Welcome to RecipeGames, where every recipe tells a story and your kitchen becomes the most exciting room in the house.
Our Story
RecipeGames was born on a rainy Tuesday evening in Emma Wilson’s cramped Brooklyn apartment. After her third failed attempt at a supposedly “simple” Thai curry (the recipe said “easy” but left out critical steps), Emma threw down her wooden spoon and declared to her roommate Katie Lee: “There has to be a better way to teach people how to cook.”
That frustration became our founding principle. Emma, a former culinary school dropout who learned more from YouTube than from professional kitchens, and Katie, a food scientist with a knack for breaking down complex techniques into simple steps, decided to create the resource they wished had existed when they were learning to cook.
What started as a shared Google Doc of “recipes that actually work” has grown into a vibrant community where home cooks gather to discover, share, and celebrate the joy of cooking. We’ve tested over 1,200 recipes in our kitchens (and yes, we’ve had plenty of failures along the way – just ask us about the Great Sourdough Disaster of 2023).
What Makes Us Different
We’re not just another recipe website. Every recipe on RecipeGames goes through our three-kitchen test: Emma makes it in her small city apartment with basic equipment, Katie tests it for scalability and dietary modifications in her suburban kitchen, and at least two community members prepare it before we publish.
Our recipes are:
Genuinely tested – by real home cooks in real home kitchens, not test kitchens with $5,000 ranges
Clearly written – with the “why” behind each step, so you understand the cooking, not just follow instructions
Globally inspired – featuring authentic flavors from Emma’s travels through Southeast Asia and Katie’s family recipes from her Korean-American heritage
Flexible by design – with substitution notes because we know you’re not making a special trip to the store for one ingredient
Meet Your Recipe Guides
Emma Wilson – Founder & Recipe Developer
Emma’s cooking journey began with burnt grilled cheese and has evolved into a passion for making international cuisines accessible. After dropping out of culinary school (turns out she preferred teaching herself), she spent three years traveling through Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, learning home cooking from the people who do it best – home cooks themselves.
These days, Emma develops most of our international recipes and handles our community engagement. She’s also your main point of contact at RecipeGames. Her cooking philosophy? “If you can’t make it work in a tiny apartment kitchen with a wobbly cutting board, it doesn’t belong on our site.”
Specialties: Southeast Asian cuisine, one-pot wonders, cooking for small spaces
Contact Emma: hello@recipegames.com
Katie Lee – Co-Founder & Food Science Editor
Katie brings the science to our kitchen adventures. With a degree in food science and years of experience in recipe development for dietary restrictions, she’s the reason our recipes work not just once, but every single time. Katie also ensures every recipe includes tested modifications for common dietary needs – because she knows firsthand how frustrating it is to be left out of food experiences.
Her superpower? Understanding why recipes work at a molecular level and translating that into practical cooking tips. Katie handles recipe testing protocols, develops our gluten-free and plant-based alternatives, and writes our troubleshooting guides.
Specialties: Baking science, dietary modifications, troubleshooting, Korean-American fusion
Our Community
RecipeGames has grown beyond the two of us. We’re now a community of thousands of home cooks who share one belief: cooking should be fun, not stressful. You’ll find us (and fellow food enthusiasts) on:
YouTube – Weekly cooking tutorials where Emma and Katie demonstrate techniques, answer your questions, and occasionally argue about whether garlic should be minced or pressed (spoiler: Emma says pressed, Katie says minced)
Pinterest – Beautifully curated recipe collections organized by cuisine, dietary need, and cooking method
Join the Game
Ready to transform your kitchen into your favorite room? Start by exploring our recipe collection, pick something that excites you (even if it seems a little challenging), and dive in. And when you make one of our recipes, we genuinely want to see it – tag us, email us, or share it in our Reddit community.
At RecipeGames, every cook is learning, every mistake is a lesson, and every meal is a chance to surprise yourself with what you can create.
Let’s cook something delicious together.
Emma & Katie
Get in Touch
Questions about a recipe? Want to share your cooking success (or hilarious failure)? Have a recipe suggestion or dietary modification we should test?
Email us: hello@recipegames.com
We read every message, and Emma personally responds to each one (though it might take a few days during peak recipe-testing season).
RecipeGames is independently run by Emma and Katie from Brooklyn, NY and suburban New Jersey. All recipes are tested in our home kitchens before publication. We occasionally use affiliate links, which help keep RecipeGames free for everyone.