County of Fortune chestnut oil mayor and chain guide

For the County of Fortune chestnut oil mayor question, the playtested answer is simple: pick a mayor whose trait list includes the chestnut oil workshop, and build the chestnut oil press in a level 3 town supplied with chestnuts from a chestnut orchard. A first-hand Early Access level 3 playthrough shows that trait sitting under the mill-style icon.

Build the chestnut oil chain

The press is a Town-level building, so the demo — capped at settlement level 2 — cannot make chestnut oil at all. You need Early Access and a settlement already at Artisan tier. Beef on chestnut oil combines chestnut oil with bread and beef as an Artisan-tier dish, so pick a press town that already imports bread and produces beef.

1. Find chestnut land

   Chestnuts only grow where the map permits an orchard; the playthrough found workable soil only in the southeast and founded a fresh town there.

2. Seed the orchard

   Appoint a mayor with a chestnut-orchard bonus if one exists — the player used Cedric Oakley — then plant the orchard and let it staff up.

3. Place the press

   Build the chestnut oil press in a level 3 settlement already receiving bread and beef; in the footage it went into the cheese-making town.

4. Route the chestnuts

   Open trade with T or the top-left trade button, add a route from the orchard settlement to the press town, and leave it on auto-trade.

5. Activate the dish

   Enable beef on chestnut oil in each Artisan settlement's Needs tab; a warning icon on the press means chestnuts are not arriving.

Seat the right mayor

Per the official demo FAQ, open the settlement window, click the empty red portrait, then click the portrait of the mayor you want. Hover each candidate's trait icons — or click a building to sort mayors by matching skill — before appointing. Swapping now costs nothing: the developers removed negative mayor bonuses and the swap penalty in the pre-release rebalance, and all candidates share one window. Region-leader mayors cannot be moved, so the playthrough spent an education point to grant a needed skill instead. If nobody carries the trait, any mayor still runs the press at lower efficiency — swap when a better hire appears.

Next steps

• Timbercross lamp workshop — the same run builds lamps from glass and iron next.
• Alburn iron mine — where that playthrough sources its iron ore.
• Do you need every food type? — how supplied food raises workshop efficiency.

FAQ

Who is the best County of Fortune chestnut oil mayor?

A mayor whose traits include the chestnut oil workshop — the mill-style icon in the footage. Pair them with a chestnut-orchard mayor in the farming settlement for the strongest chain.

Can I produce chestnut oil in the demo?

No. The official demo FAQ caps settlements at level 2, and the press is a level 3 Artisan building, so it only exists in Early Access.

What does beef on chestnut oil require?

Chestnut oil, bread and beef — chestnuts feed the press, a bakery supplies the bread, and local beef completes the dish, per the playthrough.

What if no mayor has the chestnut oil trait?

Run the press anyway and swap later; replacing mayors carries no penalty, and education points can teach the skill to a mayor you cannot move.

Checked on 2026-11-02 against the official Steam demo FAQ and dev diaries on the Steam page and a first-hand level 3 Early Access playthrough; the trait icon's exact name and which plots accept chestnut orchards vary by map and remain unconfirmed.