Generic Cooking Game Controls
PC, mobile, and console binds for a physics kitchen — E cooks, Q inspects, the locator finds the ladle you dropped.
Generic Cooking Game is a physics kitchen. If the binds are wrong, the recipe never had a chance. This page is the control map for PC, with notes for mobile pinch and rotate, action buttons, and console. It is not a recipe dump — for dishes go to the recipe list. For the first-shift loop go to Getting Started. The Guides Hub links restock, energy, ranked, and Creative beside this article.
Hexbit Studios shipped the experience on 13 April 2023 (still BETA) with online co-op up to eight players on place 13118814103. The same binds work in Normal, Solo, Ranked Level 15, Ranked Level 35, VC Only, Creative, and Tutorial. Creative is the best practice room: no customers, unlimited ingredients, energy never depletes. Drill awkward molds there, then take them into a live diner.
Movement, camera, and stance
On PC, WASD moves. V toggles first person and third person. The mouse wheel sets how far a held item sits from you; in third person the same wheel zooms the camera. B crouches. Ctrl in first person unlocks the mouse so you can reach UI without spinning the view. Learn V early. First person is better for cracking an egg over a pan; third person is better for seeing who is stealing your plate.
The desert plot is larger than the kitchen tile. You will walk to the office couch, the garage, the factory, solar panels, the Star Shop, Hobo Joe fan shop, a hidden basement, and — if you are hunting easter eggs — behind the restaurant and left past the barrier for the UFO. Low energy in kJ drops walk speed. Controls cannot save a chef who refused the couch.
Hands: pick up, drop, throw, rotate
Left mouse button picks up and drops. That is the entire grab language. T throws, which is how food leaves your hand in a hurry and also how trolls start fights. Shift + WASD + Z + C rotates a held object. Dough, tart shells, sushi, and plated stacks all care about rotation. If a bun looks upside down, rotate before you blame the oven.
You are not glued to one item. Food Basket (79 R$) is a pass for carrying more, not a new bind. Grab Players (299 R$, plus the tinfoil hat) lets you grab chefs; it is optional and controversial in public lobbies. Default play does not require it.
E is primary, Q is secondary
E is the cook key. Use it to mold dough and rice, pour, crack an egg, and fire appliances. If a recipe says to shape a croissant, tart, bun, or dumpling sheet, you are holding the dough and tapping E until the mold matches the orange-highlighted word.
Q is secondary and the inspect key. On food, Q reads composition — the difference between a ticket you can plate and a mystery slurry. On machines, Q is how you turn the oven on and off, start the rice cooker, and work the first stove. Mixing E and Q is the number one beginner fail: the oven looks closed, the rice is raw, and chat is already vote-kicking.
F flips. Use it on steaks, fillets, and anything that has a second side. X empties liquid. If a troll filled your pot with oil, X is the cleanup, not the sink lore. G eats and drinks. Coffee is a G press. Plated food needs the Eat Food pass (49 R$) before G will eat it; the pass also returns about 500 kJ. Without the pass, do not plan on snacking tickets to refill energy.
The locator finds utensils and ingredients. Bind it in your head the same way you bind E. When a recipe wants a ladle and the ladle is in the basement, locator. When you cannot see sugar, locator.
Mobile, console, and why Creative exists
Mobile uses pinch, rotate, and on-screen action buttons for the same verbs: pick up, E, Q, flip, throw, eat, empty. Console is supported.
If a device fight is losing you tickets, switch to Solo and practice, or open Creative mode where energy never depletes and nobody is waiting on a burger. Ranked Level 15 and 35 are the wrong place to learn Q. Read ranked servers after the binds are boring.
Controls will not pay the bills
Good hands still go bankrupt. Restock from the office laptop, drive the truck, unload onto the garage conveyor — that loop is the factory restock guide. Instant Delivery (59 R$) skips the drive. Energy and the 6% bill compound live on energy and bills. Split the work with kitchen roles. Trolls steal food, dump ingredients, and empty pots; vote kick exists.
Passes that change how you move or carry: 1.5x Speed 119 R$, Food Basket 79, Grab Players 299, Eat Food 49, Instant Delivery 59, Manager 399 (hours, menu, apron), Japanese decor 99, Fine dining decor 99, and Double Claim (newer, no price listed here). None of them replace learning E and Q. There are no live promo codes as of September 2026; see codes if that ever changes.
When a shift feels cursed, it is usually a missing locator search or a Q you never pressed on the oven. Fix the bind, then fix the pantry. That order saves more diners than a new gamepass.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers chefs actually search for.
What does E do versus Q?
E is primary: mold dough or rice, pour, crack eggs, use appliances. Q is secondary: inspect composition, oven on/off, rice cooker cook, first stove. Mixing them is why food stays raw.
How do I find a missing ladle or ingredient?
Use the locator. It marks utensils and ingredients on the desert plot so you are not sprinting between the basement and the garage.
Can I eat the food I plate?
G eats and drinks (coffee included). Plated food requires the Eat Food pass (49 R$), which also returns about 500 kJ. See energy and bills.
Does mobile or console work?
Yes. Mobile has pinch, rotate, and action buttons. Console is supported. Practice the same verbs in Creative mode if a public kitchen is too fast.
How do I rotate dough or a plate?
Hold the item and use Shift plus WASD, Z, and C. The mouse wheel sets hold distance (and zooms in third person). V swaps first and third person; Ctrl in first person unlocks the mouse.
Where should I go after learning binds?
Cook from the recipe list, then keep factory restock and the Guides Hub open. Ranked waits until the locator is habit.