— How We Work

Editorial policy.

The standards behind every recipe, every story,
and every word we publish.

— A note before you read

Trust is the secret ingredient. This policy is our promise to cook honestly, source carefully, and share recipes you can actually count on — every single time.

Last revised: [DATE]

— Mission Statement

What we stand for.

The Recipe Craft is dedicated to delivering trustworthy, story-rich, and genuinely tested recipes that nourish, teach, and bring people to the table together. We believe good food writing is built on honesty, hospitality, and craft — and that every reader deserves recipes that work the first time, sources that are credited fairly, and a kitchen voice that respects their time and intelligence.

Our work is rooted in four values that guide every editorial decision: integrity in how we test and credit, warmth in how we write and respond, seasonality in what we cook, and community in who we cook for.

— Core Editorial Principles

The principles that guide every recipe.

Accuracy & Recipe Testing

Every recipe is cooked at least three times in our home kitchen before publication. Measurements are weighed in grams as well as cups, cooking times are verified across different stoves, and notes are added wherever a step might trip up a home cook. Cultural and historical claims are checked against credible sources, and we cite cookbook authors, food historians, and regional traditions whenever a recipe carries a lineage worth honoring.

Independence & Honest Reviews

Editorial decisions are made independently of advertisers, sponsors, and affiliate partners. We do not accept payment in exchange for positive recipe reviews, kitchenware endorsements, or ingredient mentions. Gifted products are noted in the post with a “Gifted by [brand]” line. If we recommend a tool or pantry staple, it is because we use it ourselves — not because someone paid for the placement.

Transparency & Disclosure

Sponsored content is labeled “Partnered Content” at the top of the post and again in the introduction. Affiliate links are flagged with a single line beneath the recipe — “This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.” Personal opinion pieces are clearly distinguished from tested recipes and reported features.

Privacy & Sensitivity

Reader stories, family recipes, and personal photographs are published only with explicit, written consent. When we cover difficult topics — food insecurity, eating disorders, climate impact on farming — we do so with care, citing professionals where appropriate and avoiding sensational framing. Subjects of interviews are sent quoted passages for review before publication.

Diversity & Cultural Respect

Food has roots, and we honor them. When we publish a recipe from a tradition outside our own, we name its origin, credit the cooks and writers who taught us, and link to voices from within that culture wherever possible. We actively commission and feature contributors from underrepresented food traditions, and we avoid language that flattens or “discovers” cuisines that have been cooked for centuries.

Community & Comments

Comments are moderated to keep the kitchen kind. We welcome questions, substitutions, and respectful disagreement. We remove personal attacks, spam, and content that targets readers based on identity. Recipe questions are answered personally — usually within two working days, sometimes longer when our editors are away from their desks.

Social Media Ethics

On Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and elsewhere, our editors post on behalf of The Recipe Craft and clearly mark personal opinions when they share them. We fact-check viral food claims before reposting, label sponsored partnerships with #ad or #sponsored, and credit the original creator whenever we share another cook’s photo or technique.

Legal Compliance

We follow FTC disclosure guidelines for sponsored content and affiliate links, respect copyright on photographs and recipe text, and license images we don’t own through reputable sources. Our recipes are not medical advice — readers with allergies, dietary restrictions, or specific health concerns are encouraged to consult a qualified professional. Reader data collected through our newsletter is handled per our Privacy Policy.

— Corrections Policy

When something needs to be fixed.

We believe a recipe site is only as good as its willingness to admit when something is off. If you find a typo, a measurement that doesn’t add up, or a step that needs clarifying, we want to hear about it.

How errors reach us

Readers can flag errors in three ways: by emailing corrections@therecipecraft.com, by leaving a comment beneath the recipe, or through the contact form on our website. Internally, our editors audit older posts every quarter to catch outdated information — discontinued ingredients, changed nutritional guidance, or recipes that need a fresh round of testing.

Minor versus substantive corrections

Typos, broken links, and small clarifications are corrected silently. Substantive corrections — anything that changes a measurement, a temperature, an attribution, or a factual claim — are noted at the bottom of the post with a dated correction line. For example: “Correction, March 2026: An earlier version of this recipe called for one tablespoon of salt; the correct quantity is one teaspoon. We’re sorry for the over-salted soups.”

Timelines & retractions

Confirmed errors are corrected within 48 hours of verification. If a piece is found to contain misinformation we cannot stand behind — for example, a wellness claim that turned out to be unsupported, or a recipe credit that was wrongly assigned — we issue a public retraction at the top of the post, archive the original wherever possible, and acknowledge the error in our next Sunday Letter. Accountability is published yearly in a brief transparency note.

— AI Use Policy

How we use — and don’t use — AI.

A handwritten recipe card is irreplaceable. So is a human cook tasting, adjusting, and writing a story that only she could tell. AI tools can be helpful for small tasks — but they are never the writer, the tester, or the voice of The Recipe Craft.

No fully AI-generated recipes or essays

Every recipe published on The Recipe Craft is created, tested, written, and signed by a human cook. We do not publish recipes drafted by AI, even if a human edits them afterward.

Where AI is allowed

We use AI tools for back-of-house tasks that do not affect editorial integrity — proofreading, generating alt text drafts for accessibility, suggesting SEO meta descriptions, transcribing interview audio, and converting measurements between units. Every output is reviewed and edited by a human before it appears on the site.

Disclosure & transparency

When AI assists in a meaningful way, we say so. For example: “Nutrition figures in this post were calculated with an AI-assisted tool and reviewed by our editorial team.” We do not use AI to generate photographs of finished dishes, hands at work, or human portraits — every image of food on this site is photographed by a real person in a real kitchen.

Bias mitigation & data privacy

Any AI suggestion that touches cultural attribution, ingredient sourcing, or dietary advice is double-checked against human-authored sources before publication. We do not feed reader emails, comments, or personal stories into AI tools. Reader data collected through our newsletter or contact forms is never shared with third-party AI providers.

— Review & Revision

A living document.

This policy is reviewed every January by our editorial team, with input from contributors and trusted readers. When standards in food media shift — new disclosure rules, new technologies, new conversations about cultural attribution — we update accordingly. Substantial changes are announced in our Sunday Letter and noted at the bottom of this page.

Date of last revision: [DATE]

— Get in Touch

Found something off?
Tell us.

Corrections, questions about our standards,
or feedback on this policy — we read every message.

Corrections: corrections@therecipecraft.com
Editorial questions: editors@therecipecraft.com
General: hello@therecipecraft.com

— With gratitude, The Recipe Craft team ♥