Frequently Asked Questions
Questions? If you're not sure what to do, ask someone who is
About GetMeCooking
See the about us page for information about the philosophy of GetMeCooking and the people behind it.
What's in the blog?
We blog about what we've done, what we're up to, places we're going, events we're attending, the fun we're having... things like that!
How can I keep up-to-date?
See how you can keep up-to-date with GetMeCooking in a variety of formats.
How can I search for recipes?
The recipes page lets you quickly and easily search for recipes.
- The page loads dynamically as you use the search filters - so you don't have to press 'OK' and then wait for the page to refresh
- All recipes are listed on this one page, so you can browse them easily (just scroll up and down), without having to keep switching between pages
- You can filter recipes by using the side-menus
- Recipes are also filtered by your personal preferences (defined in your user profile ). It will automatically hide recipes that contain ingredients that you don't like, or are allergic to!
- It shows how many recipes meet your search criteria
What do I need to know about recipes?
- Each recipe is clearly displayed, easy to read, with the summary information at the top of the page, so you can quickly determine if it is what you want
- Every recipe has a photograph of the finished result
- Recipes can be printed, e-mailed and shared via social networks
- Users can add recipes to their recipe box for easy reference
- Users can upload additional photographs, as the finished photograph
- Ingredients can be clicked on - to take the user to an information page
- Measurements can be shown in imperial, metric or USA formats. The user's preference can be set in your user profile
- The number of servings can be changed - the website will then calculate the measurements for you. The default number of servings can be set in your user profile
- All recipes are displayed in a set of easy to follow steps
- Each step can have its own photograph
How can I add a recipe?
We love it when people add recipes and share them with their friends!
There are two ways of adding recipes - either manually using a form, or automatically via your own WordPress blog.
Manual form:
- You can add a recipe via this form
- Please read the recipe guidelines at the top of the page - this details what is required and what is optional
- The form is easy to complete
- You can add multiple steps
- Don't worry if you aren't sure of something. If anything isn't right, we will contact you by e-mail you before posting it
- We manually check all recipes before making them live
WordPress plugin:
Check out our home-made recipe plugin for WordPress
What are articles?
We need something to read while the cake is in the oven...
Can be about anything as long as it is related to food
Some suggestions for topics are:
- Cultural style of cooking – from a certain city, state or country
- Food education
- Food photography
- Health issues
- Ingredients – what you like to cook with
- Method of cooking – e.g. grilled, smoked or steamed
- Tastes from you local farmers market
- The ecology of food
- What inspires you to cook
All articles can be printed, e-mailed and shared via social networks
How can I add an article?
- You can add an article via this form
- Articles posted by guest users will be reviewed by the GetMeCooking team before being made live on the site
- Articles posted by registered users will be posted on the site straight away
What is a registered user?
The best way to experience GetMeCooking is as a registered user.
Registering as a new user is super-fast and easy. We use a system called OpenID which means that you can log into GetMeCooking via one of your existing social networks. If you don't already have an account one of these, you can create an OpenID account.
Registration via this process is very fast and allows us to pull in data from your selected network, meaning that your user profile will already be pre-populated (you will be asked to edit and confirm the information we pull in).
We don't store any passwords, ensuring a greater level of security (and one less password for you to remember!) When you register, we create a user profile page and a recipe box for you for you.
How can I log in?
We use OpenID for the log in process, so no user ID or password to remember! Just log in with an existing account from another service. Safe, secure and easy! You can add OpenID providers from the 'Login Details' tab within your user profile .
How can I associate multiple accounts?
You can associate more than one OpenID account to your GetMeCooking user account. To do this, just log into your GetMeCooking account , go to your user profile and then add OpenID providers from the 'Login Details' tab.
How can I change my profile image?
For your avatar (the picture that is shown in your user profile and when you post content) can be set on Gravatar.
Hosting it on Gravatar has several advantages, including:
- Better security - it is associated with your e-mail address
- Centralised management - you can see which images are being used on which site
- We don't need to store them
- We can use a variety of sizes - and you only have to upload one to Gravatar
- Performance - there is an increased chance that they will be cached on your computer, so your computer will load it faster
If you don't have an image set on Gravatar, we will generate a unique one for you!
What's in the user profile page?
The user profile page holds information about you, your cooking blog (if you have one) and displays content that you have added to the site.
Blog Info
If you add Blog Information, you blog will also be listed on our Food Blog Directory.
Diet Preferences
Here you can tell us:
- Which ingredients you don't like
- Your preferred measurement type
- The default number of servings you would like
- Your allergies
The recipes we show you will be filtered based on these preferences.
Login Details
Here you can associate additional OpenID providers with your account, so you can log on via any of your preferred providers.
What are private recipes?
Do you have a secret family recipe that you don't want to share with anyone? Your secret is safe with us!
You can add private recipes manually, by adding a recipe and selecting 'Private recipe?'
They will then appear on the site, but will only be visible to you!
You can store up to 10 private recipes for free. If you want more than that you will need to subscribe (which is worth doing anyway!).
Recipe Box
Registered users have a recipe box which they can use to store and organise recipes that they like on the website.
How can I log out?
If you are on a shared or public computer, it is recommended that you log out of you session, so that nobody else has access to your user account.
How can I subscribe to GetMeCooking?
See the subscriptions page for details on the benefits of joining GetMeCooking as a Premium user.
What is the food blog directory?
We love reading people's food blogs, so we created a Food Blog Directory to list them all!
To add your blog to this, simply login/register and then add your details to the 'Blog Info' tab on your user profile .
Is there an FAQ for the Recipe plugin for WordPress?
Yes, the GetMeCooking Recipe plugin for WordPress has it's own FAQ page.
How can I advertise on GetMeCooking?
If you would like to consider advertising opportunities with us, please read our advertising guidelines page. If you are happy with that you will have our full attention - just get in touch with a brief proposal/summary of how you think we could work together.
How can I promote GetMeCooking?
We are very proud of what we have accomplished on this website so far and we would be very grateful if you could help tell others about it.
On the promote page we have provided some logos that you can add to your website.
We have also provided HTML code that you can embed in your website, which will add a personalised profile card. This is a badge which links to your user profile and shows:
- A picture of the last recipe that you uploaded
- Your username
- The number of articles you have added
- The number of recipes you have added
How can I contact GetMeCooking?
If you need help with something, want to comment on something, want to tell us a joke or just say hi, you can send us a message.
What's on the home page?
The home page is like a food dashboard. Here you can see recent additions to the site and navigate to the main features.
How can I leave comments?
We want comments to be meaningful, not just messages like 'Good post'; as these border on spam/waffle.
For articles and blog posts, we currently allow any sort of comment.
For recipes, we are a little more strict. We prefer comments that are either a review of the recipe, or a suggestion on how the recipe could be improved. For this purpose, we have two tabs in the 'Post a comment' section of recipes, so that the two types of comments can be added.
Can I print just the content?
When you print content from the site, just the relevant content will be printed - not the entire page as you see it on the website.
For example, just the recipe, blog post or article will be printer, not the comments, website menus and footer.