TL;DR
- Renee is the Hernand butcher — find her at the Butchery at the end of the alley past the Inn
- She needs 3x Modest Fish Porridge — not any other variant or higher tier version
- Read the recipe scroll first before going to the cooking pot or it may not appear in your menu
- Use Field Pot Cooking, select Modest Fish Porridge, set quantity to 3, and cook
- Do not Improvise — using the wrong method can produce the wrong dish
- Ingredients given by Renee: Fish Fillet x15, Wheat x5, Salt x5, Water x15
- Rewards are a Medium Bag (+3 inventory slots), +30 Contribution, and Trust Points with Renee
Renee’s Request looks simple on paper. Cook some Fish Porridge, hand it over, done. But the cooking system in Crimson Desert has multiple variants of almost every dish, and picking the wrong method or the wrong recipe will leave you with food Renee will not accept. Some players burn through all their ingredients on the wrong dish and have to go buy more.
This guide walks you through every step cleanly so you do not waste a single ingredient.
How to Unlock Renee’s Request
Renee’s Request is not available the moment you arrive in Hernand. You need to complete two other Requests first — Rhett’s Request and Turnali’s Request. Both are introductory quests that teach you mining and tree chopping. Once those are done, Renee’s notice will appear on the wooden board in Hernand town.
If you have not done Rhett’s Request yet, our guide on how to complete Rhett’s Request in Crimson Desert covers exactly where to mine the ore and who to deliver it to.
How to Start Renee’s Request
Once Rhett’s and Turnali’s Requests are done:
- Head to the Notice Board in Hernand town center and read Renee’s notice
- This triggers the quest but does not officially start it yet
- Go to the Butchery — it is at the end of the alley just south of the Inn in Hernand
- Speak to Renee directly to start the quest
Renee explains that she has only ever worked with meat her whole life. Important guests are coming and she needs fish prepared properly. She asks Kliff to cook three portions of Fish Porridge and hands over everything you need: the recipe and the ingredients.
You receive Fish Fillet x15, Wheat x5, Salt x5, and Water x15. Do not lose these. They are given to you specifically for this quest and wasting them means buying more from the nearby market stall.
Step 1 — Read the Recipe Before Cooking
This is the step most players skip and then wonder why the recipe is not appearing at the cooking pot.
After Renee hands you the Recipe: Fish Porridge scroll, open your inventory. Find the recipe in your crafting manual section, select it to take it out, examine it, and then hold LB on controller or CTRL on PC to learn it. Once it is learned, the recipe will show up at the cooking pot. If you walk straight to the bonfire without reading it first, it may not appear in the menu.
You can sell the recipe scroll after learning it if you want to free up inventory space or make a few extra coins.
Step 2 — Find a Cooking Pot
The nearest cooking point is a Bonfire right in the same courtyard as Renee’s Butchery — look near the drying rack by the barrels just outside. Any Bonfire or Cooking Tool in the world will work, but this one saves you walking anywhere.
Approach the Bonfire and interact with it. Select the Cook option, then navigate to the Field Pot Cooking tab. This is where you will see all your available recipes.
Step 3 — Cook the Right Fish Porridge
Here is where players go wrong. The cooking menu has multiple Fish Porridge variants. Picking the wrong one will give you food Renee will not accept.
The dish you need is: Modest Fish Porridge
In the Field Pot Cooking menu, find Modest Fish Porridge in the recipe list. Do not select a higher-tier version. Do not choose Improvise. Improvise can produce a different variant depending on which ingredients you select and in what order, and Renee specifically does not want anything fancy.
Select Modest Fish Porridge, set the quantity to 3, and press Make. The game will cook all three at once.
The ingredients it uses per dish:
- Oats or any grain (Wheat, Barley, Beans all work) x1
- Fish Fillet x2
- Salt x1
- Water x3
Three dishes will use Wheat x3, Fish Fillet x6, Salt x3, and Water x9 from what Renee gave you. You will have ingredients left over.
Save your game before cooking. This takes five seconds and protects you from accidentally cooking the wrong dish and losing your ingredients. If something goes wrong, reload and start the cooking step again.
What to Do If You Cooked the Wrong Variant
If you accidentally cooked a higher-tier Fish Porridge — like Fishball Soup or another upgraded version — Renee will not accept it. Do not panic.
If you saved before cooking, reload the save and try again with the correct method.
If you cannot reload, you need to buy replacement ingredients. There is a market stall near Renee’s Butchery that sells most of what you need. For Fish Fillets specifically, you will need to catch fish and clean them. Grab a Fishing Rod (sold at the Back Alley Shop or some vendors), find a fishing spot near Hernand, catch fish, and clean them in your inventory to produce Fish Fillets. You can also sometimes find Fish Fillets as loot while exploring enemy camps.
Step 4 — Deliver the Fish Porridge to Renee
Once you have 3x Modest Fish Porridge in your inventory, go back to Renee at her Butchery. Speak to her and hand over the dishes.
That completes Renee’s Request.
Renee’s Request Rewards
Completing the quest gives you three things:
Medium Bag — This automatically adds 3 new inventory slots. Early in the game your inventory fills up fast from looting, gathering, and storing crafting materials. Three extra slots is a meaningful improvement.
+30 Contribution — Contribution is a global currency used for various unlocks and benefits across the world. Every bit adds up over time.
Trust Points with Renee — Building Trust with Renee and other merchants over time unlocks better stock and deals. Renee’s Butchery sells various meats and cooking ingredients, so high Trust with her is worth having if you plan to cook regularly.
After this quest you can sell the Recipe: Fish Porridge scroll if you have not already. You have already learned it, so the scroll itself is just taking up space.
Cooking in Crimson Desert — What You Should Know
Renee’s Request is your introduction to the cooking system in Crimson Desert. It is worth understanding how it works now because you will use it throughout the entire game.
Food in Crimson Desert gives you health restoration and temporary buffs. Different dishes give different effects. Modest Fish Porridge for example restores 240 Health and provides Ice Resistance Level 4 for one minute. Other dishes restore Spirit, boost Attack Speed, or give Fire Resistance.
The Improvise option exists when you want to experiment with whatever ingredients you have on hand. But for quests that require a specific dish, always use the named recipe directly from the menu. Improvising can produce a different variant based on the exact combination you choose, and quest NPCs only accept the exact version they asked for.
Cooking ingredients are everywhere. Herbs and plants grow along every road and hillside. Fish are in rivers and lakes. Meat comes from hunting animals. You will never struggle to find materials to cook with once you know what to look for.
Now that you have more inventory space from both Rhett’s and Renee’s rewards, it is a good time to make sure your gear is keeping up with what you are facing. Our guide on how to upgrade weapons and armor in Crimson Desert covers the full Refinement system step by step.
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For our full thoughts on the game, read our Crimson Desert Review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Fish Porridge do you cook for Renee’s Request in Crimson Desert?
You need to cook 3x Modest Fish Porridge. Do not cook a higher-tier version and do not use the Improvise option. In the Field Pot Cooking menu, select Modest Fish Porridge directly from the recipe list, set the quantity to 3, and press Make.
Do you need to read the recipe before cooking for Renee’s Request?
Yes. After Renee gives you the Recipe: Fish Porridge scroll, open your inventory, examine the recipe, and hold LB on controller or CTRL on PC to learn it. If you skip this step, the recipe may not appear at the cooking pot.
Where do you cook Fish Porridge for Renee’s Request in Crimson Desert?
There is a Bonfire right in the courtyard near Renee’s Butchery, next to the drying rack by the barrels. Interact with it, select Cook, go to the Field Pot Cooking tab, and find Modest Fish Porridge in the list.
What happens if you cook the wrong Fish Porridge for Renee?
Renee will not accept higher-tier variants. If you cooked the wrong dish, reload a save made before cooking. If reloading is not possible, buy replacement ingredients from the market stall near Renee. Fish Fillets need to be obtained by fishing and cleaning the catch in your inventory.
What are the rewards for Renee’s Request in Crimson Desert?
You receive a Medium Bag that adds 3 inventory slots, +30 Contribution points, and Trust Points with Renee. The inventory expansion is the most immediately useful reward since inventory space is limited early in the game.
