The Red Kitchen Reader

A Sneak skill book: an Imperial food critic’s memory of the best meal he ever ate.

The Red Kitchen Reader is by Simocles Quo, who served as Master of Cuisine at the court of Pelagius IV. Asked what the best thing he ever ate was, he answers with a story from his past: a meal served by a woman cooking for her children in a red kitchen, and a meat dish he has never forgotten. He never found the house again.

Skill book

The Red Kitchen Reader is a Sneak skill book. The first time you read a copy, your Sneak skill goes up by one point – later copies of the same title don’t give anything extra, so there is no need to carry them around.

Notes

The book never says what kind of meat it was. Many readers have their suspicions.

Book details

  • Author (in game): Simocles Quo
  • Teaches: Sneak (+1)
  • Weight: 1
  • Base value: 75 gold
  • Item ID: 0001AFD5

More Sneak skill books

2920, Last Seed, v8, Legend of Krately House, Sacred Witness, Three Thieves.

Value, weight and skill read from the Skyrim game files; locations from community-checked lists. The book text is summarised here in our own words – read the full text in game.

Where to find it

  • Frostmere Crypt.
  • New Gnisis Cornerclub in Windhelm, propped between a barrel and the stairwell.
  • Nightingale Hall, on the floor next to a bed in the three-bed dorm.
  • Pinewatch north-east of Falkreath, in the kitchen area of the hideout.
  • Riftweald Manor in Riften, beside Mercer’s plans on the desk during The Pursuit.

Lore notes

Quest reward from

Where to find it

Falkreath is the quiet forest town of southern Skyrim with a famously large graveyard – home of Jarl Siddgeir, the Dead Man’s Drink and a talking dog called Barbas.
Riften is the canal city of the Rift – autumn forests, the Black-Briar family, the Temple of Mara and the Thieves Guild beneath its streets.
Windhelm is the ancient, snow-covered capital of Eastmarch and the Stormcloak stronghold – home of Ulfric Stormcloak’s Palace of the Kings and the Gray Quarter.

Characters connected to it

Other books for this skill

Sneak
By Enric Milnes
A Sneak skill book: a poet’s account of meeting the Night Mother – and what it cost him.
Heavy Armor
By Tavi Dromio
A Heavy Armor skill book: a tavern debate about the greatest warrior ever – and a story about a man at home in his armor.
Lockpicking
By Aniis Noru
A Lockpicking skill book: two thieves break into the wrong castle.
Lockpicking
By Waughin Jarth
A Lockpicking skill book: book one of the Wolf Queen saga about young Potema Septim.
Block
By Reven
A Block skill book: part three of the Beggar–Thief–Warrior–King series.
Smithing
By Livillus Perus
A Smithing skill book: an art critic’s interview with the famous Khajiit tapestrist Cherim.
Sources checked: Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm + strings, read 2026-10-11); Elder Scrolls Fandom book articles (locations)