I must admit I do find it surprising that there’s so little variety in games, and what a breath of fresh air it is when there is something different - it’s one of the things I really enjoyed about A Piece of Cake / C’est de la tarte (le français).
I found myself wondering if it was an American thing, but no, I don’t feel that’s the case (I mean, just look at the-cooking-channel on our own Discord. Then I wondered if people writing these games just don’t enjoy food, but that seemed wrong too. There does seem to be a certain overlap between food in games and what, stereotypically, developers eat because they are in-the-zone and don’t have time to cook.
I have to disagree with @zdeerzzz assertion that foie gras is a fine dining thing. It really isn’t - at least in its cultural home. It gets discounted in French supermarkets, and all you need to add is bread and a knife, fig chutney if you are feeling fancy. Drop it in a cool box and you’ve a picnic. Sure, it’s not an everyday food, but it’s not just the province of Michelin star restaurants. And its got “fat” right there in the name!
This, very much this! More please! As for where to find inspiration - cookery books!