Eating food should give you increased stamina regen/cap

[Frank_Stein]

How about mutations and powers? The wizard has a spells that last certain amounts of time that give him buffs. Food could have those kinds of effects, with the first bite applying the effect and subsequent bites having no effect until the buff has cooled down. Cooked meals could either increase the length of the applied effects, or allow the individual effects of food items used in the recipe to stack.