Escape Academy Trial By Taste Walkthrough: Complete Puzzle Guide

Trial By Taste is the cafeteria-themed escape room in Escape Academy where you’ll face poisoning and a race against time. The level has a 2/5 difficulty rating, but the 15-minute antidote timer can make it challenging. This walkthrough covers every puzzle solution you need to complete the room and earn a top grade.

Start the level by heading to The Cafeteria and talking to Jeb. Your initial objective seems simple: unlock a serving dish to get a milkshake. However, drinking that milkshake triggers the real challenge—you’ll be poisoned and must find an antidote within 15 minutes.

Collecting the Three Funky Forks

The serving dish requires three Funky Forks to unlock. Here’s where to find each one:

Fork #1 - Conveyor Belt: Position yourself near the conveyor belt to the right of Jeb. Wait for the belt to bring a plate with a Fork on it and quickly grab it when it passes.

Fork #2 - Microwave: Before getting this fork, walk to the opposite side of the room from Jeb and pick up the Fire Extinguisher near the window. Between the window and the extinguisher location, you’ll see a paper on the wall labeled “FORBIDDEN Microwave Knowledge.” This paper shows that Unidentified Meat requires 3:35 cooking time.

Return to Jeb and interact with the microwave to his left. Input 3:35 on the microwave. The Unidentified Meat inside contains metal (the second Funky Fork), which starts a fire when microwaved. Use your Fire Extinguisher to put out the flames, then collect the Fork from the charred remains.

Fork #3 - Serving Area: The third Funky Fork sits on the tray with plates to the left of the Serving Dish. Simply pick it up.

With all three Forks collected, inspect the Serving Dish and insert each Fork into its corresponding lock. Drink the milkshake—and discover you’ve been poisoned. A 15-minute countdown begins. You need to find an antidote, starting with escaping the kitchen.

Escaping the Kitchen

The freezer door blocks your exit from the kitchen, and it’s locked with a code. To get the code:

Find the toaster on the table in the middle of the room and interact with it. The toaster will eject four oddly shaped slices of bread. These bread shapes are the code for the freezer lock—memorize the shapes and input them on the freezer door lock.

Once inside the freezer, turn left and go to the back. You’ll see a poster on the wall—take a picture of it with your phone, as you’ll need it later. On the shelf to the right of the poster, grab the Kitchen Knife. On the shelf to the left of the poster, you’ll find an ice box containing an Ice Cube With A Key inside.

Exit the freezer and head to the hob with the frying pan on it, located to the left just before reaching the window. Place the Ice Cube in the pan to melt it and retrieve the Small Key that was frozen inside.

Use the Small Key to open the kitchen door and enter the dining room.

Finding the Antidote Recipe

In the dining room, go to the fireplace on the right side. Use your Fire Extinguisher to put out the fire burning there. Once the flames are out, pick up the Dirty Plate from inside the fireplace.

Return to the kitchen and wash the Dirty Plate using the sink on the middle table (where the toaster is located). The plate transforms into a Cryptic Plate that contains important information.

Head back to the dining room and go to the big table on the left side of the room (the last table on the left). Place the Cryptic Plate here to reveal the Antidote Recipe. The recipe indicates you need to identify exactly what poison is affecting you before you can create the cure.

Identifying the Poison

Return to the fireplace area in the dining room. On the table to the left of the fireplace, you’ll see a cake. Use the Kitchen Knife you collected from the freezer to cut the cake. Pay attention to the order of the colored layers from top to bottom.

Move to the next table over, where you’ll find a locked present. The lock requires a color code based on the cake layers. Enter the colors in this order:

1. Red
2. Yellow
3. Purple
4. Blue

The present opens to reveal an Encyclopedia of Poisons. Reading it confirms you’ve been poisoned with Belladonna. The encyclopedia also notes that combining Belladonna correctly with Calabar will produce the antidote you need.

The antidote ingredients are stored in the locked STAFF ONLY cabinet in the dining room, located on the opposite side from the kitchen, between the window and the exterior door. Your next task is finding the cabinet key.

Solving the Eavesdrop Puzzle

Remember the poster you photographed in the freezer? You’ll need it now. Return to the dining room and locate the TODAY’S SPECIALS picture behind the big table on the left side. Move the picture aside to reveal a triangle panel with four buttons.

The TODAY’S SPECIALS picture displays four food items:

1. Cheese
2. Apple
3. Meat
4. Bread

Check the freezer poster photo on your phone. Find each of the four food items from the TODAY’S SPECIALS picture on the poster and note their positions. According to the poster:

• Cheese is on the top
• Apple is to the right
• Meat is on the top
• Bread is on the bottom

Input this sequence on the triangle buttons: Top, Right, Top, Bottom. This unlocks the Staff Key, which you need for the final step.

Mixing the Antidote

With the Staff Key in hand, go to the STAFF ONLY cabinet in the dining room. Open it and examine the Antidote Recipe inside. The recipe requires:

• One dash of Belladonna Syrup
• Three dashes of Calabar Extract
• One splash of Mineral Water

Add the ingredients to the Shaker in exactly this order and quantity. Once mixed, drink the antidote to cure yourself and complete the Trial By Taste escape room.

Tips for Getting a Good Grade

Speed is crucial for earning a high grade in Trial By Taste. Here are some efficiency tips:

Grab the Fire Extinguisher early: You’ll need it twice—once for the microwave fire and once for the fireplace. Getting it at the start of the level saves backtracking.

Pause while following the guide: The 15-minute timer after drinking the milkshake continues running. If you need to reference this walkthrough, pause the game to preserve time.

Memorize codes quickly: The toast shapes and cake colors are visual puzzles. Take a moment to clearly observe them before moving to the lock, rather than running back and forth.

Don’t skip the freezer poster: Taking the photo immediately when you first enter the freezer prevents an extra trip later when you need it for the Eavesdrop puzzle.

Be precise with the antidote: The mixing instructions specify exact amounts—one dash, three dashes, one splash. Follow the order and measurements exactly as given in the recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I mess up the antidote recipe? Following the exact recipe as documented—one dash Belladonna Syrup, three dashes Calabar Extract, and one splash Mineral Water—should work. Adding ingredients in the wrong order or wrong amounts may require you to restart the mixing process.

Can I complete Trial By Taste without the Fire Extinguisher? No, the Fire Extinguisher is essential. You must use it to put out the microwave fire to get the second Funky Fork, and you need it again to extinguish the fireplace to retrieve the Dirty Plate.

How much time do I actually have after drinking the milkshake? You have exactly 15 minutes from when you drink the poisoned milkshake to find and consume the antidote. This timer adds urgency to the second half of the escape room.

What’s the next level after Trial By Taste? After completing Trial By Taste, the next escape room level is called Tea Kettle.