About These Terms
ChefGather is an independently operated recipe and cooking platform. It allows visitors to discover recipes and enables registered users to build contributor profiles, submit recipes and share cooking knowledge with the community.
These Terms and Conditions apply when you:
• Visit or browse ChefGather;
• Create or use a ChefGather account;
• Submit recipes, photographs, comments or other content;
• Use ChefGather’s community features; or
• Otherwise interact with the website or its services.
By creating an account or submitting content, you confirm that you have read and accepted these Terms.
If you do not agree with these Terms, you should not create an account, submit content or use features that require acceptance of the Terms.
These Terms should be read together with the:
• Privacy Policy;
• Cookie Policy;
• Recipe and Nutrition Disclaimer;
• Accessibility Statement; and
• Any community, publishing or submission guidelines made available by ChefGather.
Nothing in these Terms removes rights that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
Eligibility and Accounts
You must be at least 16 years old to create an independent ChefGather account or submit content.
A person under 16 may only use account or contribution features with valid permission from a parent or legal guardian and where permitted by applicable law.
Account registration
When creating an account, you agree to:
• Provide accurate and current information;
• Use an email address that belongs to you or that you are authorised to use;
• Keep your login details secure;
• Use a strong and unique password;
• Keep your account information reasonably up to date; and
• Notify ChefGather if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.
You are responsible for activity conducted through your account unless it resulted from something for which ChefGather is legally responsible.
Names and public identity
ChefGather may request your full name for private account administration.
You may use an appropriate nickname, username or chosen display name on your public profile. You must not:
• Impersonate another person or organisation;
• Use a misleading identity;
• Suggest an official relationship with ChefGather that does not exist;
• Use a name that infringes another person’s rights; or
• Use an offensive, threatening or unlawful name.
One person’s account
You should not allow another person to use your account. You may not sell, transfer or assign your account without ChefGather’s written permission.
Using ChefGather
ChefGather grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive and revocable permission to access and use the platform in accordance with these Terms.
You agree not to:
• Use ChefGather for an unlawful, fraudulent or harmful purpose;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to an account, server or restricted area;
• Interfere with the website’s security, performance or operation;
• Introduce viruses, malware or other harmful technology;
• Collect personal information about other users without a lawful reason;
• Scrape, copy or extract substantial amounts of content through automated means without permission;
• Use bots to create accounts, submit content or manipulate engagement;
• Circumvent security, moderation or access controls;
• Misrepresent the origin, ownership or accuracy of content;
• Post spam, deceptive promotions or unauthorised advertising;
• Harass, threaten or abuse another person;
• Manipulate ratings, comments, favourites or other community features;
• Use ChefGather to develop or train a competing database, model or service without permission; or
• Encourage another person to do any of these things.
Reasonable indexing by legitimate search engines is permitted where it follows ChefGather’s technical instructions.
Recipe and Community Contributions
“Contributions” include recipes, titles, descriptions, ingredient lists, instructions, photographs, videos, biographies, comments, ratings, tips, messages and other material submitted to ChefGather.
Your responsibility
You are responsible for your Contributions.
Before submitting content, you must ensure that:
• You created it or have the necessary permission to use and share it;
• It does not infringe copyright, trade marks, privacy, publicity or other rights;
• People identifiable in photographs have given appropriate permission;
• It is not copied from another website, book, creator or publication without authorisation;
• Recipe instructions are provided honestly and with reasonable care;
• Statements about ingredients, dietary suitability and allergens are not knowingly misleading;
• Any sponsorship, gifted product or commercial relationship is clearly disclosed;
• It complies with these Terms and ChefGather’s publishing standards; and
• Its publication will not breach any agreement or duty owed to another person.
Submitting a recipe does not guarantee publication.
Accuracy of submissions
You should make reasonable efforts to ensure that recipe information is complete and accurate, including:
• Ingredient names and quantities;
• Preparation and cooking instructions;
• Cooking times and temperatures;
• Serving information;
• Relevant equipment;
• Dietary descriptions;
• Allergen-related information; and
• Any safety warning reasonably needed to prepare the recipe.
ChefGather may request clarification or corrections before or after publication.
Personal information in Contributions
Do not include private or unnecessary personal information in recipes, photographs, comments or other public Contributions.
You must not publish another person’s home address, telephone number, private email address, financial information, identification document, password or other sensitive information without a valid legal basis and their explicit permission.
Ownership and Licence
You retain ownership of the original intellectual property rights you hold in your Contributions.
ChefGather does not claim ownership of your original recipe photographs, written descriptions or other protected material merely because you submit them.
Permission granted to ChefGather
When you submit a Contribution for publication, you grant ChefGather a worldwide, non-exclusive and royalty-free licence to:
• Host, store and reproduce it;
• Review, format and organise it;
• Display and distribute it through ChefGather;
• Make technical or editorial adjustments;
• Create appropriately sized or formatted versions;
• Promote it through ChefGather’s website, newsletters and social-media channels;
• Include it in relevant recipe collections and search results; and
• Allow service providers to process it where necessary to operate ChefGather.
This licence allows ChefGather to operate and promote the platform. It does not transfer ownership of your Contribution to ChefGather.
Editorial changes
ChefGather may correct spelling, grammar, formatting and obvious errors. ChefGather may also make reasonable changes for clarity, accessibility, consistency, safety or presentation.
ChefGather will not intentionally change the essential identity of a recipe or falsely attribute content to you.
Where a proposed change could materially alter the recipe, ChefGather may contact you or place the content under review.
Attribution
Published Contributions may be attributed to your chosen display name and contributor profile.
You are responsible for ensuring that your selected display name and public profile information are appropriate.
Removing the licence
You may request removal of your Contribution, subject to reasonable processing time and any legal reason requiring temporary retention.
When closing your account, you may choose whether your published Contributions are:
• Deleted; or
• Retained under an anonymous label such as “Former Contributor.”
If you choose to retain a Contribution, the licence granted to ChefGather continues for that Contribution.
If a Contribution is deleted, the licence ends once removal is completed, except for:
• Protected backup copies awaiting normal deletion;
• Material already lawfully used in published promotional material;
• Information that must be retained for legal claims or compliance; and
• Limited technical copies that cannot immediately be removed from caching systems.
Feedback and suggestions
If you provide suggestions about ChefGather’s features or services, ChefGather may use those suggestions without payment or an obligation to implement them.
Content Standards
Contributions must be respectful, relevant and suitable for a cooking and recipe community.
You must not submit content that:
• Is unlawful or promotes unlawful activity;
• Infringes another person’s intellectual-property rights;
• Is knowingly false, deceptive or materially misleading;
• Contains dangerous instructions presented without appropriate warnings;
• Encourages unsafe food preparation or handling;
• Makes unsupported medical, nutritional or health-treatment claims;
• Contains hate speech, threats, harassment or targeted abuse;
• Exploits or endangers a child;
• Contains explicit sexual material;
• Promotes violence or serious harm;
• Reveals another person’s private or sensitive information;
• Contains malware, malicious links or fraudulent requests;
• Is primarily spam or unauthorised commercial promotion;
• Falsely presents advertising as an independent recommendation;
• Manipulates ratings, reviews or engagement;
• Impersonates another person or organisation; or
• Otherwise conflicts with ChefGather’s purpose or publishing standards.
Dietary and allergen descriptions
Labels such as vegan, vegetarian, halal, gluten-free, dairy-free or nut-free must be used carefully and honestly.
Ingredient manufacturing methods, cross-contamination and individual dietary requirements can vary. Contributors must not guarantee that a recipe is suitable for every person sharing a particular dietary need.
Review, Moderation and Reporting
ChefGather may review Contributions before or after publication.
Moderation actions
Where reasonably necessary, ChefGather may:
• Request additional information;
• Correct formatting or obvious errors;
• Add a safety or editorial note;
• Reduce the visibility of content;
• Temporarily place content under review;
• Reject or remove content;
• Disable comments or interactions;
• Issue a warning;
• Restrict particular account features; or
• Suspend or close an account.
ChefGather may take these actions where content appears to:
• Breach these Terms;
• Breach applicable law;
• Infringe another person’s rights;
• Create a safety or security risk;
• Mislead users;
• Harm the community; or
• Require investigation.
Human review
Automated or AI-assisted tools may help identify spam, duplication, unsafe material or possible rule violations.
Important moderation and account decisions will be subject to human review. ChefGather does not rely solely on automated processing for decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects.
Notice of decisions
Where appropriate and legally required, ChefGather will provide a reason when content is removed, restricted or rejected.
Information may be withheld where disclosure would:
• Create a security risk;
• Interfere with an investigation;
• Reveal another person’s confidential information; or
• Be prohibited by law.
Requesting reconsideration
If you believe a moderation decision was made incorrectly, contact contact@chefgather.com and include:
• Your account email address;
• The title or address of the affected content;
• A short explanation of why you disagree; and
• Any information supporting your request.
ChefGather will review reasonable requests but cannot guarantee that every decision will be reversed.
Reporting content
To report illegal, unsafe, infringing or inappropriate content, use the Contact Us page or email legal@chefgather.com.
A report should identify:
• The content concerned;
• Its exact page address where possible;
• The reason for the report;
• The rights or rule believed to be affected; and
• Your contact information.
Reports must be made honestly. Knowingly submitting false or abusive reports may result in restrictions.
Copyright complaints
If you believe content on ChefGather infringes your copyright, contact legal@chefgather.com and provide:
• Identification of the protected work;
• Identification and location of the disputed content;
• An explanation of your rights in the work;
• Your contact details;
• A statement that the report is made honestly; and
• Any supporting evidence reasonably available.
ChefGather may remove or restrict disputed content while reviewing the complaint and may contact the contributor for a response.
ChefGather Content and Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise stated, ChefGather owns or is authorised to use the website’s branding, logo, design, layout, software, original editorial material and other platform content.
The name ChefGather, its logo and associated branding may not be used in a way that suggests endorsement, partnership or official affiliation without permission.
Permitted personal use
You may:
• Browse recipes for personal use;
• Print or save a reasonable number of recipes for personal cooking;
• Share links to ChefGather pages;
• Quote short extracts where legally permitted and appropriately credited; and
• Use features provided by ChefGather for their intended purpose.
Uses requiring permission
Unless permitted by law or approved by ChefGather, you may not:
• Republish complete ChefGather articles or recipe collections;
• Copy or reuse photographs;
• Reproduce substantial parts of the website;
• Sell or commercially exploit ChefGather content;
• Remove attribution or rights notices;
• Create a competing recipe database from ChefGather content;
• Use content to train an artificial-intelligence system;
• Present ChefGather content as your own; or
• Use ChefGather branding in another product, domain or service.
Permission requests may be sent to contact@chefgather.com.
Third-Party Services, Advertising and Affiliate Links
ChefGather may contain links to websites, products or services operated by other parties.
ChefGather does not control every third-party website and is not responsible for its content, availability, security, privacy practices or commercial terms.
You should review the relevant third party’s terms and policies before using its service or making a purchase.
Advertising
ChefGather may display advertising. Advertisements should be identifiable as advertising where required.
The presence of an advertisement does not automatically mean that ChefGather guarantees or endorses the advertised product, service or claim.
Affiliate links
Some links may be affiliate links. If you select an affiliate link and make a qualifying purchase, ChefGather may receive a commission without increasing the price you pay.
Affiliate relationships do not remove your responsibility to assess whether a product or service is suitable for you.
Advertising and affiliate tracking technologies that require consent will only be activated according to the choices made through ChefGather’s consent system.
Future products and paid services
ChefGather may introduce paid products, subscriptions, marketplace features or other commercial services in the future.
Any paid service may be subject to additional information and terms presented before purchase. Mandatory consumer rights will continue to apply.
Recipe, Nutrition and Food-Safety Information
ChefGather provides recipes and cooking information for general informational purposes.
Recipes may be created by ChefGather, contributors or other authorised sources. Individual results can vary because of differences in:
• Ingredients;
• Equipment;
• Measurements;
• Cooking methods;
• Appliances;
• Altitude and climate;
• Ingredient substitutions; and
• Personal cooking experience.
Food safety
You are responsible for:
• Checking that ingredients are fresh and suitable;
• Following safe storage, preparation and cooking practices;
• Preventing cross-contamination;
• Using equipment safely;
• Checking appropriate internal cooking temperatures; and
• Deciding whether a recipe is suitable for you and the people you serve.
Allergies and dietary requirements
ChefGather cannot guarantee that a recipe is free from allergens or suitable for a particular dietary, religious or medical requirement.
Product ingredients and manufacturing methods may change. Always review product packaging and contact the manufacturer when necessary.
People with allergies, intolerances, medical conditions or strict dietary requirements should obtain appropriate professional advice.
Nutrition information
Any nutritional information is an estimate unless expressly stated otherwise. Actual values may differ according to ingredients, brands, portions and preparation methods.
ChefGather content is not medical, nutritional or dietetic advice and should not replace advice from a qualified professional.
Further information is provided in the Recipe and Nutrition Disclaimer.
Privacy and AI-Assisted Review
ChefGather processes personal information according to its Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
By creating an account or submitting content, you acknowledge that information will be processed as described in those policies.
AI-assisted services
ChefGather may use AI-assisted services to help:
• Review recipe submissions;
• Identify spam or duplicated content;
• Detect potentially unsafe or prohibited material;
• Organise and classify recipes;
• Improve clarity and formatting; and
• Support moderation.
These tools do not replace human responsibility for important publication, moderation or account decisions.
You must not submit confidential, highly sensitive or unnecessary personal information in content that may be reviewed through these systems.
Website Availability and Changes
ChefGather aims to provide a useful and reliable service, but uninterrupted availability cannot be guaranteed.
The website may occasionally be unavailable because of:
• Maintenance;
• Security work;
• Updates;
• Technical failures;
• Hosting or network problems;
• Events outside reasonable control; or
• Changes to website features.
Feature changes
ChefGather may introduce, change or discontinue features where reasonably necessary.
Where a change materially affects registered users, ChefGather will provide reasonable notice where practicable.
Corrections
ChefGather may correct errors, update outdated information or revise content when an issue is identified.
If you notice an error in a recipe or other page, please report it through the Contact Us page.
Account Suspension, Deactivation and Closure
You may request account deactivation or permanent deletion through the available account controls or by contacting ChefGather.
Deactivation
A deactivated account may be retained so that it can be restored. Its profile should not remain publicly visible or searchable during deactivation.
Permanent deletion
When requesting permanent deletion, you may choose whether your published Contributions are deleted or retained anonymously.
Personal profile information will normally be removed or anonymised within 30 days, subject to:
• Protected backup cycles;
• Fraud or security investigations;
• Active disputes;
• Legal obligations; or
• The establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Suspension or closure by ChefGather
ChefGather may restrict, suspend or close an account where reasonably necessary because of:
• A serious or repeated breach of these Terms;
• Illegal activity;
• Infringement of another person’s rights;
• Fraud, spam or security abuse;
• Risk to users or the platform;
• Failure to correct a serious violation after notice; or
• A valid legal requirement.
Where appropriate, ChefGather will provide notice and an explanation.
Immediate action may be taken where necessary to address an urgent security, safety or legal risk.
Effect of closure
Closing an account ends permission to use account-only features.
Terms concerning intellectual property, retained Contributions, disputes, responsibility and other provisions that logically continue after closure will remain effective.
Disclaimers and Responsibility
ChefGather provides the website and its content with reasonable care. However, recipes and community Contributions may contain errors, omissions or individual opinions.
ChefGather does not guarantee that:
• Every recipe will produce identical results;
• All content will always be complete or error-free;
• Every Contribution has been independently tested;
• A recipe will meet every dietary or religious requirement;
• Every external link or third-party service will remain available; or
• The website will always operate without interruption.
Your decisions
You remain responsible for decisions made using ChefGather content, including decisions concerning:
• Ingredients;
• Allergies;
• Dietary needs;
• Food preparation;
• Cooking temperatures;
• Kitchen equipment; and
• Products or services offered by third parties.
Limits that do not apply
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits responsibility where doing so would be unlawful.
This includes responsibility that cannot legally be excluded for:
• Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
• Death or personal injury caused by negligence; or
• Mandatory consumer rights.
Foreseeable losses
Where ChefGather is legally responsible to a consumer, responsibility is limited to losses that were a reasonably foreseeable result of failing to comply with these Terms or failing to use reasonable care, except where applicable law provides otherwise.
Business losses
ChefGather is primarily intended for personal and community use.
To the extent permitted by law, ChefGather is not responsible for business losses such as lost profits, lost revenue, lost business opportunities or business interruption resulting from use of the free platform.
This limitation does not remove any responsibility that cannot legally be excluded.
Applicable Law and Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws applicable to ChefGather’s operation, subject to mandatory legal protections available to users.
If you are a consumer, these Terms do not remove mandatory rights provided by the laws of your country of residence.
Resolving concerns
If a disagreement arises, please contact ChefGather first and provide a clear explanation of the issue.
ChefGather will attempt to resolve reasonable complaints fairly and informally where possible.
Legal proceedings
If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, either party may use the courts or other dispute-resolution procedures available under applicable law.
Nothing in these Terms prevents a consumer from using a court or remedy available under mandatory consumer-protection law.
Severability
If a court or competent authority finds that part of these Terms is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply where legally possible.
No waiver
If ChefGather does not immediately enforce a provision of these Terms, that does not permanently waive the right to enforce it later.
Changes to These Terms
ChefGather may update these Terms when:
• Website features change;
• Community functions develop;
• Service providers change;
• Security or moderation requirements change;
• Legal requirements change; or
• Clarification is reasonably necessary.
The updated version will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.
Where a change materially affects registered users, ChefGather may also provide notice by email, through an account notification or through a prominent website notice.
Changes will apply from the date stated in the updated Terms. Where required, ChefGather will request renewed acceptance.
Your continued use of account or contribution features after the effective date means that you accept the updated Terms, except where applicable law requires a different form of agreement.
Contact Us
For questions about these Terms or the use of ChefGather, contact:
General enquiries
contact@chefgather.com
Legal, rights or content complaints
legal@chefgather.com
Contact page
https://chefgather.com/contact-us/
When contacting ChefGather about an account or Contribution, include the relevant account email address, content title or page address where possible.