Finding Recipes with Vini
Vini is your AI cooking partner — describe what you want to cook, paste a link, or list what's in your fridge, and it'll write you a recipe on the spot.
Top 5 questions people ask
Is my conversation with Vini saved?
No — this chat is temporary. If you refresh the page or click "New chat," the conversation is gone for good. (See Starting a conversation below.)
Do I need an account to use the AI Recipe Finder?
No — you can chat with Vini and get recipes without signing in. You'll only be asked to sign in if you want to save a recipe to your Recipe Box. (See Saving or opening a recipe Vini suggests below.)
Can I ask Vini to change a recipe — like make it healthier or faster?
Yes — use the tweak buttons under any recipe (Lighter, High-protein, Faster to cook, Vegan, and more), or just type your own request. (See Tweaking a recipe Vini suggests below.)
I don't like the tweak I just asked for — can I undo it?
Yes — just tell Vini, e.g. "undo that last change" or "go back to the original," and it'll write you a fresh message reverting it. (See Tweaking a recipe Vini suggests below.)
What if I click Save and nothing seems to happen?
If a button doesn't respond, it likely hit a hiccup behind the scenes — just try clicking it again. (See If something doesn't seem to work below.)
What you'll need
- Nothing to get started — no account required to chat with Vini
- A Vinst account only if you want to save a recipe Vini gives you (you'll be prompted to sign in at that point)
📱 Using Vinst on your phone? Everything below works the same way — you'll just find the menu behind the ☰ icon instead of a sidebar, and pop-ups open as full screens instead of small centered windows.
The basics, at a glance
- Start a conversation — tell Vini what you want to cook, or paste a link
- Read Vini's answer — a full recipe, or a quick answer to your question
- Tweak it — ask for a lighter, faster, or different version with one click
- Save it — add the recipe straight to your Recipe Box
- Give feedback — let us know if a response was helpful or not
Starting a conversation
Open AI recipe finder from the sidebar. You'll land on a simple welcome screen — no sign-in required.
Type into the box ("Paste a recipe link or tell us what you want to cook"), or use one of the quick-start options:
- Paste a recipe URL — Vini will fetch and format a recipe from a link
- "How to make the perfect risotto?" — ask Vini to write you a recipe from scratch
- "I have zucchini, feta, and lemon. What can I make?" — describe what you have on hand
💡 This conversation isn't saved. Refreshing the page or clicking "New chat" clears it completely — there's no history to come back to later. If Vini gives you something you like, save it (see below) before you leave the page.
📱 On mobile: the "New chat" button loses its label (icon-only), the suggested prompts stack full-width instead of sitting side by side, and the legal disclaimer at the bottom of the chat shortens to "Vini can make mistakes." instead of the full paragraph with Terms of Service/Privacy Policy links.
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Reading Vini's answer
Ask your question, and Vini responds right in the conversation — usually a full recipe with a title, ingredient list, and step-by-step instructions, plus any helpful notes.
You can keep chatting — ask a follow-up question, request changes, or start over with something new.
Tweaking a recipe Vini suggests
Underneath most recipes, you'll see a row of one-click tweak buttons:
Lighter · High-protein · Reduced-sugar · Easier to cook · Faster to cook · Low-carbs · Vegetarian · Vegan · Seasonal
Click any of them, and Vini rewrites the recipe with that change applied — no need to type anything. You can also just describe your own change in the message box (e.g. "make this dairy-free").
💡 Prefer typing your own request over the buttons? That works too — just type it like any other message.
What happens after you tweak: Vini doesn't edit the recipe you already have in place — it posts a new message with a short "Changes" note explaining what it adjusted, followed by the full updated recipe. Your original version stays exactly as it was, right above it in the conversation, so you can scroll up and compare — or just keep chatting to try another variation.
Each new version gets its own fresh set of tweak buttons (some options drop off if they no longer make sense — e.g. asking for "Low-carbs" again won't show up twice in a row) and its own Save recipe / Cooking view buttons, described next.
💡 Changed your mind about a tweak? There's no dedicated "undo" button — just tell Vini directly, e.g. "undo that last change" or "go back to the original recipe," and it'll write you a fresh message reverting it. Since it's regenerating the recipe rather than literally restoring the old text, small details (like the exact cook time) can come out slightly different — if you want the exact original back, it's still sitting untouched further up the conversation.
Saving or opening a recipe Vini suggests
Every recipe Vini gives you comes with two buttons underneath it:
- Save recipe — adds it to your Recipe Box.
- If you're not signed in, you'll be prompted to sign in first — once you do, the recipe saves automatically, no need to click Save again.
- Once saved, find it any time in your Recipe Box, and add it to a cookbook or collection just like any other recipe.
- Cooking view — opens that exact recipe in Vinst's full recipe reader (Food Story), in a new tab. It's a cleaner, cook-along-friendly layout of the same recipe — handy if you want to follow along step-by-step while you cook, separate from the chat window.
📌 If you've tweaked a recipe a few times, remember each version has its own Save/Cooking view buttons — make sure you click them on the version you actually want to keep.
📱 On mobile: Save recipe and Cooking view stack into two full-width buttons instead of sitting side by side.
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Giving feedback
Every response from Vini has a thumbs up and thumbs down underneath it.
- Thumbs up just registers a quick "this was helpful" — no extra steps.
- Thumbs down opens a short form: pick what went wrong (Culinary info is wrong, Incomplete response, Not what I asked for, Slow or buggy, Style or tone, or Other), optionally add a note, and click Submit.
Feedback can only be given once per response. Thumbs up locks in immediately. Thumbs down locks in once you click Submit — if you close the form without submitting, you can try again.
📱 On mobile: this pop-up stays a small, centered card, just narrower than on desktop — it doesn't switch to a full-screen sheet the way some other pop-ups in Vinst do.
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If something doesn't seem to work
Vini's chat depends on a live connection to our AI backend, so occasionally a button click (like Save, or Cooking view) won't visibly do anything if something hiccups along the way. If that happens:
- Try clicking it again — most of the time it goes through the second time.
- Refresh and re-ask if a response seems stuck loading.
- Still stuck? Email info@vinst.me and let us know what you asked and what happened.
More questions
Can I come back to a chat I had yesterday?
Not currently — each AI Recipe Finder conversation is temporary and clears when you refresh or start a new chat. If you want to keep a recipe, save it to your Recipe Box before moving on.
Does the AI Recipe Finder work the same as the chat inside a saved recipe (Food Story)?
They're similar, but different: the AI Recipe Finder (this page) is a general-purpose chat for finding or writing new recipes and isn't tied to any one recipe. The chat inside a recipe's Food Story page is for tweaking that specific recipe, and — unlike this page — that conversation is saved. See your Recipe Box to open a recipe and try it.
Can I undo feedback I already submitted?
Not after it's submitted — thumbs up locks in immediately, and a thumbs-down form locks in once you click Submit. If you close the "What went wrong?" form without submitting, you can try again.
What's the difference between "Save recipe" and "Cooking view"?
"Save recipe" adds the recipe to your Recipe Box for good. "Cooking view" just opens that same recipe in a new tab for easier reading while you cook — it doesn't save anything on its own. (See Saving or opening a recipe Vini suggests above.)
Is there a limit to how much I can type or ask?
No character limit on your messages — chat as much as you'd like.
If I ask Vini to "undo" a change, do I get back the exact same recipe as before?
Very close, but not guaranteed word-for-word — Vini rewrites the recipe rather than literally restoring the old text, so small details (like an exact cook time) can occasionally come out slightly different. If you need the exact original, it's still sitting untouched earlier in the same conversation.
Questions we couldn't answer here? Reach out to the Vinst team at info@vinst.me — we're happy to help.