Install Cooking for Blockheads on a server

Cooking for Blockheads, by BlayTheNinth, adds a cooking book and kitchens built from several blocks. The recipe book shows only the foods you can make with what you carry and what is stored in the connected kitchen blocks. It runs on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge and needs a library mod called Balm. This guide installs it on a NeoForge server running Minecraft 26.3, the newest release, and lists the older builds.

Checked against Cooking for Blockheads 26.3.0.2 with Balm 26.3.0.3 on NeoForge 26.3, October 2026.

Pick the right build

Modrinth lists these newest files, all marked release:

• Minecraft 26.3: 26.3.0.2 for NeoForge and Fabric, published on 2 October 2026. The jar asks for Minecraft 26.3 up to, but not including, 26.4.
• Minecraft 26.2 and 26.1.2: separate NeoForge and Fabric builds.
• Minecraft 1.21.1: 21.1.24 for Forge, NeoForge and Fabric, published on 10 July 2026.
• Minecraft 1.20.1: 16.0.15 for Forge and Fabric, published on 13 January 2026.

To change loader or version, open JAR Manager under More, choose NeoForge under Server software and 26.3 under Minecraft version, then press Apply change. The panel picks the Java version for you, which is Java 25 for 26.x. The switch reinstalls the server and keeps your world, so make a backup in the Backups tab first. Change your Minecraft version or mod loader has the full steps.

Install it

1. Open Mods under Content and keep the Modrinth chip selected in the source chip row at the top of the tab. The Game version filter starts on your server's version.
2. Search for Cooking for Blockheads and press Install on Cooking for Blockheads. Pantry for Blockheads, the other result, is a separate project.
3. A prompt titled "Needs 1 more add-on" names Balm, which Modrinth lists as required. Press Install all.
4. Restart from the Console tab. The install toast says "Restart the server to load them".

On Fabric, Modrinth also lists Fabric API as required. Its prompt then lists Fabric API as well, and Install all adds it with Balm.

Open the Installed view to check. Cooking for Blockheads and Balm should both be listed with no Failed to load badge.

Players need it too

Modrinth lists Cooking for Blockheads as required on both the client and the server. Each player installs the same mod and Balm for their loader and Minecraft version. Join a modded server from your launcher covers the player side, and Fix the mismatched mod channel list error explains a refusal when versions differ.

Building a kitchen

The project's site lists the blocks, which include the Cooking Table, Counter, Sink, Oven, Fridge, Cabinet, Connector, Kitchen Floor, Cow in a Jar and Toaster. Right-clicking the Cooking Table opens the recipe book. Kitchen blocks must touch to count as connected, the Kitchen Floor can link blocks that are farther apart, and the Connector joins blocks in corners where others would not fit. A connected Sink supplies water for recipes, and a connected Oven adds cooking and smelting recipes. Coal goes in the Oven's fuel slot unless the config asks for cooking oil.

Settings

The project's configuration page names cookingforblockheads-common.toml in the config folder and lists options that include:

• ovenRequiresCookingOil, default false, which needs Pam's Harvestcraft.
• sinkRequiresWater, default false.
• disallowOvenAutomation, default false.
• ovenCookTimeMultiplier, default 1.0.
• cowJarEnabled, default true.

Stop the server before you edit the file in the File Manager. The page recommends restarting after a change.

Common problems

• The server stops at startup: Balm is missing or older than 26.3.0.2, which the 26.3.0.2 jar asks for. Install the newest Balm for your loader.
• No results for your version: Modrinth also lists older builds for other Minecraft versions from 1.18 up. If the search shows nothing, check that the Game version filter matches your server, or change the server's version in JAR Manager as the build section describes.
• Other crashes: Fix mod and plugin errors on Minecraft covers reading the Console log.