Delicacies and their effects follow a few unique rules:
Each delicacy always features one, two, or three effects, depending on which taste combinations you used (the effects may also be four or six if you use the All You Can Eat Heroic Skill, on page 161); you decide in which order to apply these effects, and may choose to forgo any number of them (this choice must be exactly the same for all targets of the delicacy).
Effects 5 to 12 can only be applied during conflict scenes.
A delicacy can only have one type 5 effect (which is to say, a damage-dealing effect); if a delicacy has two or more type 5 effects due to the taste combinations you used, you must choose one of them and forgo the others.
A delicacy can only have one type 12 effect (which is to say, a damage type-changing effect); if a delicacy has two or more type 12 effects due to the taste combinations you used, you must choose one of them and forgo the others.
Other than that, all of a delicacy’s effects are cumulative, and will be fully applied to each of its target.
Example: If you obtain a type 2 effect on sweet + umami, a type 5 effect on bitter + umami, and a type 9 effect on bitter + sweet, the delicacy created combining these tastes will be able to deal damage, inflict a status effect, and also prevent the use of Skill actions for a brief period!
And Finally, A Bit of Advice!
This Class is quite atypical: there is no real way to perfectly control the role your character will cover, because your abilities are procedurally generated over the course of the campaign. However, remember that you may prepare delicacies outside of conflict scenes: it will cost you some ingredients, true, but you will be able to “scout” the effects ahead of time and avoid trial and error during a critical situation.
Other than that, pay attention to which effects best synergize with each other and with the rest of your group, and take advantage of the multi property to apply the same delicacy to two or more enemies!