User Research

[mkatenolan]

Intro to who we are & overview of what we're doing.

Opening questions

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Marital status

Questions

1. How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week?

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away & how often?

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?

5. How varied are your meal choices?

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?

7. How many people do you usually cook for?

8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)

[mkatenolan]

Female/26/Single/Lives in a flat-share

1.How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?

I cook from a recipe not very often, less than once a month but I get inspiration from recipes and I get them from the internet, no specific websites - BBC good food. I also sometimes get recipe ideas from Buzzfeed.

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week?

Quite a lot compared to the average person but sometimes it's all in one go because sometimes i make batches so a few hours.

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away? How often do you throw away food?

Literally just now, 2 carrots and I felt sad and I felt bad because I bought the carrots and i know that i never eat carrots. Probably vegetables that get past their sell by date.

Once every two weeks.

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?

Three days in advance, maximum four days.

5. How varied are your meal choices?

I do try and vary what I cook. Sometimes I'll have the same thing for three days but then I'll try to cook something different. I don't always shop for the same things.

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?

Quite a lot of attention because I have to carb count for my insulin doses. Every meal I have I have to count how many carbs it's got in it.

7. How many people do you usually cook for?

Myself.

8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals).

Probably yes - I spend more than I could because I like snacks and sometimes I buy things that I think I'll need and never end up using.

[mkatenolan]

Female/24/single/lives in a house-share

1. How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?

I cook from a recipe maybe once every 2 weeks, just google them - bbc food sometimes. I google the thing that I want to eat or ingredients that I have to use up.

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week? Do you cook every day?

Normally like an hour every evening. Yes, I cook every day.

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away? How often do you throw away food?

2 days ago, disappointed in myself - it was some vegetables. probably every other week and usually vegetables.

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?

Not at all, I buy the things I would normally use in a week. I do one big food shop and then pick up little bits that I need if i need specifics.

5. How varied are your meal choices?

not very varied, I rotate roughly between around 8 meals.

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?

Increasingly more now. I try to cook from scratch.

7. How many people do you usually cook for?

One.

8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)

Yes, absolutely because I don't plan as accurately as I could and I would reduce waste.

[mkatenolan]

Male/26/single/lives alone

1.How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?

I maybe cook from a recipe once every couple of weeks and I find them on the internet. normally BBC good food - I'll google and see what comes up. It's more like if i want to cook something and I'm not sure how to do it but I tend to not completely follow a recipe.

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week?

I probably give myself a couple of hours in the evening if I want to. I pretty much cook every day.

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away? How often do you throw away food?

Probably like 2 or 3 days ago and it made me feel angry. Most of the time it'll be salad or vegetables. Probably once a week.

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?

Probably maximum 2 or 3 days but usually it's the same day. I go shopping every day.

5. How varied are your meal choices?

I would say they are pretty varied. I often will cook something and then never cook it again cause I'll try something and forget about it. 50% of what I cook in a week is varied and 50% is stuff i have all the time.

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?

Not necessarily the nutrition but i am conscious of what ingredients are in it. Most of the time i will pick a low fat thing or I'll try and reduce carbs in a recipe. But I wouldn't look at numbers, I wouldn't do numbers.

7. How many people do you usually cook for?

One but i do occasionally cook for friends.

8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)

Yes, I think I could by finding more deals, purchasing more sensibly. not buying bourgeois pickled shallots and planning ahead.

[tonylomax]

Raw responses

Male, in a relationship, 25

• Very little, cycle the same few recipes. BBC good food. Might google healthy recipes.
• Look for healthy recipes, as much green veg as possible
• Highest priority when planning is nutrition and then speed
• How often in a week?
  • Familiar recipes, 2-3 times a week.
  • More often, just random meal
  • One night, weekends prep a meal
• Throw away food
  • 2 weeks ago. Vegetables excess salad bought in bulk. Not planning meals ‘a frustration of mine’
• Plan ahead
  • Shopping once a week. Plan in the shop
  • Meals, in the store, a meal that night, have that later. Based on what you fancy.
  • ‘Awful in terms of spending and planning to use the stuff, contributes massively to my food wastage’
  • Predominately me, occasionally 1-2 for partner

Male, single, 30 1, 4-5 times a week. Combination of recipes that i’ve used before, refer back to. Or could be completely new following step by step, doing the recipe step by step. Or an overview.

• Google, Name of type of dish, recipes using sweet potato, got it in and need to use it and don’t quite don’t know what to do. Looking for something more exciting, might want to mix ingredients. I know i want to make lasagne.
• Website called BBC food, yummly
  2. Last week, spring onions wilted. Salad stuff. Don’t waste more expensive things like meat and fish. Veg will get wasted as it’s more cheaper.
  3. Planning?
  4. 24-48 hours ahead at the most. Do it on the fly unless cooking for an occasion. Conceiving what i’m going to make
  5. Nutrition
  6. Ingredients themselves, butter eg but other stuff might say use mayonnaise, full fat milk, low fat milk. Look at the specific ingredient we are using.
  7. usually 2 people could be as many 3-4
  8. Saving money, not a concern. Shop little and often
  9. Would use it, wants to be able to be specific with the ingredients and amounts. Not the weight of a specific item, just one of cabbage. Keep it general. Want it to prioritise the order of preparation: this one needs freshets possible ingredients.

Male, in a relationship, 25

1. How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?

   • Using a recipe 5 times a week with a recipe. New one, google it. BBC GOOD FOOD. Dutch one 15gram.be type an ingredient.
   • Type in an ingredient, chicken or beef or curry, stew generic term based on what you fancy.

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week? Unemployed and handed in my thesis so yes

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away?

   • Went to France, gone for 10 days so chucked it out. Half a pack of salad, stuff that will off, meat i only buy knowing i’m going to use it. Fruit and veg I chuck out, bought too much or sending more time out so wasn’t there to eat.

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?

   • Day of typically, supermarket just round the corner. Hate thinking of recipes. think of a recipe

5. How varied are your meal choices?

   • Have my regulars, home or in Brussels, if i’m there i’ll use the dishes she eats. 1 of 5 is something different

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use? Don’t look it up, have a rough idea, cooking for yourself you cut out a lot of things, things like salt. Cook for my own tastes. Vague general idea

7. How many people do you usually cook for?

8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)

   • inclined to plan, never lasted very long (try to plan a week, go buy the food, lost interest schedule unpredictable, flitting back and forth, trips etc, ‘nice to have it sorted and not think about it again for another week’
   • Food wastage, you only but what you need. Don’t buy snacks. Hate picking what you’re gonna eat, so like the suggestions. Money not an issue.

Male, single, 30

1. How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?
   • 1 a week, online - google
2. How much time do you have to cook during the week?
   • 20-30 minutes
3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away?
   • This weekend, chuck away quite a lot of salad, some garlic and onions they were past sell by date, arguably could have been used.
4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?
   • not at all, HUEL, In the shop
5. How varied are your meal choices?
   • Not much
6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?
   • a lot, little charts rainbow charts, recipes that are healthy,
7. How many people do you usually cook for?
   • Just you
8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)
   • Middling, not a huge amount.
   • Quite important to have, trying to be more conscious, new tupperware got space in my fridge, i do tend to chuck out the end of a meal rather than keeping it.

Male, in a relationship, 25

1. How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?
   • Less than once a week, sometimes but I have my go to\s will cook from memory. BBC good food, always do that. Rating system, like to see the ones have 5 start ratings. Quick + healthy.
2. How much time do you have to cook during the week?
   • When on my own, 30 mins a night, now with partner - rota where we cook for 30 mins but will last. Have cooked in bulk before, need to be in the routine.
3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away?
   • Yesterday, peaches, no one noticed. happened quite fast, happens quite frequently. Especially if i use a recipe, buy a single ingredient that’s only used for that one recipe
4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?
   • Cook for the week - vague plan half an hour before i go out, come back and cook it. Wouldn’t buy it and then cook it two days later.
5. How varied are your meal choices?
   • not very varied, does wish they were more varied. Not someone who cares about having massive variety, if i like something will just eat it on repeat.
6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?
   • Not that much or specifically, have a general idea of what I think it’ll be in terms of healthy, no bearing of how better things are than others.
7. How many people do you usually cook for?
   • 2+ people that he cooks for, 5 total which will be regular.
8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)
   • Saving money would be definitely a factor, saving food yeah. That would come into it for sure.

[frannyfra]

Male, 39, in a relationship, London

1. How often do you cook from a recipe? I have my own recipes, some of which I’ve made up but i look them up when I forget. 50% I just improvise cause I can just make up a dish form ingredients.

Where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps? I google and look around. If the website requires sign up or is very verbose (wash your vegetables in water…) I’ll skip it.

Needs to be to the point: these are the ingredients & these are the methods.

I don’t really like videos and prefer a written form.

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week?

I prepare lunches but they are quick preparations. I usually cook in the evenings. I never have takeways or buy ready meals. Sometimes it’s just pasta with salt, spices and olive oil. I cook most evenings because otherwise I don’t eat.

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? Yesterday. I found a coriander packet that my husband met. I’d throw food every week.

How did you feel about it? I always feel super guilty about it.

What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away? Ginger. Little things you forget. Lettuce. Only vegetables.

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping? I usually three four days in advance what I’m going to cook. I can always popping in Aldi or somewhere to grab something I miss. I have to do it because my husband only does it once a week.

5. How varied are your meal choices? Not much. Unless I have a motivation, like guests. I usually cook from my ten favourite things. I take into account what I have in the fridge.

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?

I pay attention to it. Not everything I cook is nutritious but I like to make sure I cover everything. I’ve been a vegetarian for twenty years and you have to learn to pay attention to this.

7. How many people do you usually cook for? Usually two. Sometimes four. Portions are for six.

8. Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals) Not money but I could save throwing stuff away. I buy cheap products so it’s not about the money and more about not throwing stuff away.

[frannyfra]

Female, 24, lives in a flatshare, London

1. How often do you cook from a recipe & where do you find them? I usually cook dishes i have cooked before but sometimes i search my mother’s recipe collection when i want to make a new dish that i know that she used to make. If i can’t find it i just google it and pick the one i like the most.

Any favourite sites or apps? There’s this hungarian site NoSalty.Hu.

Mother’s recipes would be written on paper and pushed inside an overflowing book. It’s sometimes hard to go through it so I often Google.

2. How much time do you have to cook during the week? Not much, i’m usually busy until 6 then go to meetups. I usually cook on the Sunday or one of the evenings during the week. I usually try and cook a bit more and freeze what’s left. When i start cooking i usually take three hours cause I’m not quick.

Otherwise buy ready meals, buy bread (eat toast). I don’t usually eat out but sometimes eat fast food restaurants like Leon but it’s expansive. When I eat out I usually don’t feel like it was worth it.

What’s up with all those burger places? And pasta places? You know pasta’s fucking cheap?

Do you prepare cooking rather than takeaway? Yes but it takes so much time and effort. If I had money and time and energy I’d cook a lot more.

3. When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? Probably today. I try not to throw away food. I either freeze it or eat it, but but happens. Especially with fruit of vegetables, when it starts to rot. You can either cook it or throw it away, but then again you don’t have time to cook it!

Would you say you mostly throw away fruit and veggies then? Fruits. Vegetables. Milk. Fruit juice because you can’t see what’s inside and stop trusting it after a while.

How did you feel about it? Hate throwing away food (duh). I went to a University in Sweden with a self service canteen so you had to guess how much you’d eat and pay by the weight.

4. How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping? YES. But it’s so tiresome. This is what I hate about life. You have to eat, otherwise you die. And you either spend a lot of money eating out or you have to plan it: go to the supermarket, take it home, cook it, remember to eat it BEFORE IT GOES BAD… that’s so much to deal with.

I try to plan ahead, but sometimes you can’t. You’re at supermarket and you see courgettes and you like them. But you know you’ll have to cook them within three or four days. So you play it safe and don’t buy them.

Any specific day you plan? I try to do it on Saturdays because Sainsbury’s open late but it closes early on Sundays, and Sunday I have to go to Tesco which is twice as expensive.

5. How varied are your meal choices? Not very varied. I don’t eat meat, or dairy or eggs. So a lot of meat substitutes and corn things. Proteins and vegetables. I also don’t have an oven.

6. How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use? I have to because I’m vegan so I have to make sure I eat enough protein. I know that if I have all the substitutes (tofu, etc) I’m good. And otherwise I know I should have beans or legumes.

7. How many people do you usually cook for? One.

8. Do you prefer planning because it saves you money? Yes. The main pressing point is that it’s so much.

Do you think you’d be able to stick to a five-day plan? I’d have to try. No.

[victormasson21]

Synthesis of user responses

How often do you cook from a recipe

Very regular if they're into it, otherwise very rarely (ie. if they want to impress someone).

Once a month. Once every couple of weeks. 50% of the time but I have my own. Usually cook things I knew before. Four to five times a week. Five times a week.*

Where do you find them? Any favourite sites or apps?

BBC Good Food mentioned five times.

Google.

Buzzfeed (good interface).

Yummly > has an API

15 gram (Belgian).

Type up things they want to use up to find a recipe. Wont necessarily follow the recipe to the book. Preference for short, to the point recipes rather than detailed, useless blurbs ("wash your salad in water") or videos.

How much time do you have to cook during the week?

Anything from ten minutes to two hours.

A couple of hours if I want to. Normally like an hour every evening. Quite a lot compared to the average but sometimes all in one go making batches. 20 to 30 minutes. No more than an hour. As quickly as possible. One evening during the week or only on Sundays. Every evening but often quick preparations.

When is the last time you had to throw away food you could have cooked with? How did you feel about it? What kind of ingredients do you usually have to throw away?

CONSTANTS: Happens at least weekly or more. Mostly: Vegetables / Fruits / Spices / Dairy.

"Just now and i felt sad."

"Once every two weeks and usually veggies.""

"I bought the carrots and I know I never eat them."

"I throw away vegetables every week.""

"I felt disappointed in myself"

"It made me angry".

"Two or three days ago. Mostly salad or vegetables, probably once a week."

"Today. Usually food, vegetables, milk or fruit juice."

"I hate throwing."

"Yesterday, and every week."

"I always feel super guilty."

It's little things you forget.

It happens really fast and very often.

"It happens quite frequently especially if i use a recipe and buy a single ingredient that's only used for that one recipe."

How far ahead do you plan cooking/shopping?

No constant. Depends on the person's general interest in cooking.

*Three days, max four days. Not at all. I buy one bit of shopping (stuff I always need) then little bits to fill the gaps. Max two or three days. I go shopping every day. 24 to 48h ahead at the most. On the fly unless cooking for an occasion.

"I hate thinking of recipes"

Not at all, in the shop. Vague plan half an hour before I go out. Three / four days but sometimes pop in for something else.*

This is what I hate about life. You have to eat, otherwise you die. And you either spend a lot of money eating out or you have to plan it: go to the supermarket, take it home, cook it, remember to eat it BEFORE IT GOES BAD… that’s so much to deal with.

Try to plan ahead but it's not always possible.

How varied are your meal choices?

Most people do have regular patterns. Most people feel like they're not varying enough because they don't have ideas, and seem to wish they were mixing it up a bit more.

Not planning meals is a frustration of mine.

I rotate roughly around 8 meals.

I'm vegan so I don't have much choice.

I try. But sometimes I'll have same thing for three days. I don't always shop for the same things.

I often cook something and then never again because i forget about it. 50% is varied and 50% is stuff i have on hand.

Not very varied. Kind of wish they were. Not much. I have my regulars. One out of five is usually something different. Pretty varied: usually looking for something exciting. Not very varied.

Not much unless specific motivation (hosting people).

I take into account what I have in the fridge.

How much attention do you pay to the nutrition of recipes you use?

People seem to care more about individual items than recipes (use non-fat milk, cut carbs). And seem to be more concerned more about reducing waste than nutrition. In many cases this is because the person is already conscious of what they eat and being nutritiously balanced.

Acute awareness for people who are following vegan or vegetarian diets, or have health constraints (insulin count) due to the constraints tied to these diets.

Quite careful because I have to carb-count for my insulin doses. I have to count how much carb I have for ever meal.

Increasingly. I try and cook everything from scratch.

Not necessarily the nutrition but i'm conscious of what ingredients are in it.

I try and use low fat or cut carbs but wouldn't look at actual numbers.

It's not something I consider for recipes but I'll look at the ingredient itself (like getting low fat milk).

I try and cut out salt, mayo. I have a vague idea of how nutritous things are.

I look at the rainbow chart for food in the shops and look at recipes that are healthy.

I have a general idea of the healthiness of the recipe but that wont impact picking one over another.

I'm vegetarian so I have to pay attention to nutrition. I want to make sure I cover everything.

I'm vegan so I have to make sure I eat enough protein.

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How many people do you usually cook for?

One or two (unless special occations)

For two, but portions are for sic.

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Do you think you could save some money on your weekly food shopping?(if you could plan your meals)

Yes - from people who throw away a lot. Concern about waste seems to prevail over concern about money.

Probably yes. Sometimes buy things I'll beed but never eat.

Yes because I don't plan and it would reduce waste.

Yes I think I could by finding more deals, planning ahead...

It's not about money but about not throwing stuff away.

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Additional questions from users

• Would I have to cook every day?
• Does that cover breakfast?
• Will you give people option to remove ingredients?