Everything a kitchen should know before it starts cooking.

STOOM is a local-first kitchen operating system for collecting recipes, building menus, sending work to the kitchen, running timers and service, sharing with people or groups, and keeping the same kitchen moving across phones, tablets, laptops, and kitchen screens.

It is for home cooks, tutors, students, families, clubs, restaurants, private chefs, and teams who need more than a recipe notebook. The common thread is planning food work and then cooking it from the same live kitchen data.

Recipes are content. Menus give that content structure. The Kitchen turns the selected recipes, sections, steps, and timers into live work that can be cooked.

The Atelier is where you think: recipe book, menus, larder, shopping, scrapbook, sharing, templates, and settings. The Kitchen is where you do: On Deck tasks, Work Board timer cards, Ready Shelf items, and service state.

No. You can create recipes, build menus, run timers, shop, use the larder, install the PWA, and sync ordinary kitchen data without AI. AI is for imports, scans, parsing, pairings, translation, and photo analysis where those features are enabled.

Go to stoom.kitchen, choose a language if needed, then open or install STOOM from the Apps page or main action. On phones, use the browser install action such as Add to Home Screen. On desktop, use the browser install prompt where available.

Usually, yes. STOOM uses any saved in-app language first, then a language selected on stoom.kitchen or a website language-pack link, then the browser or OS language, then English. On an existing install, the saved app language wins until you change it in Settings or load a new language pack from the website.

Yes for a fresh empty kitchen when a hosted seed pack exists. The app requests the matching seed pack from stoom.kitchen/seeds using the selected website language, or the browser/OS language if no explicit website choice was made. If an exact match is missing, it falls back through the base language and then English. Existing kitchens are not silently reseeded.

Yes. English is the base pack and follows the same hosted seed-pack path. The main difference is that English is also the safe fallback if a selected pack cannot be fetched.

Today there is one English pack, with British-oriented spelling and kitchen defaults. Regional English packs can be added later if the product needs different spelling, measures, suppliers, or sample content.

OCR means optical character recognition: reading text from an image. The website keeps the OCR code in the hidden language payload so a device can pick the right scanner language when it needs to read menu or receipt photos. Users do not need to manage that code directly.

No. Language changes affect interface language and import output language. Seed content is only applied to a pristine empty kitchen, and shared language packs arrive as a prompt before applying.

Open Recipe Book and choose New recipe. Add title, description, serves, course, ingredients, method steps, stations, timers, photos, tags, cuisine, allergens, suitability labels, notes, source URL, and author details as needed.

Open Recipe Book, choose Import recipe, then paste the recipe URL. STOOM looks for structured recipe data first and then falls back to readable page text. If a site blocks extraction, paste the recipe text manually.

Paste the video link in the import panel. If transcript text is available, STOOM can structure it into a recipe with AI. If the transcript is blocked or missing, copy the transcript or notes yourself and paste them into the text import.

Yes. Export from Paprika using Paprika Recipe Format. A .paprikarecipe file opens as a single recipe for review. A .paprikarecipes bulk export imports many recipes and skips duplicate recipe names. Paprika HTML exports can still be opened in a browser and pasted or imported as recipe pages where readable.

Samsung Food does not currently provide a native bulk export file like Paprika. Use shared recipe links or public collection links where available, then import recipe URLs one at a time. If a Samsung Food page points back to the original recipe site, importing the original page is usually cleaner.

Use the Photo/File import route for images and readable files. OCR can extract text from clear photos. AI can then structure that text into recipes or menu drafts where enabled. For awkward documents, copy and paste the clean text for the most reliable result.

Where the source exposes it, STOOM keeps useful source information such as URL, author, title, and notes. Imported recipe facts and functional steps become your working kitchen data, but photos and expressive source copy should still be treated with respect. This is product guidance, not legal advice.

Treat AI and OCR imports as drafts. Review the recipe, ingredients, method steps, timers, stations, allergens, and serves before sending it to the Kitchen or sharing it.

Yes where AI is enabled. Start a new recipe or use the import tools with a title such as “smoked haddock chowder” or “vegan wedding starter”, then review the generated ingredients, method, timers, serves, allergens, and source notes before cooking or sharing.

Yes. A photographed, uploaded, or pasted menu can be parsed into dish ideas or recipe stubs where AI is enabled. This is useful for restaurant inspiration, course planning, and turning a menu board into editable recipes, but every generated recipe still needs review.

A menu can be a dinner, tasting menu, restaurant service, lesson plan, weekly planner, collection, club syllabus, or any structured set of recipes. Sections can represent courses, days, weeks, modules, or custom groups.

Open Menus, choose New menu, pick a format, add sections, set covers or dates when useful, then place recipes into the sections. A recipe can appear in many menus without being duplicated in the Recipe Book.

Covers describe how many people the menu is serving. Shopping and prep quantities can use covers to scale ingredients from the original recipe yield. Always review scaled quantities before buying or cooking.

Recipes can carry allergens, tags, cuisine, and suitability labels. Menus can be reviewed before service so you know which dishes need attention. Imported labels are helper data, not a substitute for professional allergen checking.

Yes. Duplicate when you want a new editable version. Sending to Kitchen is different from duplicating: it changes the live kitchen deck or work board, while duplication creates another planning item.

Templates are website-made kitchen identity packs: palette, logo, ticket styling, background, and timer-card treatment. Send a template to a kitchen ID and devices receive a prompt before applying it.

Yes. Menus are designed as working boards: drag recipes into sections, reorder dishes, move them between courses, and keep the same recipe in different menus without creating duplicate recipe-book entries.

Yes. Menu printing is part of the planning workflow. Use it for guest menus, kitchen prep sheets, course notes, tastings, classes, or service paperwork, then check layout and wording before handing it to guests or staff.

Yes. Menu formats can represent services, cookery courses, weekly planners, recipe collections, or lesson structures. Sections can mean courses, weeks, days, modules, or any practical grouping.

Send to Kitchen changes state. It adds a recipe, menu, section, selected dishes, or selected steps to the Kitchen deck or Work Board. Use it when you want something to appear in the Kitchen.

Go to Kitchen is navigation only. It opens the Kitchen view. It should not add recipes, duplicate work, or change what is already on the deck.

It is sometimes useful to send work and then immediately enter the Kitchen. The important rule is that the action label should say Kitchen and make clear whether it is sending work, navigating, or doing both.

On Deck is queued kitchen work. The Work Board is the active surface where timer cards run. The Ready Shelf holds completed or ready items so they can be plated, passed, chilled, stored, or dismissed.

Recipe steps can have optional times and stations. When a timed step starts on the Work Board, it becomes a live countdown. You can adjust, complete, or dismiss timer cards during cooking.

Stations are work areas such as Prep, Cold larder, Hot pass, Pastry, Oven, and Pass. They help cooks filter or understand where a step belongs. You can configure station behaviour in Settings.

The timeline is the planning view for timing work around a target start or ready time. The Kitchen is the execution view. They should reflect the same work without forcing planning controls into the live service screen.

Yes. Join devices to the same kitchen ID or join code. A tablet can sit on the pass, a phone can capture photos, and a laptop can plan menus while the same kitchen state syncs when online.

Shopping gathers ingredients from recipes and menus, scales them where possible, groups items into useful sections, and lets you tick items off. You can add manual extras for non-recipe buying.

Yes where AI is enabled. Photograph, upload, or paste receipt or supermarket-order text and STOOM can extract items for checking against the shopping list or storing in the larder.

The Larder tracks pantry, fridge, freezer, cellar, and storage items. It helps with expiry reminders, stock awareness, and planning around what you already have.

No. It works from what you enter, import, or move from shopping and receipts. Estimates and AI suggestions are aids; keep important stock decisions human-reviewed.

Scrapbook is the place for photos, plated dishes, tests, notes, and visual references. Photos can be linked to recipes and menus, shared, exported, or used to draft recipes where AI is enabled.

Full image data is kept local by default. Lightweight metadata or thumbnails may sync for shared workflows, depending on the feature and plan. Export backups before relying on one device as the only photo source.

Yes where AI is enabled. Use larder and shopping context to ask what you can make from ingredients you already have, then turn useful suggestions into recipe drafts or menu ideas. Treat stock matches and recipe suggestions as prompts to review, not automatic truth.

Open Settings, register or view your kitchen, then use the kitchen ID or join code on the second device. Keep a note of the kitchen ID before replacing phones or clearing browser storage.

Recipes, menus, kitchen state, selected settings, shared items, and device presence can sync when the kitchen is registered and the network is available. Sync uses your Kitchen ID, which is shown at the top left of the Atelier and in Settings. Local-first behaviour keeps ordinary use working when the network is not available.

Use Share to invite a person and send recipes or menus one-to-one. Incoming content is not forced into their kitchen; it arrives for review or acceptance.

Groups support classes, clubs, families, and teams. A group can receive recipes, menus, sections, or scheduled course material without every member becoming a normal one-to-one contact.

Yes where the course/group workflow is enabled. A menu or section can be used as the source, then sends can be scheduled, paused, sent now, edited, or cancelled.

Settings includes kitchen and device management. Removing a device is useful when a screen is retired, a phone is lost, or you want to clean up an old browser install.

Build the course as a menu or planner, use sections for lessons or weeks, then share recipes, sections, or scheduled sends with a group. Recipients accept the material into their own kitchen, and the source kitchen can keep planning without forcing content onto everyone at once.

AI can structure pasted recipes, import from URLs, read photos and menus, suggest pairings, translate import output, help with larder or receipt scans, and turn visual food notes into drafts. It should be reviewed before service.

BYOK means bring your own key. Add your provider key in Settings -> AI. STOOM supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, and OpenAI-compatible endpoints. BYOK credentials are stored on your device.

Cloud AI is STOOM-managed AI usage controlled by kitchen policy and plan allowance. It is useful when you do not want to manage your own provider key. Some plans include an allowance, with top-ups where enabled.

Free is for local use on one device. New registered kitchens may receive a one-time 7-day free Pro trial when the recovery email is eligible. Pro adds sync, sharing, groups, cloud backup, and a larger personal workflow. Restaurant is for one venue and more devices. Corporate is for multi-site or managed deployments. Check Pricing for the live offer.

Yes. You can try Pro free for 7 days when eligible, and Free local use remains for storing recipes and menus on one device and using basic kitchen tools. Features that create server cost, such as sync, sharing, groups, cloud backup, and cloud AI, belong to trial, paid plans, or separate allowances.

Yes. AI can misunderstand quantities, timings, allergens, translations, and instructions. Review imported and generated content before cooking, shopping, serving, sharing, or relying on allergen information.

Yes where Ask Stoom or AI assistance is enabled. Ask about a recipe, menu, larder item, shopping list, substitution, timing plan, or service problem. Answers are there to help you think and should be checked before cooking or serving.

Yes where image generation is enabled. STOOM can help create or refresh food, recipe, menu, scrapbook, or template imagery. Generated images should be treated as illustrative unless they come from your own photographed food.

STOOM is local-first. On Free, working kitchen data is stored locally on your device, so back up frequently. On Pro and Restaurant, your device still holds the working copy, but sync, sharing, billing, cloud AI, templates, language-pack sends, and cloud backup use the server for those specific workflows.

BYOK provider keys are stored device-side and used from the client. Do not share keys in screenshots or support messages. If a key is compromised, revoke it at the provider and add a new one in Settings.

Settings -> Backup & Transfer includes Download backup, Email backup, Import Backup, and local automatic snapshots. Download backup creates a portable kitchenos-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.json file. Email backup sends that JSON file as an attachment to the kitchen's registered recovery or owner email when email is configured. Free kitchens should keep regular JSON or email backups; Pro and Restaurant also include cloud backup on the sync chain.

If you did not choose a language on stoom.kitchen, STOOM should use your browser or OS language where a pack exists. If you did choose a language or load a language pack from the website, make sure the app has no older saved language choice overriding it. On an existing install, change language from Settings or load a new website language pack. For seed recipes, test with a fresh empty kitchen.

A seed pack only applies to a pristine empty kitchen. Existing kitchens are not overwritten. If a hosted pack cannot be fetched, the app falls back to English so the install still works.

Try the original recipe URL, paste the recipe text, upload a clearer image, or split a very long source into smaller pieces. Some sites block automated reading, and scanned images need clear lighting and visible text.

Open Settings -> Sync Diagnostics, check that both devices are in the same kitchen, confirm the network is available, and avoid clearing browser storage until you have exported a backup.

Check another joined device first. From any joined device, use Settings -> Backup & Transfer to Download backup or Email backup before changing devices. Email backup sends a restorable JSON attachment to the registered recovery or owner email. If no joined device remains and browser storage was cleared, Free recovery depends on a backup file or emailed backup; synced kitchens may also be recoverable from server-side account state.

No. STOOM is a kitchen workflow tool. Always verify allergens, nutrition, food safety, dietary suitability, licensing, and legal questions with the appropriate source or professional advice.

Use the in-app About FAQ for quick reminders, Settings -> Sync Diagnostics for device issues, and the website Contact page for support routes. Export a backup before doing anything risky to important kitchen data.