Every child has at one time or another been told to eat his vegetables. Most often, the response to the inevitable question of why is “because they’re good for you.” A holistic chef knows just how true this is and he spends his life exploring new ways to unlock the natural abilities that food can have on the body. By combining various foodstuffs and utilizing a wide range of cooking techniques, a holistic chef is not only able to please the pallet of anyone he cooks for, he’s able to change the diner’s metabolism to produce spectacular—almost magical—effects.
While every king or nobleman has a small army of talented cooks to prepare food for his household, very few have the good fortune to have a true holistic chef on their staff. The services of a holistic chef are in great demand, so much so that it is not unheard of for holistic chefs to be granted ships, vast fortunes or even land rights after fulfilling particularly long work contracts with wealthy aristocracy.
The life of the holistic chef is not one that appeals to most adventurers. Spending all day in a hot kitchen and constantly having to taste things that most billy goats would turn their noses at hardly seems adventurous. While any class may qualify for entry, the expert is by far the most likely candidate. More than one adept has learned the ways of the holistic chef to compliment his spellcasting.
Hit Die: d6
Requirements:
Skills: Craft (alchemy) 4 ranks, Heal 6 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks, Profession (chef) 8 ranks.
Feats: Skill Focus (Profession (chef)).
Class Skills:
The holistic chef’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Craft (alchemy), (Int), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Profession (Wis) See Chapter 4 in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
| Level | BaB | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special |
| 1 | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Master Chef |
| 2 | +1 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Only the best |
| 3 | +1 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Ambrosia |
| 4 | +2 | +1 | +3 | +1 | — |
| 5 | +2 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Greater Ambrosia |
Class Features:
All the following are class features of the holistic chef prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Holistic chefs gain no new weapon or armor proficiencies.
Master Chef: A holistic chef’s skill with food is so famed that people all over the world begin vying for him. He begins to get employment offers from everyone from tavern owners to barons. So long as he has access to the tools of his trade, a holistic chef multiplies the weekly gold piece payment earned with a Profession (chef) check by 1d4 + class level.
Only the Best (Ex): While a holistic chef only wants to work with the best quality materials, it is not always possible. Sometimes, he is forced to work with extremely low-quality foodstuffs. As a result, he has learned how to prepare such foods to achieve stunning results, despite the low quality of the materials. At second level, a holistic chef can duplicate the effect of a purify food and drink spell at will. Using this ability requires 10 minutes and access to a constant heat source of some kind (such as a brick oven or an open fire).
Ambrosia (Ex): At third level, a holistic chef is so skilled at food preparation that he can create dishes that seem to duplicate magical effects. Once per day, the holistic chef may create a special single-dish meal that can feed a number of people equal to his class level + 1. This meal duplicates the effects of a single spell selected from the list below. For all intents and purposes, treat the meal as a potion of the same spell except that the meal is an alchemical creation, and is not really magical in nature. The meal does not have to be eaten immediately, but the effect only remains for 24 hours after preparation.
The list of spell-like effects the holistic chef may choose from is as follows: cure light wounds, delay poison, endure elements, expeditious retreat, guidance or resistance.
Greater Ambrosia (Ex): At fifth level, a holistic chef has becomes so skilled at preparing his special meals that he can not only alter the metabolisms of his diners, but can tinker with their body chemistry for a time as well. The list of spell-like effects the holistic chef may choose from expands to include the list below. Further, the holistic chef may now create up to three special meals per day.
The expanded list of spell-like effects the holistic chef may choose from is as follows: barkskin, bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds, eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, lesser restoration or owl’s wisdom.