I left my 2 cents on the topic when I just joined this forum.
Now, in this one, there’s some stuff I just generalized, forgot to mention or overlooked by the fact that Nelson’s who decides what to implement.
Somewhat recently I played an event in Don’t Starve Together that was entirely focused on cooking, called The Gorge, which gave me pretty interesting ideas for this topic and a clearer perspective of how I should have made my first post.
Taking that as example, I guess that having 3 basic cooking stations just like in the event (cookpot, oven and grill), plus the pretty basics, would keep things pretty simplified. Adapting it to Unturned it should be like:
- When at campfires: you can install a hanging pot, grill bars or simply put your meat on a rotating stick (only cookpot and grilling available).
- When at fireplaces: same as with campfires, but holding larger cookpots and impaled meats, also being able to build an oven around it with bricks or stone with previously installed bars, so there goes a makeshift oven.
- Stoves: these would allow cooking the 3 ways effectively, by roasting with a frying pan or boiling and cooking with a cookpot in the top burners, then using the oven for baking.
- Grills: from existing houses and such, for roasting large amounts of meats and other foods as in a fireplace grill but a bit safer and comfier.
About the rest:
I’d agree with the idea of oil for cooking, but many players would find this annoying, and I’d rather want to see common types of cooking oil instead of just olive oil.
If this is going to be a thing, I’d like it to be just once or twice while the meal cooks after some time has passed. Anyway, just by letting it cook and taking it when ready (burning if not) would be much simpler.
And about all the ingredients you suggested, I think that we shouldn’t speculate anything yet, since cooking is such a complex theme. Also, condiments and spices IMO are useless without a sanity/psychological status system, or at least something that tells there’s a downside on forcing my char to eat something that it doesn’t like.