This new title from the casual games juggernaut Oberon expertly combines two of their successes. Taking elements from previous titles like Diner Dash and Cake Mania Go-Go Gourmet mixes it up with both seek-and-find food puzzles and zany count down clock time management. The chef who was tossing pans in the background in cooking games is now out on the floor. You play as a young woman who has inherited a restaurant from her grandfather. You start out as a beginner chef- owner rather than a hostess or waitress in the other games. You are shown food items and “recipes” to memorize at first. But don’t cook these at home. You wouldn’t want an entire braid of garlic bulbs or a bundle of chili peppers in real food! Then time counts down on the clock as you follow the recipe and try to find all the tiny food items that are laid out in the kitchen. They don’t always stay in the same place. It gets very hectic and complicated. You’ll have to deliver those meals before the customers walk out and you’ll have no time to waste.

You train in a variety of restaurants including a diner, seafood restaurant and a Chinese restaurant. You will have to search the food-cluttered kitchen for ingredients. Then chop, fry, boil, saute and bake as many orders as possible before the kitchen closes. The more orders you handle, the more money you make and then you’ll get your own restaurant. When you are successful at your shifts of cooking you are rewarded with money to help redecorate your restaurant. You’ll choose furniture and floors and everything needed to refurb it and make it your own. It’s a much easier way to get the feeling of being a restaurant owner without having to compete in Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. Go-Go Gourmet is much cooler.

The colors are bright and cheerful. The seek and find aspect isn’t too hard or that would have made it way too difficult. The game seems to get it all right. The balance obviously took some effort to do.

The music is upbeat but a little corny. In the build I am playing you couldn’t separate the volume of the music from the volume of the sound effects. I imagine that in the retail download version, they have this fixed.

It’s lots of fun and If you enjoyed the Dream Day First Home game or any of the cooking games you’ll love this one. Play it before dinnertime because it will make you hungry. Go-Go Gourmet gets a solid 8 out of 10.