Whether it is for production or print, the most important thing about a recipe is that it works and works the same every time. If a phenomenal recipe isn’t transferred properly, it will not yield that same phenomenal result.
The process of transferring a recipe from creator to user is an art form. Professional chefs spend years in kitchens trying to learn from their mentors - trying to understand what they understand. With such a large pool of knowledge it can be difficult to know exactly which pieces of information should be passed on in a little blip like a recipe.
One very important factor to consider is that the user will always need to improvise in one-way shape or form. Maybe they have a different kind of salt than the developer or are missing one ingredient; or maybe they have a 30-year-old oven with a crack in the door and so on. This is great news and a golden opportunity for the developer to properly hand the reigns over. If the right bits of information are passed on with the right language, the user will be set up for success. A good recipe helps someone become a chef; it's a different experience than simply following instructions. Learning something new and using your hands at the same time is a powerful combination. It's even more powerful when other senses are woven in - taste, smell, touch, hearing... all of these come into play with cooking. So even if the person using the recipe is... just following instructions, so much of the self gets involved by the nature of the situation and a deeper learning is likely to take place. This ultimately starts to "build the chef" in someone.
Regardless of what the recipe is for, I try to write it in the way a chef thinks - with that train of thought. This approach is such a huge part of why restaurant food comes out differently than your average home-cooked meal. Following these kinds of recipes step by step takes the user through a process that mimics the workflow of a professional kitchen. And that, is pretty awesome.
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