Tackling the Great Taste of Pharloom quest in Hollow Knight: Silksong is likely one of the most involved quests you'll pursue in the game. Feeding Loyal Mergwin's master in the Choral Chambers' dining hall requires you to collect five unique items from throughout the kingdom, which, in turn, means you'll have to explore extensively and acquire most of the game's movement abilities.
You'll need both the Clawline and Faydown Cloak to grab the Crustnut and the Pickled Muckmaggot, not to mention that those abilities will help a lot when delivering the Courier's Rasher, on foot, to the dining hall and Loyal Mergwin. Here, I'll explain where to find each item in the Great Taste of Pharloom quest, and I've also included a video of my Courier's Rasher route so you know which way to go.
Silksong Mossberry Stew location
The first one is always the simplest. To collect Mossberry stew, you simply have to go to see the Moss Druid who lives in Mosshome above Bone Bottom (accessible via The Marrow). I can't confirm this 100% (since I'd already done the quest by this time), but it's likely that you also need to complete the Berrypicking quest for her and find three Mossberries. If, in the unlikely event you never did this quest, our linked guide explains the particulars.
Silksong Vintage Nectar location
The second is also quite simple. To get Vintage Nectar, go see Creige in the Halfway House at the centre of Greymoor. He'll ask you to pay 480 Rosaries for the nectar (if you don't have it, check out my quick and easy rosary farm), and then he'll open his basement and send you to grab it. Before you head downstairs: this is essentially an arena fight against red ant enemies. When you try to grab the nectar at the bottom, they'll burst through the walls, and you'll have to deal with them all before you can collect it, so make sure you're prepared.
Silksong Pickled Muckmaggot location
The Pickled Muckmaggot comes from the Disgraced Chef Lugoli boss in the Sinner's Road area. You'll need the Faydown Cloak (double jump) to access the arena, meaning you'll have to climb Mount Fay, which is accessible through The Slab, which is, in turn, accessible via the left side of the Choral Chambers.
If you haven't been to Sinner's Road yet, its entrance is located directly above the Halfway House in Greymoor. To get there, climb the building on the left of Greymoor with the Chapel of the Reaper at the top and take the right upper walkway, before climbing higher and activating the lift shortcut down to the Halfway House—this will be your checkpoint until you fix the Sinner's Road bench.
From the bench room, head right into the big chamber with the maggots on the floor, hanging cages, and the spike wheels you can bounce off and continue to the far end, where you can use your double jump to access the arena and hit the dinner gong to start the fight. This boss is a bit of a pain at first, but essentially, you just have to avoid the maggot balls he fires out and jump to pogo attack when he does the sideways attack. Afterwards, he'll drop the Pickled Muckmaggot.
Silksong Crustnut location
This one is a real pain to reach. First off, you'll need the Clawline ability, which you can get in the right side of the Underworks. This area is accessible via Whiteward, if you grab the White Key to the right of the First Shrine in the upper right Choral Chambers and use it to open the elevator on the bottom level. You can also access it via the bottom left area of the Whispering Vaults (if you find the stage) where an elevator will take you down. The Whispering Vaults themselves are accessible via the right of the Cogwork Core's lower half.
Now that's all out of the way: the Crustnut is located in the Sands of Karak region, which is above the Pinstress's balloon, which is itself, behind the Great Conchflies boss in the Blasted Steps. You can find the boss room marked by a little sign on the left of the Blasted Steps section of the giant shaft that runs from Bone Bottom all the way up. After defeating them, climb to the Pinstress balloon and then use the Clawline to keep climbing into the Sands of Karak region.
This area has some horrific jumping puzzles and, until you smash the red hanging drill located in the main shaft, which opens up a shortcut to the Blasted Steps bench, the Pinstress's balloon is your checkpoint. Once at the main shaft, make sure to grab the map from Shakra in the lower left chamber, then climb to the top and smash the red spiky growths on the left to access a platforming section.
This section will likely take you a few attempts, but essentially, the name of the game is smashing the red spiky growths from precarious positions, allowing you to progress to the end where you'll find the Crustnut.
Silksong Courier's Rasher route and location
Oh boy, have I left the best till last. The Courier's Rasher requires a little setup, so first
- You'll have to take the My Missing Courier quest to rescue Courier Tipp in Bellhart and then find him in the lower left part of the main Bone Bottom shaft, to the left of the Shellwoods on a ledge. Kill the enemies and he'll fly back to Bellhart, where you can find him on the upper level.
- Speak to him about the Courier's Rasher and he'll tell you that his brother, Courier Pill, is needed, so you'll have to rescue him as well in the My Missing Brother quest from the Bellhart board.
- Long story short, Pill is in Sinner's Road (luckily you've already been there for the Muckmaggot). From the bench, head right into the big room with the maggots and hanging cages and climb to the upper left corner, where you'll find Pill assailed by enemies. Rescue him and he'll fly back to Bellhart.
Okay, now you're ready to start the actual challenge by talking to the couriers.
Similar to the Delicate Flower in Hollow Knight, you'll have to deliver the Courier's Rasher on foot to the dining room in the Choral Chambers. You'll have a time limit, and taking damage will reduce said limit, so you've got to be fast but careful. For extra speed, I recommend Flea Juice from The Lost Fleas quest plus the Silkspeed Anklets you get from the Weavenest in the far right of the Far Fields.
These, coupled with your movement abilities, should give you enough leeway. You can see my route in the video, and even though I was hit twice and messed up a little, I still made it, so there is some room for mistakes. Also, don't be afraid to open your main menu map during the delivery, as the time will stop ticking down.
So what's the reward?
After you've delivered all the ingredients and Loyal Mergwin has prepared the dish for his master, he'll open the container to his right so you can grab some Pale Oil for upgrading your needle. If this is your second needle upgrade, you'll also have to pay 500 Rosaries, but it's well worth it for the damage.
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