is cheaper for similar XP.
Bake Pie
After Lunar Diplomacy, Bake Pie cooks a pie every 3 ticks instead of 4 and pies never burn. The wiki gives 147,000 XP an hour on redberry pies up to 490,000 on summer pies, plus 113,100 Magic XP an hour, but most pies run at a loss and some have thin trading volume.
Cheapest / Budget Approach
Buy raw fish, cook it and sell the cooked fish only when the margin is there after GE tax.
The Hosidius range bonus and cooking gauntlets together cut the number of raws you burn, which is where most of the money goes on lobsters and sharks.
The two cheapest routes per XP both pay you: normal-speed karambwans at about +0.67 GP per XP and anglerfish at about +0.97, on 14 October 2026 prices.
Never buy the fastest food without checking its burn level and the GE tax first.
AFK & Lower-Intensity Options
Cooking is bankstanding with an inventory every minute or so. Semi-AFK at best.
Normal-speed karambwans and high-level fish are the calm options. Wines need a click every few seconds.
A full inventory of fish takes 67.2 seconds to cook, so with banking expect 1,300–1,400 fish an hour. Spots next to a bank, like the Myths' Guild and Rogues' Den, reach about 1,435.
Keep the same bank preset every trip so you do not burn a thousand sharks because you looked away mid-inventory.
Practical Tips That Actually Matter
- Finish Family Crest early. Caleb in Catherby turns the steel gauntlets into cooking gauntlets (25,000 coins if they already carry another enchantment), and after Family Pest he hands them over free.
- The easy Kourend & Kebos diary unlocks the Hosidius Kitchen ranges. The elite diary raises the bonus from 5% to 10%.
- Ironmen should cook what they catch, so train Fishing and Cooking as a pair.
Ironman Notes
Cooking is the cheapest skill on an Ironman to reach a useful level in, because the raw material is whatever your Fishing already caught. The trap is treating it as a separate project. Cook as you fish and the skill mostly finishes itself.
What deserves actual planning is the food you want at the end. Wines and low-level fish are fine for the level; sharks and anglerfish are what your raid inventory needs, and those come from a Fishing level you may not have yet. Our Fishing guide covers that side.
Ironman route
- 1
1–18: Gertrude's Cat, Cook's Assistant and the Mountain Dwarf and Goblin generals parts of Recipe for Disaster give 3,825 XP.
- 2
15–28: cook the trout and salmon you fly-fish.
Shilo Village has a bank close by, and Barbarian Village has a permanent fire at the spots.
- 3
28–65: sweetcorn from the Kastori ovens (up to 70,000 XP an hour at 54), or cakes from an oak larder from 40 (50,000–70,000 XP an hour, needs 33 Construction).
- 4
65+: servery pineapple pizzas in the Hosidius Mess for 150,000–200,000 XP an hour with no supplies, or karambwans once you have 65 Fishing and Tai Bwo Wannai Trio.
- 5
68+: jugs of wine from Zulrah or Vorkath grapes, or grapes from the Culinaromancer's Chest; Humidify fills the empty jugs.
Tai Bwo Wannai Trio on an Ironman needs a 4-dose agility potion, which most irons make at 34 Herblore, and 65 Fishing if you burn the karambwan the quest gives you. Route details are on the wiki's Ironman Cooking guide.
Ultimate Ironman
- 1-tick karambwans bought from Tiadeche's stall and cooked on a fire run from 195,300 XP an hour at 30 to 400,000 at 99, but you need a second account to light the fires.
- Noted grapes from Zulrah, Vorkath or the Kalphite Queen make wines at up to 280,000 XP an hour, with Humidify (Dream Mentor) for the jugs.
- The Hosidius Mess needs no supplies at all and is one of the fastest UIM methods from 65. Figures are from the UIM Cooking guide.
Hardcore, pures and F2P
- 1
HCIM:
cooking itself carries no risk, but the grape supply can. Zulrah and Vorkath are where Ironmen get grapes in bulk, so a hardcore may prefer the Culinaromancer's Chest or growing grapes at the Hosidius vinery. Mor Ul Rek needs a fire cape to enter, so without one use Rogues' Den or the Myths' Guild for karambwans.
- 2
Pures:
Cooking does not raise combat level, so any build can train it, and cooked karambwans (18 Hitpoints, usable for combo eating) are worth having on any build.
- 3
F2P:
karambwans are members-only. F2P's fastest XP is jugs of wine from 35, at 470,000–490,000 an hour from 68, and the Cooks' Guild (32 Cooking and a chef's hat) has free grape and jug spawns. Trout and salmon on the permanent fire at Barbarian Village are the cheap route. See the wiki's F2P Cooking page and our F2P training guide.
Common Mistakes
- 1
Making big batches of wine below 68.
Failed jugs become bad wine for 0 XP. Below 68, make only enough wines for the next level plus a few spares, then stop for 12 seconds and let them ferment.
- 2
1-ticking karambwans in the Hosidius kitchen.
The longer bank run costs 10–20% of the XP and invites misclicks. Use Rogues' Den, the Myths' Guild or inner Mor Ul Rek, and keep Hosidius for normal-speed karambwans up to 96.
- 3
Buying 168 raw karambwans for 1–30.
That is the number of successful cooks, not raws. Burns are high at low levels, so the wiki says to buy at least 500.
- 4
Expecting gauntlets to save karambwans, or sharks to stop burning without them.
Gauntlets only cover lobster, swordfish, cooked kyatt, monkfish, shark and anglerfish, so karambwans burn the same with or without them. Without gauntlets, sharks still burn at 99 on a fire or plain range; with them they stop at 94.
- 5
Cooking fish for profit without checking the margin.
On 14 October 2026 lobsters lost about 123,000 over 40–68 while monkfish made about 455,000 over 68–80. Check raw and cooked prices after tax before you buy thousands.
When Paid Training Makes Sense
Wines from 68 cost about 5.3M over 25.5 hours; anglerfish from 84 make about 9.8M but run at 305,000–330,000 XP an hour. Karambwans from 30 make money at either speed, about 7.7M on 1-tick and 8.7M at normal speed, but only once Tai Bwo Wannai Trio is done.
Pick one of those and send it with your current level through our Cooking page. Every level is cooked by hand on your account.
FAQ
What is the fastest way to get 99 Cooking?
1-tick karambwans, at 464,000 XP an hour from 30 up to 950,000 at 99, about 15 hours in total. Without tick manipulation, jugs of wine from 68 at 470,000–490,000 XP an hour.
Wines to 99?
From 68, yes. Jugs stop failing at 68 and give 200 XP each, and the wiki puts 68 to 99 at about 25.5 hours for roughly 5.3M gp. Before 68, failed jugs become bad wine and give nothing.
Do jugs of wine ever fail?
Yes, below 68. You will often read that wine never fails because there is no fire to burn it on. It cannot burn, but below 68 Cooking a jug can turn into bad wine for 0 XP. From 68 every jug ferments for 200 XP, which is why the wine route really starts there.
When do sharks stop burning?
At 94 with cooking gauntlets, or 84 with gauntlets on the Hosidius range once the elite Kourend & Kebos diary is done. On a fire or a normal range without gauntlets they can still burn at 99. Only the Cooking cape stops all burning.
Where is the best place to 1-tick karambwans?
Next to a bank: the Rogues' Den fire, the Myths' Guild stove (Dragon Slayer II) or the inner Mor Ul Rek vent (fire cape needed). The Hosidius kitchen is 10–20% slower for 1-ticking. Cooking gauntlets do not affect karambwans.
How long does 99 Cooking take?
On the wiki's rates: about 15 hours from 30 on 1-tick karambwans, about 25.5 hours from 68 on wines, about 47 hours from 30 on fish and about 50 hours from 30 on normal-speed karambwans. Getting to 30 takes under ten minutes with poison karambwans. Estimates of 50 hours or more for the wine route are well off the wiki's figure.
What boosts Cooking?
Chef’s delight gives +1 plus 5% of your level, and the mature version +2 plus 5%, so +6 at level 80. Both lower Attack and Strength. Spicy stew with orange spice changes Cooking by up to 5 levels at random, up or down. The Cooking cape itself is a +1 boost.
Still stuck on a mechanic? Ask the team on our Discord, it is free.
Final Takeaway
For speed, finish Tai Bwo Wannai Trio and 1-tick karambwans next to a bank: about 15 hours from 30, and you finish about 7.7M richer. If you will not tick-manipulate, wines from 68 are the fastest normal-click XP for about 5.3M, and fish are the slow route that pays best.
Browse Cooking training, more skill guides, or the full blog for related progression help.
Sources
Numbers and mechanics on this page come from these 8 OSRS Wiki pages:
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