What the Ending of God of War Ragnarok Means for the God of War Cookbook 

With more than 60 recipes curated by @PixelatedVicka and the team at @SonySantaMonica, the God of War cookbook will surely raise your spirits—and one big question about Tyr.


Published: December 15, 2022 12:00 PM /

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Kratos and Tyr clasping hands with the God of War: The Official Cookbook of the Nine Realms cover art in the background

Over the years, video games have expanded beyond software; now players can experience their favorite titles by collecting figurines, vinyl soundtracks, and even official Lego® models. Perhaps one of the more interesting real-world collectibles, however, are video game cookbooks, like the recently released God of War cookbook. 

Insight Editions published God of War: The Official Cookbook of the Nine Realms on Nov. 15, mere days after the hotly anticipated God of War Ragnarok. In this 192-page tome, Cookbook Author Victoria Rosenthal, who runs the gaming food blog Pixelated Provisions, curates a little over 60 recipes from various world cultures. You could make a brunch spread, whip up a snackable salmon dip, bake a week’s worth of challah, and shake up a veritable cocktail hour. 

There’s more to the God of War cookbook than just recipes, however. Writer Rick Barba worked with the team at Santa Monica Studios to create a little in-universe backstory. The book is framed like a food journal that Týr kept on his travels through the realms. 

Each of the Nine Realms (plus the Realm Between Realms) has its own collection of recipes, and Týr has something to say about each of them. Additionally, he tees up each recipe with a little story. Sometimes he writes about the first time he tried it, like how the Vanir made a killer Brussels sprouts salad that changed the way he looks at Brussels sprouts. Other times, he talks about a fond memory he had with the dish. 

“One particularly cold Fimbulwinter day, I remember being in the kitchen at Sindri’s house in the Realm Between Realms, chopping sweet nut toppings, browning butter, and carefully slicing up strips of phyllo dough,” Týr writes while reminiscing about baklava mini tarts. “What an exacting process it was!” 

I had a lot of questions about the God of War cookbook, one burning question in particular which people who finished Ragnarok will likely be wondering themselves. Thankfully, I had a moment to ask Rosenthal and Barba about their work.

Kratos and Tyr standing in Sindri's home with an image of baklava tart from the God of War Cookbook
To this day, Týr is still a pretty big fan of baklava mini tarts. After all, who isn't?

Why Make a God of War Cookbook? 

The initial idea for a God of War cookbook came from Sony’s end of the deal. According to Rosenthal, the PlayStation company reached out to Insight with the idea, and an editor who previously worked with Rosenthal thought of her. 

“I was honestly a bit surprised about a cookbook themed around God of War, but once it was revealed to me that this project was going to coincide with the release of Ragnarok and a few of the details about the game, the cookbook made a lot more sense,” she said. “The Santa Monica Studios team was extremely excited for this project, and getting the initial ideas for how to put this all together was extremely easy.” 

Food comes up more often than you’d think for a game about gods fighting gods. The first thing Kratos says in Sindri's home is, “I do not need a snack,” and many of the heroes’ plans are discussed over meals made by Brok or Týr. Side-questing players might also be familiar with the Ballad of Jari and Somr, where Kratos finds various ingredients across the realms to make a meal of comfort.

This love for food extends beyond the game and into Santa Monica Studios. Senior Gameplay Programmer Sam Handrick shared the real story behind Jari and Somr, which is a touching tribute to his deceased partner Jake Snipes. The two met while working on Ragnarok, and they often baked desserts together and shared them with colleagues.

The God of War cookbook’s foreword, written by Narrative Director Matt Sophos, even includes a touching tale about how he bonds with his son over their love of trying and making food from all over the world. So as Rosenthal said, it’s no surprise that the developers wanted to make this book happen. 

“Several of the recipes were developed in collaboration with a few of the members of Santa Monica Studios,” she said. “While I was working on the overall recipe list, the team provided a large collection of recipes they were hoping to include in the book.”

The entry for challah in the God of War cookbook
The photography in the book is beautiful, and the detailed illustrations by award-winning artist Iris Compiet really heighten the overall presentation.

These recipes come from a variety of world cultures. You’ll find fish banh mi, yakitori, and avocado eggs benedict in here, each of them categorized under a different realm in the book. 

“SMS helped out by giving me more details about each of the realms and inspirations they used for them,” Rosenthal said. “I was able to come up with recipes that would fit. We had a bit of back and forth on the recipe list, but once we settled on a final plan, we had an amazing list.” 

For any enthusiastic home cooks who get their hands on the God of War cookbook, Rosenthal recommends they start with the Midgard section, which made it onto the book’s cover. It teaches many useful techniques “that’ll be extremely valuable in the long run,” she said. But if there was only time to make one recipe, she pointed to one called Freakin’ Gratitude, an homage to a (more obscene) comment Brok made in God of War (2018)

“This recipe is a great place to start if you’ve never cooked with lamb before,” she said. “There is a minimal amount of setup, and you really just let the oven do all the work for you. This is the perfect meal to really impress your friends and family at the next big feast you host.” 

The honeyed spirits cocktail from the God of War cookbook.
A side-by-side comparison of the honeyed spirits cocktail, which uses gin and elderflower liqueur as its base.

What Does Týr Bring to the God of War Cookbook? 

According to the lore written by Barba, some recipes in the God of War cookbook are native to the realm they’re categorized under. For example, while we would likely attribute wild boar ragu to Tuscany, the book highlights it as an Asgardian dish because of all the boar hunting they do. 

“The other realms, even if they all exist within Norse Mythology, have diverse environments, inhabitants, and a very different feel,” Rosenthal said. “I felt like it was essential to make each of the realms feel like they stood on their own.” 

On the other hand, some recipes are attributed to their real-world cultures that we know. For example, Týr says he discovered his recipe for aish baladi, which spread throughout Alfheim, during a factfinding mission he did in Midgard – specifically, Egypt. 

“Midgard, of course, is ‘Earth,’” Barba said. “We see mural images of Týr visiting Egyptian, East Asian, and other Midgardian cultures. It makes sense that a culture junkie and foodie like Týr would gather ‘international’ recipes.” 

Rosenthal added, “Tyr has done a bit of inter-dimensional travel and has had the opportunity to interact with many other cultures. I felt like if we didn’t highlight that, we would be missing out on a huge part of his character.” 

The pork tenderloin and hasselbackpoteter from the God of War cookbook
The pork tenderloin and hasselback potatoes make a great meal. The tenderloin, best served sliced up, brings together the wonderful flavors of the "Jotunn" and curry spice mixes.

In fact, a fair amount of Týr’s character comes through in the book. It makes sense that a peaceful god of war would have a story for all his favorite recipes, especially with how many of the stories involve finding peaceful solutions while bonding over food. For example, in his recipe for köttbullar, he mentions sharing the dish often with Mimir while they discussed how to “protect Odin from himself.” 

In creating these stories, Santa Monica Studios gave Barba pretty free reign over the character. After all, he knew a lot from the previous game, and as the author of God of War: Lore and Legends, he’s worked with the IP before. 

“I did get to hear audio of Ben Prendergast as Týr and view a rough render of Ragnarok’s dinner scene in Sindri’s house — the one where nobody likes Brok’s cooking — so I had a sense of Týr’s voice,” Barba said. “We also had a great video meeting with [Game Director] Eric Williams, who helped me hone aspects of Týr’s sensibility and gave us a brief tour of the newly available realm regions. But overall, revisions were minimal — they trusted me, and that was a lot of fun.” 

Of course, there are certain details about Týr that come into question, especially once players get into the final couple hours of Ragnarok


Warning: The next section contains heavy spoilers for God of War Ragnarok. Only proceed if you’ve finished the game. 


The mulled apple juice from the God of War cookbook
The mulled apple juice recipe is a perfect fall-time drink, and if you're throwing a party, a little bit of rum never hurt.

Is the God of War Cookbook Canon? 

Players who have beaten Ragnarok know that the Týr we see for most of the game isn’t Týr at all. In fact, it’s Odin, who has been tricking everyone since Kratos and Atreus found him in Svartalfheim. This calls some of the God of War cookbook’s lore entries into question. 

How was he in Sindri’s kitchen making baklava? Did he really try Kratos’ mushroom quiche, which is a real dish in this book? Is the God of War cookbook canon? 

“In the lore segments of this cookbook, most of Týr’s stories refer to times long before his incarceration and long before Ragnarök, so the question of ‘who’s talking’ is not really an issue — it’s Týr,” Barba said. “As for what is officially canon in our book, that’s far above my pay grade. You’ll have to vet that with SMS.” 

Tyr being freed by Kratos in God of War Ragnarok

Of course, determining whether or not a cookbook is “canon” is just some silly fun. After all, most of the book is still fairly plausible. After defeating Odin, players can free the real Týr from his prison in Niflheim. He can then be found wandering the realms, exploring a new world without the All-Father.

Theoretically, it's plausible that Týr could hang out with the heroes now that he’s free. Despite where Sindri ends up, Kratos can still visit his home. It’s possible that he, Týr, Mimir, and Freya chat about the future of the realms over for a meal. Lots of the entries involving the game’s main characters are written in a way that leaves it open to this sort of interpretation. After all, whatever the real Týr does after the game hasn't been written in stone, at least not for this interpretation of the Norse pantheon.

“As we progressed, SMS realized they’d have to share some very heavily embargoed plot secrets — in particular, the whole Odin/Týr thing — to keep me from wandering down certain dead ends,” Barba said. 

However, to get lost in the weeds of how “canon” the God of War cookbook is would be missing the point. This kind, peaceful god of war simply wants you to break bread with friends, family, and enemies that could become friends. And beyond that, the recipes here are pretty delicious – I especially recommend the honeyed spirits cocktail and smoked salmon dip. 

The smoked salmon dip from the God of War cookbook
The smoked salmon dip pairs well with nice crackers and even works nicely as a spread on a nice baguette.

Who Are the Authors of the God of War Cookbook?

Barba has worked on more than a hundred gaming companion books, like lore volumes, strategy guides, and now cookbooks, for various IPs, including other Sony studios. A franchise he’d love to do lore for, however, is The Last of Us

“I spent weeks in the Naughty Dog studio back in 2016 working on the Uncharted 4 strategy guide, and I have great respect for the creative integrity of that team, just as I do for Santa Monica Studios,” he said. “I also really like these people. They’re great folks, across the board, and fun to work with.” 

Rosenthal, who started Pixelated Provisions in 2012, has worked on many cookbooks for other gaming franchises, including Pokemon, Halo, Fallout, Street Fighter, and Final Fantasy XIV (which she hopes to do a second volume of). However, there’s one franchise she’s been dremaing to work on: Yakuza, or Like a Dragon

“This is my all-time favorite game series and would love the chance to contribute to the franchise,” she said. “Each of the games have a large variety of food the characters can enjoy to regain health and sometimes boost stats.” 

Here’s hoping Sega is looking to get into the cookbook game with Like a Dragon 8


TechRaptor received a review copy of God of War: The Official Cookbook of the Nine Realms from publisher Insight Editions.

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Robert Scarpinito TechRaptor
| Features Editor

Robert Scarpinito is the Features Editor of TechRaptor. With a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Ohio State University, sharing compelling stories is… More about Robert

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