I’m a huge fan of Cooking in Classic! Traveling the world in search of new recipes and new creatures to kill and cook is super fun! Cooking always felt worthwhile to level because of the strong survivability and regeneration (Stamina and Spirit) buffs given by food. Being “ahead of the curve” and getting access to a new tier of food could boost your HP by a huge amount!
That said, I think the changes made in the Forever beta need a second look. The 5% experience bonus is nice, but the actual benefits of eating food have been drastically reduced. The lowest level buff food used to give 2 Stam and 2 Spirit - those food items now give only 1 Stamina, or 1 Agility, or 2 Attack Power, or similarly pitiful stat boosts.
In addition, food like Sagefish, which used to restore Health AND Mana, now only restores health, making it that much less special.
I’m loving Forever so far, but I feel like the changes here haven’t quite hit the mark yet.