These are just suggestions - cooking can be done on a mule without all of these things. These can be done before you start your career as a cook, or as you start to make more money you can invest in these things during your cooking adventure.
Note: You may find the assistance of these three websites to be helpful with the advice on this page: FFXI-Atlas (for maps), NPC Finder (to find specific NPCs), FFXIclopedia (for quest walk throughs).
Sneak & Invisible: Traveling around Vana’diel can be somewhat dangerous, depending on where you wish to go. It is always a general good rule that if you do not have the ability to cast a spell that will enable you sneak and invisible, that you carry oils and powders in your inventory just in case you find yourself in a sticky spot. While they might be expensive, they are well worth their price and definitely worth the two spaces they take up in your inventory. I personally always carry a stack of each, even if I am on a job that casts the spells - you never know when you will end up in an area with mobs that agro to magic.
Chocobo License: It is very useful to be able to get around from place to place on a chocobo, especially from Teleports. You get this quest by being level 20 and starting the quest in Jeuno. Keep in mind that here after you can ride chocobo's from towns at level 15 and from crags at level 20. Riding a chocobo below level 20 (which is only allowed at level 15 from a major nation) will result in shorter rides.
Airship Pass: It is very valuable to be able to have easy access to all of the nations, including Kazham. The airship pass is obtainable by finishing Mission 5. An airship pass can be very valuable for a mule that you intend to utilize during your cooking career as well. They are purchasable (but expensive) in Lower Jeuno if you do not want to walk a mule through the missions.
Aht Urhgan Access: This expansion offers new opportunities to all players, including cooks. The quest for access to this area begins at the Tenshodo in Lower Jeuno.
Lure of the Wildcat: These quests allow you to teleport directly to White Gate from your home nation if you complete them. Just trading 300 gil will get you there. Very valuable to save time and quickly move through the world.
All Gobbiebag upgrades: Do this on the character you plan to level your cooking craft on. As a secondary, you could do these quests on a mule that might help with storage or muling/selling of your cooking items. Since these quests are done in Jeuno, you would need to get your mule to Jeuno expand your mules inventory too.
Mog House Exit Quests: Time efficiency is a high priority for me, even my mules can exit from their mog house into any part of the city they are located in or have ever been located in.
Mog Safe: Adding as much space for your items as possible is extremely valuable. This is also wonderful on mules that you do not plan to move to Jeuno.
Mog Locker: Adding another 70 spaces to your storage that is accessible in all of the cities is extremely valuable to a busy cook.
Maps: Buy every map you can and open coffers & chests and quest for the rest. They are valuable for the traveling cook, especially if you are a soloist.
Tenshodo Membership: Get this, you will need it if you want to do work with Sushi and other interesting items. You also want this to raise your Norg fame.
Mark Your Maps: In each of the nations just outside the mog house exit there is a map marker NPC. Have the NPC mark your maps for easy to find locations. You should also make a habit of marking your map manually when you need to remember something important.
Access to Teleports: What can I say, if you are looking for fast travel having a WHM job or subjob with the Teleports is extremely valuable for time efficiency. The teleport rings are also valuable if you can buy them. In the very least you can always grab a ride with a WHM in the area (be sure to pay them for the service). Keep in mind that you must travel to the crystal and touch the teleport location before you can make good use of the teleport spell to get there. Traveling by foot or Chocobo will get you to the crags or crystal locations. Once you touch the spot, you will have the key item forever needed to be teleported back to that location and you will not have to worry about getting the key item again.
Access to a form of Warp: Always carry a Warp Scroll (obtainable from gate guards), Warp Cudgel, Warp Item or a job with warp ability. Warp is always valuable for saving time and getting out of sticky situations.
Chocobo Raising: Just do it. Raise yourself a speedy one if you can - just keep Strength and Endurance as your focus when you go through the raising process. Get a Chocobo Whistle as soon as you can and keep it updated with your chocobo’s current stats and keep filling the use when it’s empty. Trust me, this is unbelievably one of the best things added to the game. You can call your chocobo in any location where you can normally ride one - it saves uber amounts of time!
Access to Outpost Teleports: Collect and gather those outpost teleports - they are so incredibly valuable in allowing you to move around the world of Vana’diel. I find the Outpost Teleports trump WHM teleports and Airships if you have a Chocobo you can call (via chocobo raising). Even on foot, they are extremely valuable and often times much faster then an Airship ride. Keep an eye out each Sunday for the new conquest results - if you have a chance to get one of the outposts in the region just outside of one of the three big nations, be sure to do it, you will not regret it.
Special Note: Many of the outposts have level restrictions. While you can obtain the outpost warp, you cannot actually use the warp unless you make the level requirement. Also you must obtain access to the outpost before you use it by delivering supplies to the outpost by another means of travel before you can warp straight there and back.
Imperial Silver Pieces: If you set your homepoint in Whitegate, it’s invaluable to carry around a stack of these for use with the warp taru in Whitegate (Kaduru-Haiduru at G-10). Kaduru-Haiduru will take you to either Jeuno or your home nation. When you are warped to your home nation you land right next to the outpost teleporter - a major time saver if you are traveling all over the world. You could use the free warp taru (Sihhu-Danhu at J-10) in Al’Zahbi, but that he can be captured in besieged so he might not always be present. Also Sihhu-Danhu only warps to Jeuno or a zone near Jeuno at random. I find the Whitegate warp taru, Kaduru-Haiduru, to be much more valuable.
Fame: Ultimately high fame is a great thing to have. It lowers NPC item prices and allows you access to fame related quests. Once you max your fame out in each area you never need to worry about it again. Quest to get your fame and I suggest doing real quests, not just repeatable quests. Quests provide not only items and gil, but story about the world you are living in. It’s an interesting world - you might as well get to know it, its people and the deep history it carries.
