It wasn't too bad overall, but that might be because I didn't spend much at any given time. I used the karma vendors along the way and tried to discover recipes along the way, which maximized my return experience-wise. When I did find a new karma vendor out in the wild, I would buy the bulk bags so that when I got back to Lion's Arch I could definitely discover as many of the recipes as I could.
Along the way, I occasionally found relatively easy recipes to grind on for cheap (I still have something like 80 Bowls of Roux in the bank). The final 150 points or so would've taken me a few more days if the Trading Post hadn't come up and allowed me to buy a ridiculous number of Peaches for a few copper each. I couldn't figure out why someone would sell such a high-level mat for so little until I noticed that vendors will no longer accept the vast majority of cooking materials for sale (I think to close off the karma:coin conversion that was happening). Of course, that means that cooking materials in particular will remain extremely cheap on the Trading Post for the immediate future simply because of supply and demand; when you have 8,000 karma then buy a bulk karma item for say 38 karma for a pack of 25 you don't mind selling it on the TP for 4 copper each and an impressive profit margin. For the final push, I used a Crafting Boost I'd received from my daily, which is how I ended up level 51 (albeit in mostly level 40 gear).
I still have several items I've never found, so there will still be more items submitted to the marketplace. I don't expect to see them available on the site for awhile though, since Cooking isn't one of those crafts that an approver can just look at and know it's right.
For those wondering, the last few recipes I used (and will submit once I get back to a safe spot in game) were:
Loaf of Banana Bread
Turnip Casserole
Chocolate Cherry Cake
Loaf of Zucchini Bread
Orange Coconut Bars
Peach Cookie
Plate of Steak & Asparagus
Peach Tarts
Now I'll have to start experimenting and trying to find out how to make those Banquets!