Help

1. Getting started

A short tour of how the app is laid out and how to add your first recipe.

Tabs and navigation

TastePapa has four tabs at the bottom of the screen:

• Home — your recipe library, including saved recipes and collections.
• Fridge — items in your fridge and pantry, plus recipe ideas you can make right now.
• Grocery — your shopping list, automatically grouped by aisle.
• Meal Plan — what you're cooking this week.

All four tabs sync across your devices once you sign in, and continue to work offline between syncs.

First-time setup

On first launch, TastePapa shows a brief onboarding to learn your cooking preferences (cuisine, dietary restrictions, meal-type focus). It takes about 30 seconds and improves the quality of recipe suggestions and AI generation. You can skip it and update your preferences later in Settings > Account.

Adding your first recipe

There are four ways to add a recipe:

• Browse — open the Browse view from Home and choose from the curated library.
• Import from a link — paste a recipe URL (or search inside the in-app browser) and TastePapa parses the title, ingredients, instructions, and image.
• Share from Instagram or TikTok — open a recipe post, tap Share, and select TastePapa.
• Ask Papa — describe what you want and the AI generates a recipe, e.g. "a quick chicken pasta with what I have".

The Ask Papa button

The small rainbow-bordered Ask Papa pill in the top-right of every main tab opens a voice + text sheet. Ask Papa always has access to your fridge, meal plan, and grocery list as context, so its answers are personalized. Ask Papa is part of TastePapa Pro with a limited free trial.

2. Recipes & collections

Saving recipes, organizing them into collections, and importing from external sources.

Saving a recipe

Every recipe has a heart icon. Tap it once to save. Saved recipes appear on Home under Saved Recipes. You can save recipes you imported, recipes generated by Ask Papa, or any recipe in the curated Browse library.

Importing from the web

From Home, tap Import. Paste the recipe URL (or use the in-app browser to search), then tap Import at the bottom. TastePapa pulls the title, ingredients, instructions, image, and source link. Imports work best on dedicated recipe pages, not on search-result or feed pages.

Importing from Instagram or TikTok

Open a recipe post in Instagram or TikTok, tap the Share button, and select TastePapa from the share sheet. We read the caption and any structured metadata to build a recipe draft. You can edit the draft before saving.

Posts with detailed text captions import most cleanly. For video-only posts without captions, the import falls back to a "use what's visible" mode — review and edit before saving.

Recipe translation

If your app language is set to Brazilian Portuguese or Latin American Spanish, recipes translate automatically the first time you open them. Translations are cached, so subsequent opens are instant. Imperial measurements are converted to metric where applicable. Change language in Settings > Language.

Creating a collection

Collections are your own folders of recipes — for example "Weeknight Dinners," "Thanksgiving," or "Vegetarian Favorites." A single recipe can belong to multiple collections.

1. From Home, tap the + Add collection button at the top of the Collections section.
2. Give the collection a name and tap Next.
3. Pick recipes from Browse or your Saved tab and tap Save.

A new empty collection is held as a draft until you add at least one recipe.

Renaming or deleting a collection

Open the collection, tap the pencil icon to rename or the trash icon to delete. Deleting a collection does not remove the recipes inside — they remain in your Saved Recipes library.

3. Fridge & pantry

Tracking what you have, cooking from it, and managing expiry dates.

Adding items

The quick-add bar at the top of the Fridge tab takes either a single item or a comma-separated list. Three ways to use it:

• Type — for example: chicken, tomatoes, olive oil.
• Voice — tap the microphone icon and say items aloud.
• Scan — tap the scanner icon to point your camera at receipts, fridge shelves, or packaging. Scanning is part of TastePapa Pro.

As you type, a suggestion dropdown appears with each item's destination (Fridge or Pantry). Tap a suggestion to add it.

Why some items go to Pantry vs Fridge

TastePapa categorizes items automatically. Perishable items (proteins, dairy, produce, condiments, beverages) go to Fridge. Shelf-stable staples (spices, oils, sauces, grains, baking supplies) go to Pantry. You can change a single item's location by opening its row and switching Fridge/Pantry in the detail screen.

Expiry dates

When you add a fridge item, you can optionally set an expiry date using the quick chips (3d, 7d, 2w) or by picking a specific date. The Fridge tab shows a colored summary strip when something needs attention:

• Amber — items expiring within 7 days.
• Red — items past their expiry date.

Each row also shows a small chip with the remaining time, e.g. 3d left (red), 6d left (amber), 12d (green).

Recipe ideas tab

The third pill at the top of the inventory — Recipe ideas — shows dishes you can cook right now. Each card displays how many of its ingredients you already have, e.g. 5 of 7 or All set. Tap a card to open the full recipe.

Bulk editing

Tap the Select pill in the inventory header. Each row gets a checkbox; pick items and tap the trash icon to delete the selection. A toast appears with an Undo button. Long-pressing any row also enters Select mode.

4. Grocery list

A shopping list that organizes itself by aisle.

Adding items

The quick-add bar accepts single items (eggs) or full lists (eggs, milk, butter) in one entry. Voice input works the same way. If an item isn't in the catalogue, the dropdown shows an Add "..." row to save it as a custom item.

Auto-grouping by aisle

Your list is automatically organized into sections — Produce, Protein, Dairy, Pantry, Snacks, Drinks, Other — in the order a typical store is laid out. Tap the checkbox on any row to mark it complete. Completed items move to a "Done" group at the bottom.

Sharing your list

Tap the share icon in the header to send your list as plain text via Messages, Notes, or any compatible app. Completed items show as [x]; open items show as [ ].

Clearing the list

Tap the trash icon in the header and confirm to clear the entire list. Single-item removals provide a 4.5-second Undo toast.

5. Meal plan

Planning a week, swapping meals, and pulling missing ingredients into your grocery list.

Building a week

On an empty Meal Plan, tap Build week. Pick recipes from Browse or your Saved library, choose the days for each, and tap Save. The plan assembles in one step. You can also add meals individually by opening any recipe and tapping Add to plan.

The Preparation guide

Once your week is planned, tap Preparation guide at the top of Meal Plan. The guide walks you through cooking the week in the most efficient order — what to prep first, what overlaps between dishes, and what to chill ahead. The Preparation guide is part of TastePapa Pro.

Adding missing ingredients to grocery

If your plan has meals but your fridge is missing ingredients for them, an amber strip appears at the top of Meal Plan: "N missing items — tap to review". Tap it, select the items you want to buy, and they go directly to your grocery list.

Swapping or removing a meal

Tap the trash on any meal card to remove it. An Undo toast appears for 4.5 seconds; no confirm dialog is required. To swap a meal, tap the Ask Papa pill and ask, e.g., "Swap Friday dinner for something lighter."

6. Ask Papa

An AI assistant with knowledge of your fridge, meal plan, and grocery list.

What Ask Papa can do

Ask Papa handles the most common kitchen tasks without leaving the current screen:

• Plan meals — "Plan 3 light dinners under 45 minutes."
• Swap meals — "Swap Tuesday for something vegetarian."
• Cook from your fridge — "Make something with what I have."
• Fill grocery items — "Add what's missing for this week to my grocery list."
• Generate a recipe — "Healthy chicken pasta for 4."
• Answer cooking questions — "What's a substitute for buttermilk?"

Voice or text

Tapping the Ask Papa pill opens a sheet with three input modes:

• Suggestion chips — pre-written prompts scoped to the current tab.
• Voice — tap the mic and speak naturally.
• Text — type into the input field.

Pro vs free

Free accounts include a limited number of AI-generated recipes per month. TastePapa Pro removes the cap and unlocks unlimited recipe generation, unlimited imports, recipe scanning, the Preparation guide, the Build my Week planner, and detailed nutrition. Manage your subscription in Settings > Subscription.

7. Account & subscription

Signing in, syncing across devices, language, and managing TastePapa Pro.

Signing in

TastePapa supports Apple Sign In, Google Sign In, and email/password. You can use the app without an account, but data only lives on the device. Signing in syncs your library across phones and protects your data if you change devices.

How sync works

Once signed in, TastePapa syncs your fridge, pantry, grocery list, saved recipes, meal plan, and collections in near real-time. The app continues to work offline; changes queue locally and push to the cloud when connectivity is restored.

Managing your subscription

Subscriptions are billed through the Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). To see your current plan, open Settings > Subscription; tap Manage to open your store account. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — you keep Pro until then. Detailed billing terms are in the Subscription Terms.

Changing the app's language

Open Settings > Language. Choose System to follow your phone's language, or pick a specific one. Currently supported: English, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish.

Deleting your account

Open Settings > Account > Delete account to remove your cloud data and sign out. You can also use the web deletion form if you no longer have the app installed. Deletion is permanent. Cancel any active Pro subscription separately through your store account.

8. Troubleshooting

Common issues and their fixes. If nothing here helps, the contact information below is the fastest way to reach us.

Voice recognition not working

1. Open device Settings > TastePapa and confirm Microphone permission is enabled.
2. Verify you have an internet connection — voice uses cloud speech recognition.
3. Try a quieter environment or speak closer to the microphone.
4. If none of the above resolve the issue, uninstall and reinstall the app to reset permission prompts.

Items not syncing across devices

1. Verify both devices are signed in with the same account (Settings > Account shows the email).
2. Pull down on any main tab to force a refresh.
3. If data still does not appear, sign out and sign back in on the device that is missing data.

Ask Papa is not responding

• Verify your internet connection — Ask Papa requires connectivity to reach the AI backend.
• Free accounts have a monthly limit. If you have reached it, you'll see a paywall notice.
• Complex prompts may take up to 15 seconds. If nothing appears after 30 seconds, close the sheet and try again.

Import from Instagram or TikTok failed

1. Posts with captions that include the recipe text import most reliably.
2. Video-only posts without captions fall back to a "use what's visible" mode — review and edit the draft before saving.
3. If a specific post or account is not parsing, please send us the link via the contact information below.