I think there should be a hunger level, though, as in reality, it would take several weeks to actually kill you. Long before that it would start having other effects. For instance, your stamina would take longer to regenerate the hungrier you are. Of course, if you\'ve just stuffed yourself you\'re not going to be doing much, either, so that should be accounted for, too. There should be one point where your stamina regenerates the fastest, and you eat to stay near there, like in reality. Food should be easy to come by, better food harder. As for the possability of buffs and such, I think that it should be a longer term bonus... maybe it\'d effect you for the day or something, after taking a little while to set in. Even a moderately skilled cook should be able to add a little something to the food, and the better the cook, the bigger the bonus.
What I mean by longer term is that you shouldn\'t want to eat a cake right before jumping into combat or anything. It shouldn\'t be a perminent improvement to your character, either.