Grill

The Grill is an early food production building that turns raw ingredients into cooked dishes with flat stat bonuses when eaten. Once a Ratizen is assigned to it, the Grill can produce several different meals depending on the ingredients supplied, making it one of the most versatile support buildings in the early game.

Its basic recipes are simple and efficient: Grilled Meat is made from Raw Meat and Salt, Grilled Mushroom is made from Mushroom, and Grilled Fish is made from Fish. It also supports more advanced cooking, including Steak and Pasta, with Pasta having two different recipes. In addition, an Anglerfish can be processed into Grilled Fish. The listed work costs are 650 for Grilled Meat, 400 for Grilled Mushroom, 400 for Grilled Fish from Fish, 900 for Steak, 800 for the Raw Meat-based Pasta recipe, 800 for the Hermit Crab-based Pasta recipe, and 500 for Grilled Fish from Anglerfish.

The Grill is especially strong in the early game because its meals give direct stat boosts that help Ratizens work faster or handle specialized tasks better. The common grilled foods each support a different attribute:

• Grilled Meat gives +2 Strength when eaten. It is useful for strength-based work, hunting, guarding, and increasing carrying capacity during exploration.
• Grilled Mushroom gives +2 Dexterity when eaten. It helps with dexterity-based work such as movement, construction, repair, and demolition, and it also helps Ratizens return to the city faster while exploring.
• Grilled Fish gives +2 Intelligence when eaten. It is useful for intelligence-based work and also improves mental mood. For exploration, it increases scouting success, so it is especially valuable for Rats sent to discover resources.

Because of these flat bonuses, the Grill can be more useful than it first appears, even when other food sources become available. Grilled Mushroom and Grilled Fish are particularly efficient to make since they require few ingredients and provide stronger effects than their raw components. Grilled Meat is also worth producing once Salt becomes available, since it gives a straightforward strength boost that benefits workers and combat-oriented Ratizens alike.

When planning food production around the Grill, it is best to match meals to the Ratizens who will actually eat them. Strength-focused Rats benefit most from Grilled Meat, builders and haulers benefit from Grilled Mushroom, and scouts or other intelligence-focused Rats benefit from Grilled Fish. This makes the Grill less of a general kitchen and more of a targeted support building for improving colony efficiency.