Recipe for Disaster Recipe for Disaster is a quest available in . Background . After completing " The Cure for Madness , " Astrid informs the Dragonborn that Festus Krex has information regarding the next mission . The Gourmet , a celebrity chef , is due to cook for the Emperor . The Dragonborn must kill him and take his place . Walkthrough . The quest begins by talking to Festus in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary . He has a signed copy of a cookbook that appears to have a message for one Anton Virane , who is located inside Understone Keep in Markarth . Festus instructs the Dragonborn to learn The Gourmet ' s identity from Virane , kill him , find and kill The Gourmet , then get his Writ of Passage , which will allow the Dragonborn to take The Gourmet ' s place . He also suggests that The Gourmet ' s body be hidden , to prevent others from discovering his true identity . He gives the Dragonborn the cookbook " Uncommon Taste - Signed " . Speaking with Gabriella before leaving will reveal her suggestion that The Gourmet ' s corpse be hidden in a body of water . Friend of a Chef . After traveling to the Understone Keep , Anton Virane can be questioned on the whereabouts of The Gourmet . He will refuse to reveal the location at first , but can be convinced to do so by intimidating him and saying that the Dark Brotherhood wants to know . He will reveal the Gourmet ' s identity as Balagog gro - Nolob , an Orc who is located in the Nightgate Inn . He will then ask the Dragonborn to let him live . There are three responses to this : lying and telling him that he will not be harmed , or remaining silent , will cause him to resume his schedule as normal . Choosing the second option , " I ' m afraid not , " will cause him to flee , though no guards or other civilians will come to his defense until he is actually assaulted . In any case , he must be killed . Some methods to do this are : Killing the Gourmet . Balagog gro - Nolob can be found in the Nightgate Inn . He will either be down at the dock by the lake ( during the day ) , or in his room in the inn ' s cellar . Killing him is rather simple , as there are no witnesses in the cellar and rarely any witnesses outside the inn , plus he has extremely low health and no armor . Acquiring the Bonus . To acquire the bonus , Balagog ' s body needs to be hidden somewhere . Back in the Sanctuary , Gabriella hinted that she uses bodies of water for hiding victims . The innkeeper of the Nightgate Inn , Hadring , mentions that Balagog often goes down to the lake . So , the Dragonborn can wait until he leaves ( around 12 : 00 p . m . to 1 : 00 p . m . ) , then follow him to the lake , kill him , and drag his body into the water ( the nearby river will not count ) . Due to his low health , even attacks such as Unrelenting Force will kill him instantly . A high damage ranged attack may throw him in the water . At that point , his body can be looted , which will complete both tasks . If he is killed in the cellar of the Nightgate Inn , there are several ways to hide his body . One is to drag his body and lift it into the large empty wine barrel at the east end of the room . Removing everything from his inventory will make his body lighter , and may be necessary to lift him into the barrel . Another way is to drag him behind the hay bales until this part of the quest is marked as completed . Dragging the body under the bed also works . Finally , if he is spoken to and told that he is going to be killed , he will run and try to hide behind a vat - if he is then killed there , his body is hidden enough to satisfy the " hide his body " objective . Note that the Disintegrate perk or the Dragonborn Force enhancement to Unrelenting Force may turn Balagog ' s body to ash , making it impossible to hide . Finishing the quest . The quest is completed by reporting back to Festus Krex . Aside from giving payment to the Dragonborn , he also gives the Nightweaver ' s Band if the optional objective ( hiding The Gourmet ' s body ) is also completed .