How to collect recipes from family members for a cookbook
Give relatives one simple way to send a photo of each card with a line about who made it, set a deadline a few weeks out, and keep everything in one place where you can check it. With Stirloom in ChatGPT, that place is a private family link: relatives add cards from any browser without an account, and each card waits for your OK before it goes into the book.
Step by step
- Decide the scope. Whose recipes, which branches of the family, and roughly how many. A Stirloom book holds 6 to 120 recipes.
- Set a deadline. Two to three weeks is enough for most families. If the book is a gift, count back from the printer’s order-by date.
- Send one link and say exactly what you need. A clear photo of the card (front, and back if it has writing), the recipe’s name and who it came from.
- Ask for the story. One line about when the dish was made, or who made it best, turns a recipe into a memory.
- Help the ones who won’t use a link. Visit or call, and take the photos yourself. Their cards are often the oldest ones.
- Remind once. A single reminder a few days before the deadline brings in most of the stragglers.
- Check what comes in. Look for duplicates (three versions of the same pie), unreadable words and missing amounts, and credit each cook.
Ways to collect, compared
| Email or a group chat | Google Form or a shared doc | Mailing the cards to one person | Stirloom family link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What relatives need | Email or the chat app | A browser; photo uploads in Google Forms need a Google sign-in | Envelopes and postage | A browser; no account and no ChatGPT |
| Everything in one place | No, spread across threads | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Risk to the original cards | None | None | Cards can get lost in the post | None |
| You check each recipe before it goes in | By hand | By hand | By hand | Built in: each card waits for your OK |
| Gets you to a printed book | You still type and lay out | You still lay out | You still scan, type and lay out | Yes |
When something else fits better
If the family already keeps recipes in a shared doc, you can copy that text into ChatGPT instead of starting over: typed recipes go in without a card photo.
Use Stirloom in ChatGPT
In ChatGPT, open Plugins, search for Stirloom and add it, or mention Stirloom in a chat and approve it when asked. Then ask, for example:
- “Start a recipe book my relatives can add cards to.”
- “Add these two cards from Aunt May to our cookbook.”
Available in ChatGPT soon How Stirloom works in ChatGPT
Questions
Do relatives need ChatGPT or an account?
No. They open the private family link in any browser, add a photo of the card and, if they like, type the recipe.
What about recipes that were never written down?
On the family link each recipe needs a photo of a card or a handwritten page. For a recipe that only lives in someone’s head, ask them to tell you, then type or dictate it in ChatGPT.
What if two relatives send the same recipe?
Every card waits for your OK, so you can keep one version, or keep both: family variations often make the best pages.
Can I stop the link from taking new cards?
Yes. Ask ChatGPT to stop taking cards; the link then says the book isn’t taking new cards until you reopen it.