Which is better, Cook, Serve, Delicious! or The Chef's Shift: First Course?

On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Cook, Serve, Delicious! sits at 95.2% positive (2,949 reviews), The Chef's Shift: First Course at 96% (101). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.

Should I play Cook, Serve, Delicious! or The Chef's Shift: First Course first?

If you want chronology, Cook, Serve, Delicious! (2013) came out before The Chef's Shift: First Course (2025). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.

Does The Chef's Shift: First Course have multiplayer like Cook, Serve, Delicious!?

No. Cook, Serve, Delicious! supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op), while The Chef's Shift: First Course is listed as single-player only.

Is The Chef's Shift: First Course free?

Yes — The Chef's Shift: First Course is a free-to-play Steam title. Cook, Serve, Delicious! is paid (12.99 USD).

Does Cook, Serve, Delicious! run on Steam Deck?

Yes — Cook, Serve, Delicious! is rated Deck Verified by Valve. The Chef's Shift: First Course doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.

Cook, Serve, Delicious! vs The Chef's Shift: First Course

Cook, Serve, Delicious! and The Chef's Shift: First Course both land in Indie, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Simulation on Steam. Cook, Serve, Delicious! (2013) is 12 years older than The Chef's Shift: First Course (2025). Both sit near 96% positive on Steam (Cook, Serve, Delicious!: 2,949 reviews, The Chef's Shift: First Course: 101). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cook, Serve, Delicious!

Choose Cook, Serve, Delicious! if you want an Action and Strategy game with Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 2,949 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose The Chef's Shift: First Course

Choose The Chef's Shift: First Course if you want a Free To Play and Casual experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. The Chef's Shift: First Course launched in 2025.

Both Cook, Serve, Delicious! and The Chef's Shift: First Course sit in Indie and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.2% vs 96% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.

Cook, Serve, Delicious! vs The Chef's Shift: First Course — Steam metadata comparison
	Cook, Serve, Delicious!	The Chef's Shift: First Course
Released	2013	2025
Genres	Action, Strategy, Indie, Simulation	Indie, Simulation, Free To Play, Casual
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS
Steam Deck	Deck Verified	Unrated
Price	12.99 USD	Free to play
Steam reviews	95.2% positive (2,949 reviews)	96% positive (101 reviews)
Multiplayer	Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op	Single-player only
Developers	Vertigo Gaming Inc.	Panitia GameDev

Side by side

Both share Indie, Simulation on Steam.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! (2013) is 12 years older than The Chef's Shift: First Course (2025).
Both sit near 96% positive on Steam (Cook, Serve, Delicious!: 2,949 reviews, The Chef's Shift: First Course: 101).
The Chef's Shift: First Course is free; Cook, Serve, Delicious! is paid (12.99 USD).
Cook, Serve, Delicious! has co-op; The Chef's Shift: First Course does not.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The Chef's Shift: First Course has no Deck rating yet.