How to set up Cooki so it really gets you

Most dinner apps start with recipes.

Cooki starts with you.

Not in a creepy, over-complicated way. Just in the simple, practical sense. What do you actually like eating? How much time do you have tonight? What appliances do you really use? What ingredients make life easier, and which ones instantly make you close the app?

The better Cooki understands your life, the better dinner gets. Because the goal isn't to impress you with thousands of recipes. The goal is to remove that 6:30pm feeling where nobody knows what to cook and everyone starts scrolling.

Start with honesty, not ambition

This is where most people go wrong.

When setting up Cooki, don't choose the version of yourself that meal preps every Sunday, loves complicated recipes, and owns a blowtorch for crème brûlée.

Choose real life.

If you only realistically cook for 25 minutes on weeknights, set that. If your air fryer carries the whole household, turn it on. If your kids hate mushrooms, say it. If you're tired by Thursday, Cooki should know that too.

Cooki works best when your setup reflects your actual routine, not your aspirational one. The app is designed to reduce mental load, not add pressure.

Set your cooking time properly

This one matters more than people think.

A lot of dinner frustration isn't really about food. It's about energy. There's a huge difference between:

• "I have 15 minutes and zero patience"
• "I've got time tonight and wouldn't mind cooking something fun"

Cooki's cooking-time setup helps shape the kind of meals you'll actually want to make. Shorter cooking windows lead to simpler, lower-friction dinners. Longer windows unlock meals that feel a bit more relaxed and involved.

Neither is better. The important thing is matching dinner to your evening.

Choose your real appliances

This sounds small, but it changes everything. If you mainly cook with:

• an air fryer
• a BBQ
• a slow cooker
• a pressure cooker
• or just a stovetop and oven

Cooki should know.

There's no point recommending a 3-hour slow-cooked recipe if you never touch your slow cooker. And there's no point suggesting oven-heavy meals during summer if the BBQ is your go-to. The more accurate your setup is, the more natural the recommendations feel.

Use "avoid ingredients" aggressively

People usually underuse this feature.

Don't just avoid allergies. Avoid friction. Add ingredients that:

• your kids complain about
• your partner refuses to eat
• always go bad in the fridge
• are annoying to prepare
• feel too expensive right now

Cooki isn't trying to make you a professional chef. It's trying to help you actually cook dinner tonight. Sometimes the best meal recommendation is simply the one nobody argues with.

Save meals early

The more you interact with Cooki, the more personal it becomes.

When you save meals you genuinely liked, you're helping Cooki understand your patterns:

• the flavours you lean toward
• the cooking styles you repeat
• the meals your household actually finishes

Over time, the app starts feeling less random and more familiar. Less "recipe generator". More "helpful second brain".

Don't aim for perfection in week one

Your setup will evolve.

At first, you might think you want healthier meals, enjoy cooking longer recipes, and are open to trying new cuisines every night. Then real life kicks in. That's normal.

The best Cooki setups usually become simpler over time:

• easier meals
• fewer ingredients
• realistic prep times
• meals people will actually eat

Cooki is designed to adapt with you, not judge you.

Pantry Mode changes the game

One of the most useful ways to make Cooki feel personal is using Pantry Mode.

Instead of starting with recipes, you start with what's already sitting in your kitchen. Leftover chicken. Half a capsicum. Tortillas. Spinach that needs using. Random yoghurt in the fridge.

Cooki builds around your ingredients and your preferences together. It turns "What should we cook?" into "What can we make from what we already have?"

That shift matters. Especially on busy nights.

The best Cooki setups feel boring, in a good way

That's the point.

Dinner shouldn't feel like another decision-heavy project at the end of the day. When Cooki is set up properly, it fades into the background a little. You open the app, see something realistic, and think:

"Yeah. That'll work."

Dinner, sorted.