Free Cooking Games

Whether you are looking to polish your culinary skills, or just have fun, you may want to check out some free cooking games. The good news is that the Internet is crawling with free cooking games. The bad news is that most are very short or very boring.  The games listed here all have an element that sets them apart.

1. Cafe World. (Facebook) This free cooking game is a Facebook favorite. The game allows you to build a restaurant from the ground up by cooking and serving food and building bigger and better appliances. There are a lot of side missions to keep the game interesting. Like many other Facebook games this one is best played with many "neighbors". You get a lot of exposure to new recipes here (though some don't exist outside the game), but you really don't learn much about cooking them. This free cooking game is fun but it takes a commitment of time over the long haul.
2. Burger Master. (didigames) Build your restaurant empire as you master different burger recipes in this free cooking game. You won't really learn how to cook in this "Tetris meets burger stacking" game, but it is a fun little time waster. The fact that there are actual levels to complete sets  it above many of the other free cooking games.
3. Cake Mania. (gamefoods)This game has a good storyline, as you build your bakery business by baking cakes to customer specs, and try  to save up enough money to reopen the family business. The challenge builds as you go. Again, there isn't anything really educational about cooking  here. If anything you will learn that it's a bad idea to keep your customers waiting too long. Starts a bit too slowly for most adults, so you may want to have your kids play the early levels for you.
4. Bunnies Kingdom Cooking Game. (cooking-games-online)You only have this super-cute free cooking game on your computer for your little niece who visits on Saturdays, right? This game is more a memory game than anything else, but it does teach a little about what goes into baking.  Very good game for small kids. Very cute, a bit challenging, though pretty short.
5. Cooking Academy. (arcadetown) Aside from the somewhat "drag queen" appearance of the chef, this free cooking game is pretty well put together. It's not the most exciting in the bunch, but it is one. Have fun! of the most educational. Enough detail is given for you to actually learn to cook a variety of dishes. And while you can't learn to chop by clicking a mouse, you can observe different cooking techniques.

There are many other free cooking games to be found, but all of these are games you can enjoy  more than once. Many other free cooking games focus on a single recipe, from deviled eggs to blueberry pie, and can be fun if you are looking to perfect a certain dish. Beware that many free game sites come loaded with spyware though, so make sure you  only go to sites you trust and have your virus protection turned on