Review by Frank Plowright

Where will you find master chefs who’re also master warriors? In Cooking With Monsters of course. In a world plagued by monsters the highest respect is accorded to those who can not only kill them, but cook them as well. In Harm to Table, though, Jordan Alsaqa revealed a societal schism. Not everyone believes the best way to deal with monsters is to merely keep the numbers down. A group of now unified poachers consider their world would be a better place with all monsters wiped out, and their views have converted some students of the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat.

Best Served Cold opens with some students and masters in the cold north on a mission to capture the Poacher leaders, but what kind of adventure would be if that happened in the first few pages? In addition to the ongoing major problem, Alsaqa has gradually complicated the emotional lives of the students, yet still has an early surprise to drop on that score. He also progresses the educational aspect of the school, allocating attendees with a monster of their own to look after over the entire term.

Vivian Truong continues to put a lot of work into the art, supplying full figures in panels, an people seen from distance embedded in detailed locations. Further new monsters are introduced, creatively designed by Truong, yet based on some real world creatures, just not the most obvious.

The focus isn’t entirely on the students. The Poachers are led by a former Grand Chef, and amid the school soap opera the narrative occasionally switches to what they’re doing. The President also features, unhappy at the way the school is performing in capturing the Poachers, and there’s considerable discussion about whether the Poachers might have a point. In between all that there’s still time for staged moments like the Sous-Chef Scramble, which reintroduces the idea of cooking, which was absent for most of Harm to Table.

Is this the final volume of Cooking With Monsters? If so, it draws much to a close while also leaving the bigger questions as to Gourmand’s society unresolved, leaving the door open for more. If it is the end, then it’s been a satisfactory tale of young teens growing into themselves, featuring relatable personalities and unusual action.