Is ChefSteps paywalling formerly free content?

montebello1964

Someone on the Reditt sous vide group is claiming that ChefSteps is paywalling recipes that were formerly free (no examples given)? Has anyone noticed anything (hard for me to tell, since I'm a StudioPass/Premium subscriber)?

I do notice that some of the earliest videos from 7 years ago (my fav: "The Benefits of Sharp Knives"!) are no longer shown when you scroll all the way down to the end of the recipe list.

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montebello1964

Although, that knife article is still found when searched for.

But there are now 187 "Premium" recipes, the oldest of which ("Beef Short Ribs Your Way") is 8 years old, long before Premium subscriptions existed. When I counted them a couple of months ago, I think there was 97 (but I could be misremembering).

There are now 110 "StudioPass" recipes.

montebello1964

Makes sense for them to do this to add value to the "Premium" subscription, which is included with the more expensive "Steel" version of the Joule.

As far as whether any signature ChefStep recipes that are widely known are included, it's hard to be sure, since I don't remember what the 97 were. But I'm pretty sure the ones I've marked with *** were free before (because I've shared them, and wouldn't have if they were paywalled):

*** "75°C Egg"

*** "The Egg Calculator"

"Flan (Crème Caramel)"

"Chocolate Pot de Crème, Y’all"

"Your Favorite Sous Vide Egg Bites at Home"

*** "Bomb Braised Short Ribs"

*** "Life-Changing Pizza Dough With Joe Heffernan of Seattle’s Independent Pizzeria"

*** "Sous Vide Filet Mignon" (from their veggie puree meal series)

*** "Sous Vide Chicken Breast (from their veggie puree meal series)

*** "Beef Short Ribs Your Way"

In contrast, signature recipes like the Bomb cheesecake and the sous vide pickles are still free.

brian_martin2001

It does seem that way, if some is the recycled recipes were free to access. I vaguely remember giving a link to someone on another site, who'd never heard of CS before, and they were grateful for it.

CS does archive some of their activities after a period of time, but they can still be found on the sitemap. Here's the address to what you've referenced https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-benefits-of-sharp-knives--2

jason.r.whitworth

They are paywalling our minds man!

tobiasresch

What you say "makes sense" I find unethical. Seems to be standard for chefsteps now.

montebello1964

You have a very strange idea of ethics. You don't have any rights to someone else's copyrighted content and complaining about it no longer being free is just lame.

shannon.92126

ChefSteps no longer honoring their commitment. Ordered one of the first Joules, got a premium membership with it. Now they paywall all new content behind the "Studio Pass". HUGE F*** You to all the folks that took a chance on them in the beginning.. Sold out to Breville and let the greedy corporate bean counters set policy.

montebello1964

Too bad you are missing out on all the cool content. It is better than ever!

shannon.92126

Can't see giving more money to a company that won't stand by their commitments. They lied.

Definitely won't do business with them again, and I certainly won't recommend them to anyone else.