Tablespoon

Author: Kaitlyn Short

Intro to Tablespoon

Top Ranked Companies

Pinterest chevron_right

4.7

star star star star star_half

(30)

View Profile View Profile

Food Network chevron_right

4.5

star star star star star_half

(27)

View Profile View Profile

Allrecipes.com chevron_right

3.8

star star star star star_border

(64)

View Profile View Profile

thumb_up

The Good

• Recipes for numerous dietary needs
• Can post personal recipes in community
• Quick and easy recipes
• How-to section
• Can search based on unique needs

Tablespoons recipes included options for numerous dietary restrictions and they are easy to locate using the website's tab under the Cuisines section including options for kosher, vegetarian/vegan, low fat, sugar-free, and cooking for two meal options. The methods section is also unique to the site and allows users to choose recipes based on the type of cooking method they wish to use including fondue, stuffed, roasted, and slow cooker meals. The community which the website offers is also a key feature. When a user signs up for free with the site they gain access to a community chat section, the ability to post their own recipes, save recipes to their favorites as well as special coupons and giveaways. Finally, Tablespoon's How-To section includes numerous how-to articles which can make cooking easier for the user as well as interesting kitchen "hacks" which show the users new or rediscovered ways to perform every day cooking techniques including articles such as "You've Been Peeling an Orange Wrong."

thumb_down

The Bad

• Difficulty levels
• Meal planner tool
• Increased filtering options

While the recipes on the website include prep and cooking times, there is not a difficulty ranking assigned to them. This change would make it easier for users who a newer to home cooking and would like to know how challenging the recipe will be before attempting it. Many of the recipes require at least moderate cooking skills and there is no way to see that without reading through the entire recipe first. If there were a difficulty level assigned a user could limit his or her search to those recipes they believe they could successfully accomplish. The filtering tools on the website could be improved as well. While they do allow users to choose from main ingredient, meal type, etc. there is no way to filter out recipes which do not fit a dietary requirement when using the search bar. You can view a section of recipes designed for item such as vegetarian recipes but when using the search bar and attempting to filter the results you cannot choose to include only those recipes which are vegetarian or fall into another specific dietary category.

gavel

The Bottom Line

As a whole we would recommend Tablespoon to home cooks who want to try recipes which are unique and challenging. They offer options which fit the needs of various dietary and time requirements and users can browse sections dedicated to those needs. While the filtering tools needs to include more options this does not keep the site from being a great place to find new recipes and ideas for parties and entertaining for large or small groups.