How to make a church or family reunion cookbook
Pick one organizer, send everyone one place to add a photo of their recipe card with their name, set a deadline, check each recipe, and print the book once the cards are in. With Stirloom in ChatGPT, that place is a private link: members of the church, club or family add cards from any browser without an account, each card waits for the organizer’s OK, and the book prints as an 8.5 × 11 inch hardcover with a “recipes by cook” page.
An invite message to adapt
ChatGPT gives you the private link with a short message you can forward. Change it to fit your group, then post it in the newsletter, the bulletin or the reunion group chat.
For a church or club
- “We’re making a cookbook of our favorite recipes for the fall supper. Please add a photo of your recipe card, front and back if it has writing, by November 15: [link]. No account needed, and you can add as many cards as you like.”
For a family reunion
- “For the reunion we’re putting everyone’s family recipes into one book. Send a photo of the card, or a handwritten page, with your name and a line about who made it best: [link]. Deadline is the end of the month.”
One reminder before the deadline
- “Two days left to add your recipe card to the cookbook: [link]. A photo of the card is all we need; we’ll do the typing.”
Each entry on the link needs a photo of a card or a handwritten page. People can type the recipe too, or tick “just send the photo” and leave the typing to ChatGPT.
Step by step
- Choose one organizer. One person starts the book in ChatGPT, approves the cards and places the order. Everyone else only needs the link.
- Set the size and the deadline. A book holds 6 to 120 recipes, up to 256 pages. Two to four weeks is enough for most groups; for a holiday or an event, count back from the printer’s order-by date.
- Send the link where people already read. The bulletin, the newsletter, the group chat or a sign-up table with the link written out. People add cards from a phone or a computer, without an account or ChatGPT.
- Help the members who won’t use a link. Collect their cards at a meeting and photograph them yourself, then share the photos with ChatGPT. Their cards are often the oldest ones.
- Approve each card. Every card waits for your OK. Keep both versions when two people send the same dish; family and parish variations often make the best pages.
- Close the link and preview. Stop taking new cards in the book editor once the deadline passes, then page through the whole book and fix anything ChatGPT marked [?].
- Order. One order can have up to 10 copies to one address. For more copies or other addresses, place more orders.
Ways to run a group cookbook, compared
| Paper forms collected at meetings | A shared document or online form | A community-cookbook printing service | Stirloom in ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How members send a recipe | On paper, which someone retypes | Typing into a form or a file | In the service’s own forms | A photo of their card by private link, typed or not |
| Keeps the handwritten card | Only if you scan it | No | Varies by service | Yes, each card photo faces its typed recipe |
| Organizer checks each recipe | By hand | By hand | Usually | Built in: each card waits for an OK |
| Sells copies to members or raises money | You handle it | You handle it | Often, with bulk pricing | No; one person orders and pays |
| Copies per order | Whatever you print | Whatever you print | Often a minimum run | Up to 10 to one address, more by another order |
When something else fits better
If the cookbook is a fundraiser and you plan to sell many copies to members, a printer that sells community cookbooks in bulk fits better: Stirloom doesn’t sell copies to your members or collect money, and every order is up to 10 copies to one address in the US or Canada.
Use Stirloom in ChatGPT
Open Stirloom’s listing in ChatGPT (search for Stirloom under Plugins), add it, then type “@Stirloom” in a chat or start with “Use Stirloom to …”. Then ask, for example:
- “Start a cookbook for our church’s fall supper that members can add recipe cards to.”
- “Give me the family link and a short message for the reunion group chat.”
- “Who has added cards so far, and which ones still need typing?”
Available in ChatGPT soon How Stirloom works in ChatGPT
Questions
Do members need ChatGPT or an account?
No. Only the organizer uses ChatGPT. Members open the private link in any browser and add a photo of their card.
Can a member send a photo without typing the recipe?
Yes. They tick “just send the photo”, and the card shows up as needing typing; the organizer shares that photo in ChatGPT and it is typed in the cook’s own words.
How is each recipe credited?
Each recipe names its cook, and the book has a “recipes by cook” page at the back, next to the index.
How many recipes can the book hold?
From 6 to 120 recipes, up to 256 pages.
Can we stop new cards after the deadline?
Yes. Stop taking cards in the book editor; the link then says the book isn’t taking new cards until you reopen it.
More guides
- How to turn recipe cards into a family cookbook
- How to scan handwritten recipe cards and get them typed up
- How to collect recipes from family members for a cookbook
- How to print a family cookbook
- How to make a family recipe book for Christmas
- How to make a memorial cookbook from a loved one’s recipe cards