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Disappointed

Casey_212195

This site used to rock. I happily paid for a premium membership. Then Joule came along. Now I feel like I've paid for a premium membership to receive a constant barrage of Joule advertisements. I get that it's a product they sell, but there is a difference between selling and trying to shove it down my throat.

ChefSteps: Try to remember who you were before Joule. Mix some of that old magic back into the recipe--find that sweet and savory balance.

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Comments

fisher23

There are a bunch of us over on Cook With Joule. The main focus is sous vide, but anything ChefSteps is also fine. Here is the link if you are interested.

lockgavin

I feel similarly. Seems there was a time that the chefsteps crew also were active in the forum other than to field joule problems and promote new features.

While I like the joule, it's app, the constant updates, and service provided from the team I do feel the ChefSteps brand has become merely a platform to sell joules. Business evolution I guess.

wolfiegirl

I don't think for a moment CS has changed gears. There are several things going on that perhaps you aren't aware. First, Grant has been doing a live weekly video (ChefSteps on FB) covering a myriad of subjects from chicken wings to wine to making pho, etc. Then, as @John_Fisher_218893 stated, the Cook With Joule FB page is growing by leaps and bounds (nearly 6000!!) with a constant stream of questions, recipes, and of course some very appetizing food porn! As for these forums, I can't state categorically why there isn't as much participation as there used to be BUT I can tell you that it's nonstop at Cook With Joule. So CS is still quite active, alive and kicking! Is Joule the centerpiece!? Of course it is. It's their "baby". But that doesn't mean Grant isn't as silly/crazy as he always has been and he's busy doing what he's always done....educating, demonstrating and entertaining. By the way, I've been a Premium member for a few years but I don't receive a constant barrage of adverts so equating the two doesn't ring true to me.

vctrshrmn

Casey, could not agree more!!! It use to be an exciting site. Not anymore for a loOong time...

Oh, and I'm not a fan of Joule... at all...

fisher23

Very well said 😊

tshewman

Casey - what are you missing (for lack of better words)/looking for? Is it that your email is receiving the adds? If so, perhaps a suggestion to change preferences? Otherwise premium hasn't changed much, we still get endless access to everything (which is pretty freakin awesome). If it's the ads, submit a suggestion as mentioned above. Can't promise but who knows. CS team is extremely responsive with many elements and indeed trying to strike a nice balance.

torridice_498271

I hate Facebook and will never use it. Is this content Facebook only, or is there another place I can see it?

fisher23

Sorry, torridice. I totally understand.

pd3ski_278514

I dunno... I see a lot of stuff here that's pretty interesting, much of it not cooked s/v. Does 'et all' mean all immersion cooking?

gabor.szeder

Yeah, so much about "ChefSteps Premium means unlimited access to the full catalog of ChefSteps content" (source). Having to access Facebook to access ChefSteps content is most definitely a limitation.

tshewman

what content are you missing?

wolfiegirl

Premium content is accessed through CS website with no requirement to be active in the FB pages and includes content NOT posted in FB. FB is another venue where there is OTHER content. There are also tons of vid's on YouTube that have been around a very long time. @torridice_498271 FB has never been my favorite either but in order to get a total view of all things CS, I took the plunge at @John_Fisher_218893's invite and have learned to enjoy it and look forward to the new postings every day. So I understand your reticence.

@Casey_212195 I guess what I'm trying to say is that in order to enjoy the full spectrum of all the various facets of CS (not all of it is Joule-based, by the way) you have to access the various venues. It's difficult for me to understand how 'boring' it's become if you stick to one avenue of info instead of reaching out to all that is out there. The limitations are only what you place on yourself.

torridice_498271

I don't know. It was a question if there is Facebook exclusive CS content. I don't have Facebook, but I love me some CS so I don't want to miss out on anything. Still wouldn't join Facebook for it, but was hoping it isn't anything that also isn't already on the CS app or website.

vctrshrmn

I do s/v for many years now and use / have used many different tools.

My main pet peeve with Joule is its dependence on an external controller (smartphone or such).

While an online platform might seem 'cool' for many people, in my view has no merits for a simple task of circulating and keeping temperature of the water. Paint me old-fashioned...

I agreed with OP that main focus of latest publications on CS site (including premium) become shallow (in my view) and heavily Joule pushing. Perhaps Grant and others shifted their focus to FB or elsewhere (it IS their business after all) - this site dropped the ball IMO.

The only thing keeps me visiting here is many AMAZING posts by many talented members of this forum

lockgavin

Isn't that just a community page with no real affiliation to CS other than love and use of their product? Correct me if I am wrong, but that is really no different than going to reddit, egullet or any of the myriad of cooking forums in existence on the web.

I love the live videos, except they are never live for me so asking questions becomes futile as the CS folks who used to be in the forum no longer active it seems.

I also don't use facebook for anything other than chefsteps (eg I don't post, I have no friends, etc)

I miss the interesting techniques and ingredients rather than the cook this at this temp for this long with similar stuff in the bag that is pretty prevalent now. I get it, it's a business.. you aren't going to be selling joules unless you push it's functionality. No one is going to buy joules if all your content revolves around non sous-vide stuff.

aaron.c.schroeder

+1 After I read @Casey_212195's post yesterday, I spent a few minutes scrolling through the last year of recipes, and I have to say that I strongly agree with him. I know there's spinoff content, but most of that is pretty amateurish. Nothing wrong with amateurs; it's just not CS Premium-level content. And the content that's on Facebook doesn't always make it to YouTube, is aimed at a live audience, and anyway doesn't begin to compare to the content we'd get almost weekly for the first 3ish years of the site. The quality of that old content is part of what makes buying a premium membership *still* worthwhile. But ask yourself this: if a premium membership were available promising *only* a lifetime of the type of content you've seen in the last year and came with none of the pre-Joule content, would you buy it? Would anyone who knew about the old content be disappointed with the new premium membership by comparison? Seems hard to argue that the two would be comparable.

Some of what's disappointing is that the excellent content was pretty voluminous: you could check in once or twice per week and expect to find a new, polished, informative video on some cooking technique or recipe. It was a wealth of information and entertainment, and it was constantly and consistently replenished. That CS has shifted to content aimed at new Joule users doesn't mitigate the value of the new stuff (or the old stuff!) but it does mark an unmistakable change, especially in terms of volume. Whether the spinoff or Facebook stuff is a sufficient remedy strikes me as a issue of personal preference. For me: old CS content takes the cake, and I miss it.

NB: To establish my CS bona fides: I've been a member here for years, I love my Joule, my premium membership, and I think CS has unbeatable customer service. I recommend them far and wide. My girlfriend and I even creeped on Grant making a lamb dish (we thought) when we were in Pike Place last fall.

Michael_Tudesco_358184

I agree with this. Can anyone remember the last time they posted a recipe with a video (premium or not) that isnt the other people's ideas series? I seriously think it's been close to 6 months.

I have joule and love it (so much so that i sold my old anova), but this site itself has been bad in terms of recipes ever since they launched it. More specifically, there have been a lack of new recipes accompanied by videos (other than throw meat in bag, cook at this temp with joule, make this pureed side, or other people's ideas series). I remembered when I first joined there was something great every other week with a fantastic video.

I get it's a business and they have the right to move in whatever direction they feel is best (and i'm sure it's working otherwise they would likely have changed gears by now), but as of right now the site basically feels like it pushes the joule and publishes recipes without any videos. As much as I like just getting recipes (read cookbooks every night) I paid for and used this site because the videos were so good and in my opinion completely blew every other site's out of the water. Without that (for me), the site is kinda pointless. This doesn't even touch on the lack of classes and other things that used to be more regular and basically don't exist anymore.

homerkelvin

i understand.

compare to last year, now is seems standing still without any updates on the skills and technics.

They seems put much effort on something else. Maybe Joule

It seems this investment (Joule) slightly leaded them to hard time....

Martin_459628

I'd like to voice my opinion on this.

Chefsteps is a startup company. Although I haven't read into the details, I imagine they began by running on money from the founders themselves, friends, family and angel investors like Gabe Newell, but they have to monetize somehow somewhere. People are forgetting that the people behind all the beautiful and informative videos need to make a living as well. When I first stumbled across the CS videos my first reaction was "how is all this free?" Professional chefs giving away their lifetime collected recipes all gram for gram written out? That doesn't happen much.

So now they have created their own product and want to divert their attention to building a community around their brand, ultimately that's their decision and I think it's a smart decision. Running a test kitchen and then publicly releasing their findings is a money burning operation. I don't see Heston Blumenthal or Ferran Adria or Grant Achatz running test kitchens only to make them into youtube videos for nothing in return.

Please have some understanding and perspective. Would you rather Chefsteps shut down forever?

whenric

Weirdly, I agree with everyone here. It seems like, at least (hopefully) temporarily, CS has shifted away from broadly making modernist techniques available to enthusiastic amateurs, and shifted towards popularizing low temp cooking for 'the masses' via Joule.

On one hand, I couldn't be happier that this is happening. I have several friends who are now enthusiastically cooking low temp who never would have before, thanks to Joule and 'visual doneness'. Low temp cooking shouldn't only be for cooking nerds. 'Cause it is awesome, and potentially easy. Hell, my mother-in-law is now cooking sous vide, which I can't really believe.

On the other hand, I--like many others here--love the earlier dishes that were challenging, conceptual, and beautiful. I'm pretty uninspired by current offerings, but I suspect that is because I'm not currently the target audience.

I hope at some point there will be a 're-balancing' that occurs. Sometimes offerings for basic proteins, and sometimes challenging offerings for those who want more.

Casey_212195

I get that it's a business. I love that it's a business. I am in 100% support of the powers that be at CS to make whatever decisions they deem necessary to support and grow that business. But I do feel duped. At the time I paid for a lifetime premium membership, the quality and variety of content was unparalleled. Now, while production values have persisted, the variety has not inasmuch as there is an inordinate focus on selling joule.

One takes one's chance anytime one buys a lifetime membership in anything. If I were monthly or yearly, I would have voted with my wallet by now and cancelled. That option is not available, so I am here instead.

I will say that the implication central to your response--that CS must sell joule to survive--is a false choice. It may be the decision CS made, but it is not the only option. Other monetization options could include expanding paid membership drives, opening a cooking school, opening a restaurant (or several), selling cookbooks, revenue from advertising on their site, broad partnerships with cooking related companies, and so on. Ideas, ergo options, are multitudinous. But I am sure the folks at CS know this, weighed their options, and made their decision. Good for them, and good luck to them.