My winner will come from this list. Here they are in no particular order!
Candied Magic
Amélie consistently hits my shortlists for a reason, she's an amazing worldbuilder and I always look forward to reading her articles. This year, she went with a minimal article style that relies on presentation for maximal punch! Here she describes what look like gumdrops that restore your bodies magical reserves, basically mana potions! she delivers everything you need to know concisely and in an entertaining style. 10 out of 10 would try!
Greymarsh Menu
RandoScorpio really pulled out the stops on this article. They describe typical meals in the Greymarsh for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. They sound delicious and I'd try everything described, tentacles and all, 10 out of 10! But they really pull out the stops in the sidebar. RandoScorpio goes out of their way to describe the plants and animals used for ingredients in the meals they describe! They even describe fermentation and pickling processes in detail!
Tha Rowund Bread
I have fallen for TheDumbOwl's writing and simple, yet fantastic, art style. I hadn't seen their work before this Summer Camp and they are one of my favorite new world builders. They have a fun whimsical world and all of their art is child-like pencil or pen drawings on lined paper. The writing is snarky and hilarious! Here they write about "the round bread" made by orcs, for orcs, and in as orcish a manner as possible. There's a recipe that sounds simple and easy, but I don't know where I can get "5 points of Psychic Energy" to make this.
The Pirate's Menu
Like myself, RPGDinosaurBob has been around the sun a few times and in that time he's forgotten more about worldbuilding than most of us have learned. He's another old friend on my shortlists and he's definitely earned a spot this time too. In this article he describes six different dishes used by different peoples on long sailing voyages. He details human, chittiki (rat-folk) dwarven, felisean (cat-folk), goblin and halfling solutions for preserving food that will survive a long trip.
Luari Cuiseane
Hanhula cleaned up at last year's Summer Camp for a reason! She's another person who's work I admire and this article is no exception. In this article, she has thoroughly thought through different types of undersea cuisine and what underwater folks would eat at different latitudes. She describes common meals, with Midjourney art and fun quotes, for different ocean areas of her world.
Mayab Cuisine
Kefkejaco is another veteran world builder who knows how to deliver a quality article. Here they have written a well researched treatise on Mayan cuisine with what appers to be a focus on traditional pronunciation and methods. They give an overview of the cuisine and then focus on ixi'im (maize/corn) and kakaw (cocoa). I love articles where I actually learn something.
I had 30+ articles on my initial "shortlist" and any of these could have easily made it onto my "real" shortlist! These articles gave me a chuckle, or made my laugh, or made me think. Again, here they are in no particular order. They're definitely worth a read!
Moontine
My good friend Chris wrote this specifically to get me to laugh and he has done so in a most punishing manner! Lots of fun to be had here!
Mote Poppers
Similarly, my friend AuthorGoddess wrote this article to gross me out! Here she describes the ultimate unfortunate survival food
Sizzling Sarimsoq Shenanigans
The helpful and wonderful Sh4d0wPh03n1x has delivered a lovely article about her world's version of garlic! Don't mind me, I'm off to make some garlic confit!
B.O.E.R.FS - Body Operation Energy Refuel Foods
There's definitely a subset of cuisine articles that I got about gross out foods that no one would ever want to try. This is one of them, but it's amusing and knows it!
Thousand Tastes of Duskwood
It's no surprise that an article from Davina is full of exquisite darkness and subtly creep vibes. Her ingredients include: children's fright, throat fire, and cooked sun balls. She has assured me that these are analogs for real world foods, but I'm both intrigued and appaled. Can't wait to see what all of this really is!
Votarra Breeze
CW: Drug use. This is an article about a fizzy drink named "Votarra Breeze" that used to be made with an addictive drink, but isn't anymore. The inventor is a goblin named "Kash Monet" and that alone landed this article on this list. What can I say? I'm easy!
Phytozoa Culinary Arts
Another theme in the articles I read this year focused on dangerous foods that could maybe kill you. This one's about a dangerous plant/animal hybrid that can kill you with poison or thorns, but people eat it anyway!
Shimmering Ambrosia
Kat is on the WorldAnvil staff and can't technically win, but she's put in a fun article that I really enjoyed! Here she describes a couple of cocktails that I would definitely try if I could get a hold of "shimmering magical algae." Anyone have a real-world equivalent?
Tummarble: Rock Roast
And here's another World Anvil staffer and another fun article! This one's about rocks. That you cook. Then you eat them. And they're... juicy. I would be tempted to eat them, but they're.. you know... rocks!
Stuffed Orbshroom Nubs
When this prompt was announced on scroll, I challenged people to include recipes and a lot of people took me up on it! I've considered making some of these recipes and if I do I'll udpate this article. Moonlight Bard left me a yummy recipe where they totally didn't yell at the cook that I may try out!
Festival Of Bitter Regret
Vazdimet describes a non-delicious unfun ritual here that's not pleasant, but is a good bit of world building about some unpleasant people. The subject isn't fun, but the article itself is very good!
Mummer Nums
Sapha delivers a chaotic and hilarious article about idiots who risk their lives for cheese. It's really good lives and they don't value their lives, so shenanigans ensue. Lots of fun here!
Swimming Rama
This is a quick article from an accomplished writer that I admire very much. Swimming Rama is a curry fusion that sounds like lots of Southeast Asian dishes that I've had in real life. I think I have all the ingredients for this in my kitchen and I may make it this week!
Guano Beetle Fricassee
This unfortunately named recipe from Dazzlinkat is told from the perspective of a goblin not too worried about measurements... or hygiene. I, for one, would love to try it, but I'd switch out the poopy bugs and throw in crawfish or shrimp instead!
Nice work! Honored to make the list of Honorable Mentions.
You're welcome! Thanks for thinking of me when you wrote it!
Take a look at my Institutions of Learning challenge article.
Learn about the World of Wizard's Peak and check out my award winning article about the Ghost Boy of Kirinal!