zelink fixation

Link :

History :

He was taught the basics of cooking by his family when he was younger, and is most familiar with homemade comfort food. Even though he lost his memory, he never lost his basic cooking skills. It wasn't until he was forced to cook for himself on a daily basis during BOTW that he really developed his own style.

Food preferences :

Since he's experienced food from all over the kingdom, he's the opposite of picky. (I personally don't think he enjoyed eating that rock roast in AOC, but did it anyway to be polite.) Because he's very active, he prefers simple, filling meals over empty embellishments. He loves some grilled meat, and likes pairing it with filling sides like rice or lentils. To bump up the nutrition, he's happy to fill out his meals with any greens, mushrooms, or vegetables he can find. He's happy to have desserts when offered, but doesn't really crave sweets. At his core, Link is a meat and potatoes man. A major facet of his personality is loving potatoes in any form. Aside from potatoes, one of his favorite foods is a simple meat and rice bowl, with a savory sauce - it's quick to make, and always hits. Because he's always hungry and in a hurry, he tends to eat quickly, and sometimes messily.

Learning to cook :

Through a lot of trial and error, he's learned to make the most with whatever ingredients he can find. Having traveled all over, he's picked up a lot of unique cooking techniques, which he now combines in ways no else does.

Cooking strengths :

He enjoys the challenge of limitations. He can do more with 5 ingredients and salt, than almost anyone. Being a frequent hunter, he excels at cooking meats. Since he's always on the go, one pot meals that will keep you full for hours are his go to (he considers a slow cooked stew a rare luxury). He's very much a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of cook. He considers recipes to be a guideline. He has no patience for measuring, preferring to eyeball it. Once he gets the feel for a certain dish or a flavor profile, he can usually recreate it. Always needing flavors for simple ingredients, he becomes a spice hoarder. His favorite dessert to make is pies. Pie pastry is more forgiving than cakes, and he likes that there's lots of options for filling. (I'm a pie maker, so I had to make Link one too.)

Cooking weaknesses :

Because Link is so used to throwing things together, he never really masters baking. He can make descent cakes and breads when needed, but it's not something he excels at. It’s too finicky, and it won't fill him up anyway. Because he’s a traveler, he never even thought about food preservation beyond some jerky for the road.

Zelda :

*So most of the fandom seems to agree that Zelda is a confidently terrible cook (based on that cut scene from AOC). While I get that it's funny as a bit, I don't really agree with this take. Because Zelda grew up privileged, she obviously has little experience in the kitchen. But Zelda isn't stupid. She wouldn't be unaware of her intellectual blind spots. Upon realizing she'll have to live more self sufficiently, she asks Link to teach her. With a little guidance and practice, she picks it up just fine.

History :

I think Zelda's mother loved to bake. Hiding away in the kitchen for a few hours was a reprieve for her. Little Zelda liked to sit in the kitchen with her, sometimes helping to sift the flour, or playing with small bits of dough she was given. After her mother died, Zelda never cooked, but would sometimes still hide in the kitchens to get out of her duties. She enjoyed watching the cooks, even if she didn't fully understand what they were doing, plus they'd sneak her snacks.

Food preferences :

As Zelda often attended castle dinners hosting guests from various regions, she's used to trying new foods. So while she develops an expensive palate, she enjoys almost any ingredient as long as it's prepared well. People are often surprised to learn that such a seemingly delicate girl loves strong flavors, including spicy food. She loves a good dessert (and seriously craves sweets during her period). Because it was her mothers specialty, her favorite dessert in the world is a white cake with fruit and cream. Her loves noodles, but her favorite food is any kind of dumpling, as long as it has a good dipping sauce. She usually eats slower than Link, while exhibiting more manners.

Learning to cook :

Zelda is a little intimidated by Link's "throw and go" cooking technique. But once she realized that building a flavor profile is like a formula, she can recreate it just like any other experiment. When she finds her first cookbook, and realizes that recipes will yield the same outcome every time, she's found her niche (Link supports her building a foundation different from him, because it makes sense to her). Although she has a few blunders at first, she's intelligent and a quick learner. She is soon competent enough to challenge herself with new recipes, and before long, can easily guide her own learning.

Cooking strengths :

Because she's a sauce lover, she masters developing liquid flavor. She loves making salad dressings, dipping sauces, pan sauces for meat, and soups. Due to her patience and precise technique, she becomes well known for her baked goods. She learns to recreate her mother's cake (because nobody else makes it right). She's a natural when it comes to handling dough, and takes up bread baking on the weekends. Once settled, and comfortable planning for the future, she learns to bottle, dehydrate, and ferment.

Cooking weaknesses :

Without as much experience, she's sometimes frustrated at how slowly she still chops vegetables compared to others. While she can cook some descent meat when needed, she never masters it. She put off by the butchering aspect, and gets frustrated that she never knows when a steak is cooked through but not over done. She prefers the structure of a recipe, and the stability of a well stocked kitchen, so she never truly excels at open fire cooking.

Zelda's influence on Link : In wanting to recreate his meals, Zelda starts following him around in the kitchen, to write down what he's doing. He learns the value of sometimes having a written recipe (which is why TOTK has recipe cards, while BOTW doesn't). As she surpasses his baking skills, he starts asking her for advice. Because Zelda loves desserts, he ups his baking game so he can make her something sweet whenever she's craving it. (Although his favorite dessert to make for her is a chilled rice pudding with raspberry sauce.) He gets really good at making dumplings for her, and later gets into food preservation because of her interest.

Link's influence on Zelda :

Besides being the one to teach her in the first place, he encourages her to learn to build flavor by adding and tasting, which is how she becomes so good at making sauces. While never mastering meat as a whole, she does get pretty good at some quick grilled beef, so she can make him his favorite rice bowl anytime. After noticing her proficiency with dough, he encourages her to take over making the flatbreads or rolls for dinner. She develops a taste for more cheap ingredients, like lentils, and collects lots of potato recipes to test for her potato loving man. After so many years being forced to eat like a performance, she embraces loosening up her manners while eating with Link.

The future :

While they still love to forage when they travel, once settled, they start a garden at their little house. They preserving their harvest together, and cooking together every day.

Favorite meal to cook and eat together : Crispy dumplings with a spicy sauce.