Is the Cooking Club running out of steam?

mirrorwall14

I read the cooking club every week but rarely post. New baby means time and money is tight for trying new things and I am more inclined to try the threads which have been active a long time with tons of feedback to avoid screw ups eg takeaway curry.

I would love to see cooking to ingredient recipe weeks. It was me who had suggested a cooking to the super 6 a few months back but got shot down pretty harshly (possibly just by perception) so I rarely post just cook.

For me cooking has to be practical, suit my families likes and be reasonably inexpensive. I'm also not a brilliant cook so pictures are a great help. I'm probably not your average cooking club user though!

.red.

Another cooking club lurker here. I read it every week but dont try it too often. Im not too bad myself but my wife is pretty fussy, the kids are worse. Ive tried a few recipes that ive known would suit my familys tastes tho and (i think) ive posted feedback on them.

Theres a few reasons why i havent signed up. I dont have many recipes that are my own. Ive a few that are taken from a book but altered slightly to suit my families tastes. Any that are "my own" are dishes that are pretty simple and common but ive made them by throwing the main ingredients together myself with what i think ill like and not used any recipe as such!
I do have one recipe for a cheesecake that ive made plenty of times. Ive yet to get a bad comment from anyone so maybe its worth putting in. Its very heavy tho and not something to make on a weekly or even monthly basis so thats what has put me off entering it. The fact that anyone can throw a cheesecake together is another reason. To me its not "spectacular" enough but thats probably me just being paranoid.

Dinkie

I posted a recipe the first couple years and haven't since then... Like the others - I had a new baby + super busy excuse. Another reason why I stopped was that at one stage I felt it was an opportunity for people to showboat their skills rather then share a favourite recipe.

I always read the cookery club and if I see a dish I particularly like I make it. I also have some favourites I keep going back to like the thai bean burgers, falafels, courgette cake among others. Thanks also to the person that gave me the confidence to spatchcock a chicken!!

A lot of the recipes posted are ones I make already, so although I may read them to see if they are any different, I tend not to post feedback. I don't think it has run its course, but I do think it needs to be modified. I'm happy to post another recipe if your stuck for people to do so.

Chowhound has a great idea where they give a suggestion such as roast chicken - and people submit how they cook theirs with pictures. I think that is a great idea, and would love to see that here. They change the featured food once per month.

Padraig Mor

Seems to be quite a few people who haven't submitted a recipe because "they don't have one of their own". AFAIK this is not a problem - every recipe I've put up has come from somewhere else, with perhaps slight adaptations by me.

.red.

Ive noticed a flot of people have said that a reason for not trying meals from the cooking club are money and time.
How about something like a meal for 2 for under €10, a family meal for under €10, a cosy night in option of a main and a dessert for 2 for under €15.
I dont think this woudd work every week tho, maybe once a month would he a better option. This would make the meals more affordable to all

Another thing that could be an option is something like quick meals. Prepped for the oven in under 10mins, counter to table in 10 mins etc.
Just an idea.

Mrs Fox

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Seems to be quite a few people who haven't submitted a recipe because "they don't have one of their own". AFAIK this is not a problem - every recipe I've put up has come from somewhere else, with perhaps slight adaptations by me.

Exactly. They might be recipes from a cookbook or tv shows, one of the recipes I submitted was from TV shows where credit is given to. The others are adaptations.
I like the cooking club the way it is. The mods are doing a great job. If only one thing I can add is perhaps to keep this year's recipes compiled in the " Recipes by year". They were religiously updated for last year's.
I look forward every Friday for a new entry. I may not try them out instantly. Some took years before I make them. But I always post a comment when I do try them out.
I don't agree with looking at the format of top five entries - everyone has different taste. My top three dishes are definitely not on that list.
Truth is I'd hate to see it go fortnightly but if that works best for the forum, then...
Oh did I mention I love the cooking club?:)

blueshed

one of my favourite sections on Boards, have made plenty of the recipes submitted and turned a few into my signature dishes. i do feel a bit quilty that i have not added one myself.

MissFlitworth

Mrs Fox wrote: »

I like the cooking club the way it is. The mods are doing a great job. If only one thing I can add is perhaps to keep this year's recipes compiled in the " Recipes by year". They were religiously updated for last year's.

For shame, this is my laziness! I will sort it out now

The Hill Billy

Mrs Fox wrote: »

If only one thing I can add is perhaps to keep this year's recipes compiled in the " Recipes by year". They were religiously updated for last year's.

I started to do this earlier this evening, but Mrs B put a plate of barbecued chops & a cold beer in front of me & well, the rest is history & it still ain't done.

pampootie

I used to participate but I don't now, nor do I read the forum that frequently any more. The lack of responses definitely played a part for me, I felt it was wasting my time to put effort into a post and get little feedback. I also find I don't refer to the forum for new ideas as there's lots of recipes with no interaction or feedback, which means I'm far more likely to go to other sites with recipes I know are reliable.

I would like to see a change in direction to freshen things up-a monthly theme along the lines of what was mentioned above e.g. chicken/meals under 10e etc I think could work well.

My other gripe, though this may be off topic, is that I absolutely hate to see a new poster come to the forum asking something like "what will I cook for a dinner party?" to only get a mod response of "there's lots of recipes in the cooking club". To me it always reads like a reprimand and I think it drives people away. Why not allow the threads continue to allow posters engage with them a bit better, maybe link them to potential cooking club recipes, and drive some traffic to the cooking club forum?

kfc1

I am a long time lurker of the cooking club thread, have cooked many receipes from it but never posted, never thought how feedback on a post could be productive, but will begin to do so now after reading though previous comments. I've never put my name down as I feel my cooking repertoire quite basic but its definitely expanding thanks to this thread.
I'm in favour of photos in a post but think 3 ish an adequate number, hate long rambling posts (Sorry Sparks!- tho did persever thru to yummy Chili!!)
Love idea about meals for €x amount / using everyday cupboard ingredients

Faith

pampootie wrote: »

Why not allow the threads continue to allow posters engage with them a bit better, maybe link them to potential cooking club recipes, and drive some traffic to the cooking club forum?

I'm not sure what you mean here? We never lock threads after pointing someone in the direction of the cooking club. It's just a suggestion of a place to look for a plethora of possible recipes. Others are more than welcome of write up recipes they think might suit.

Flood

When you loose the heat you loose the steam.

pampootie

Faith wrote: »

I'm not sure what you mean here? We never lock threads after pointing someone in the direction of the cooking club. It's just a suggestion of a place to look for a plethora of possible recipes. Others are more than welcome of write up recipes they think might suit.

I know the threads aren't locked. Do you not see though that a short reply from a moderator stating "look in the cooking club" really shuts down a conversation quickly? It doesn't encourage others to post after it IMO

Faith

pampootie wrote: »

I know the threads aren't locked. Do you not see though that a short reply from a moderator stating "look in the cooking club" really shuts down a conversation quickly? It doesn't encourage others to post after it IMO

I've been a moderator on these forums for nearly 10 years (:eek:), and honestly, those threads sink or swim depending on the mood of the forum and the phrasing of the request. They existed long before we starting including references to the CC, and they sank just as much back then.

The reason for that is twofold, from what I can tell:

1. People who post those threads often come across as just looking for someone else to do their homework for them. You can usually tell immediately who's never going to reply again and thank you for your help, tell you what dishes they've chosen on the basis of that help, and report back about the success of them. Just like you don't contribute to the CC because you were frustrated with the lack of response, people don't want to contribute recipes and suggestions to those threads when they feel that they won't be appreciated.

On the other hand, if the poster seems engaging and enthusiastic, people will contribute, whether we post a link or not. This thread didn't suffer for me posting a CC recommendation, for instance.

2. Many people who start threads looking for global meal-planning help aren't cooks or foodies, and one dinner party isn't going to change that. They post for help on a specific issue, and won't return regardless. I've posted on the Electrical forum and I got brilliant advice, but I'm still not going to post there regularly.

As far as I remember, we started posting CC recommendations after a suggestion in a previous feedback thread. Like everything, you can't please all of the people all of the time. So some people might not like this approach and others might think it's good. We're always happy to amend our approach on the basis of feedback, so this is something we can definitely discuss internally, thanks.

hdowney

I agree Faith. The threads don't sink due to mention of the CC. They sink because of the lazy folks who want to treat their fellow posters like their own personal Google. Some threads have some brilliant conversation even after mention of the CC as a recipe source.

Jasnah

I've found the forum very useful, I think there's something oddly different about reading the threads and responses that makes me want to engage with the recipes a bit more and I think my cooking has improved due to it.

I haven't really been looking at it as much over recent weeks, that's just because the recipes haven't really appealed to me. I'm a student so dishes with obscure ingredients put me off, as does anything that is overly complicated or requiring a lot of preparation. I notice that I tend to avoid in particular recipes that involve what seems to be a tonne of different herbs and spices. Don't get me wrong, I've a few essentials in my cupboard, but since I generally only spend a few months in one place I haven't really got the impetus to go out and buy something I'd only use three or four times.

I'd love to see some more simple one pot dishes like the prawn, lentil and chorizo stew that was posted a while back. I've cooked that so many times and have given the recipe out to others, stuff like that is just so handy to whip up and freeze and then eat. That's just reasons why I haven't been browsing the forum as much, don't know if it'll be of much help.

Also, I also miss all the pictures, the more the better in my opinion!

Lovely Bloke

here's something weird.

2014 - Week 45
2015 - Week 15

MissFlitworth

Why's that weird BC?

BaZmO*

We've always said that you can put up your own version of a recipe that has been posted before.

CarpeDiem85

If I'm being honest, I found the modding a bit heavy handed and short at times. For example, a couple of weeks ago a poster put up some pictures from his meal in a nice restaurant. He hadn't captioned the pictures or explained where they were from. I thought the response from the particular mod was rude and as he said himself, he would have preferred if it was done through PM. This kind of response will not encourage or welcome new posters. I love looking at the Cooking&Recipes thread but seeing things like that would definitely put me off from posting. Just my humble opinion.

Lovely Bloke

two almost identical recipes posted mere weeks apart.

just shows that people shouldn't be concerned about posting a different take on a previous CC recipe or anything.

MissFlitworth

Hey Carpediem85, point taken, we might look at a general feedback thread for Cooking & Recipes and the Food forum to get the opinions of the Community. (Just that this particular thread is about the Cooking Club). If we are, as a mod group, making newbies feel unwelcome we'd be sick about it. This place is important to all of us and we want people to post and interact.

Anyhoo - off topic of the 'Cooking Club Running Out of Steam' so I'd appreciate if we could keep this thread to that particular topic but we'll have a chat among ourselves about a general feedback thread. I'm not sure if we've had one recently.

squonk

My 2c.

I love the pictures. As others have said, it's nice to see real-world pictures of ingredients and the finished product. I'm not spying on your kitchen!

I love that the Cooking Club provides feedback. I mean, Spark's Chillie recipe or Curry_Addict's Curry threads just ballooned and there were so many variations by the end of the thread! It was great!

I see the CC as a great collection of recipes. There's great stuff in there. I categorise things into stuff I must try and stuff I'd really liek to try. I've tried the Chilli and it was fantastic, ditto the pulled pork, with phenomenal results. I'm a beter, more adventurous cook now thanks in part to the Cooking Club.

I wouldn't sign up as yet becuse I've no particular recipe that I'm particularly good at and that I could really stand over. I'm an experimenter. I have my staples but these tend to be stews etc. Anyone can make a stew. I wouldn't wates somebody's time on that. The time is coming though when I'll have a few suspects that I'd like to share.

Right nwo I read there are over 200+ recipes in there. Some people might be disheartened because their recipe didn't get much feedback. How about dong a Recipe Of The Week on the Main Food thread that highlights a recipe from The Cooking Club thread. It might breathe new life into the thread and might make people who wouldn't normally read through it realise just what gems are in there already. Also, it might give some new feedback to the kind posters who have submitted recipes in the past.

I love the weekly nature of the recipes but I wouldn't mind a move to every two weeks. I just don't have the chance to make the recipes as they turn up. I batch cook for work lunches so I only get to try something different from time to time.

The Hill Billy

Hi squonk - good feedback. Just in relation to cross-over between The Cooking Club and Cooking & Recipes - I'm not sure if this is a good idea as it may actually detract from TCC by drawing posters to comment in C&R instead.

Rest assured, the mod team are currently looking at other ways to give TCC a higher profile on the site.

Mystery Egg

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

here's something weird.

2014 - Week 45
2015 - Week 15

I totally missed this! Oops.

reallyrose

I love this forum and I check the recipes every week - I tend not to comment though because my comment would be "I maded dis"

I'm impressed with the engagement from the mods and I think the fortnightly posts might encourage me to cook more.

Actually, that's a point. Usually if I don't cook something, it's because 1) it's not tasty to me (so that's my own taste in food) or 2) because I worry it will be too hard.

BaZmO*

reallyrose wrote: »

I love this forum and I check the recipes every week - I tend not to comment though because my comment would be "I maded dis"

But that's the point of it being a Cooking Club, people need feedback otherwise they think "what's the point?!?!"

reallyrose

BaZmO* wrote: »

But that's the point of it being a Cooking Club, people need feedback otherwise they think "what's the point?!?!"

I'm beginning to realise that!

The endless guilt...

Birdsong

A bit of lurker here, I always check in to see what the recipe is each week & if I think I will make it, add it to my follow thread thingy. I only cook for myself so most things aren't for me but it is the first place I go to for inspiration if I have anyone for dinner & I have always commented when I have made something. Case in point being this weeks recipe looks like something i could make for an after work supper, but it might be a few months down the line.
TLDR I love it as it is and don't mind the photos either way. Keep up the good work mods