Tales of the Shire: How to Share Meals

Tales of the Shire is all about coziness, friendship, and growth as a community; which is why the Share Meals system is such an important part of it. You will get introduced to the concept early, but each person is different, and may have different cravings, so it’s important to have a variety of different foods already cooked, as well as having the resources to make more in this fun life-sim title.

If you need to know how to Share Meals, ways to improve the experience, and how it directly impacts your gameplay experience in Tales of the Shire, we’re here to help. A good meal is important to Hobbits, so make sure everyone gets what they want.

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How to use the Share Meals system in Tales of the Shire

Anytime you’re in your home in Tales of the Shire, you can set up a Shared Meal. At first, you’ll only have access to one venue, your home, but others will be available as time progresses. You can set up a Shared Meal by going to your writing desk, which has a default location of your dining room. As you build friendships and ranks in the various Clubs, you can unlock other important places like the Green Dragon Inn.

As long as the guest in question doesn't have a purple face next to them, they can be invited (Image via Take-Two Interactive)

From here, you pick the people that are going to attend, and the specific venue that you wish for it to take place at. The Shared Meal will then take place the next day in Tales of the Shire, whenever you want to go to the location. There is an achievement for having a late-day breakfast, which is kind of nice and fitting.

Each Hobbit (or Dwarf) has their own favorite meals, as well as other cravings. The Hobbits who will be in attendance will send you a letter, stating they will be there, and what kind of meal they’re hoping to have. This gives you one final chance to get in the kitchen. If you don’t have any meals prepared that they’d like, you have a chance to make one.

I tend to bring what I have that I know they will like, and then bring extra meals, if one of the guests is a mystery, or I don’t have anything specific they requested. Bring the meals in your inventory, and set out specific meals in front of your guests. If you see a yellow smiling icon, it’s the perfect dish. Green is content, but anything else is not a good thing.

I also cannot stress enough to save before you start setting out dishes. During the review time, I had quite a few freezes/lockups while having conversations/cutscenes with the various Hobbits, so I recommend saving first for that reason. You don’t want to redo a whole day’s worth of content.

Knowing what your friends like to eat makes this a far more enjoyable experience (Image via Take-Two Interactive)

When everyone has a dish, begin the meal, and wait for their reactions. Afterwards, you’ll see how much your friendship has improved with them, if you satisfied their craving, and if they have a gift for you.

If you level up with them, odds are they will have a gift, which you can pick up from them before they depart the venue. This is a system you’ll want to take advantage of often in Tales of the Shire; that way, you’re constantly leveling up your relationships, and improving your cooking skills.

The primary benefits of the Shared Meal system in Tales of the Shire is to improve your friendships with the other Hobbits. This can lead to several things, such as improving the size of your house, chickens so you can get eggs, and much more. In addition, you often receive new cooking recipes from leveling up, as well as cosmetics to display in your home. Finally, picking one of your friend's cravings will net you a gift in the mail as well.

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Tales of the Shire releases on July 29, 2025 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X}S, PC, and the Nintendo Switch. You can learn more about the game in our in-depth review.