# MealTime

> Synchronizes cooking steps for multiple dishes to finish simultaneously. (iPhone/iPad app by James Bamford.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mealtime/id1016295040 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [James Bamford](https://appshunter.io/developer/454597719)
- Category: Food & Drink
- Price: $1.99
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings · 13 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.6 · 32 MB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Italian
- Released: 2016-11-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-25
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mealtime/id1016295040/reviews.md

## What is MealTime?

MealTime is an iOS app that helps you to easily prepare complex meals made up of many different items.

Build up the meals you want to cook out of items and the different cooking steps that describe how those items are actually cooked. Once added MealTime will then arrange all the different cooking steps to ensure that your meal will have all the items finish cooking together at the same time. 

As the meal is being cooked your phone will tell you when you must start to cook each item, it’ll even warn you so you can be prepared ahead of time. If you fall behind with these instructions then you can simply pause the meal to let you catch up and then resume cooking when you’re ready. Don’t take too long though as items already cooking may overcook, MealTime will warn you of items that will be overcooked whenever you pause the meal.

For hands free operation you can make MealTime say the cooking instructions out loud so that you can concentrate on cooking your meals.

MealTime will automatically time share your microwave oven if you’re cooking more than one microwave item in your meal. If you’re using an oven to cook any item then it can automatically tell you to preheat your oven just in time for the first oven item to start cooking.

Scan barcodes for items you add and you’ll be able to quickly add them to new meals in the future by just scanning their barcode.

You can visualise the cooking steps in a timeline by rotating your phone onto its side whilst you’re cooking a meal.

Its easy to setup a meal to start or end cooking at a specific time, MealTime will then move all of its notifications to fit the time you request.

Beyond the managed meals, MealTime also includes simple timers, that you can create with 5 second precision instead of the 1 minute precision of the iOS clock timer. You can also start, stop and pause as many of these timers at once as you’d like.

Microwave wattage adjustments let you calculate the cooking time for an item specified in a certain wattage that’s correct given your microwave’s own wattage, so if an item tells you to cook for 2 minutes in a 750 watt oven then MealTime can tell you that you'll need to cook that item for 1 minute and 30 seconds in a 1000 watt oven.

MealTime includes an iOS Today Widget and Apple Watch App and Complication which lets you glance at the progress of mealtime without having to open the app.

MealTime has been developed with a real focus on VoiceOver support for vision impaired users to enable them to use all the apps features with ease.

## Key features

- Synchronized cooking timers
- Step-by-step cooking instructions
- Pause and resume cooking
- Voice-guided instructions
- Barcode scanning for items
- Microwave wattage adjustment
- Apple Watch app and complication

## Chart rankings

- #158 in Top Paid · Food & Drink (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 13)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mealtime/id1016295040/reviews.md

### 4/5 — So nearly perfect

*2022-12-25*

Use this app for big meals. However I have two issues: the action alarms I miss, and I really the timing bar needs to be both more readable and would benefit from being able to change its scale. Second by second is only relevant when boiling eggs

### 5/5 — Super helpful

*2022-06-25*

I’m a big fan of this app, it’s especially good for things like Sunday dinner, or anything else with a lot of steps.

### 5/5 — I only use this once a year, and it’s still the best app going.

*2020-12-25*

Mealtime is my saving grace on Christmas Day, allowing me to cook a complex dinner caring for different dietary requirements/likes/timings with ease. 

Takes a little work to initially enter details but well worth it for the stress it removes!

### 5/5 — Best I have found

*2018-07-19*

Use this to help people with learning disabilities plan and cook their meals. Amazing!!

### 5/5 — Makes preparing large meals a breeze

*2018-04-01*

With large meals, especially on the holidays, I always have a difficult time timing my recipes so that everything is done at the same time. This app takes out all the guesswork (and the stress!). I just add the main steps for each recipe, set the time I want the meal to be ready, and let the app guide me as to when to start each step. I just finished making Easter dinner and it was all ready right as family arrived. Thank you for such a helpful app!

### 3/5 — Query does this app work on an iPad 1?

*2017-12-10*

This app doesn't seem to work on my iPad 1. How do I get past the info screens that come up when the app opens?

**Developer response:** Hi. Sorry for the delay in replying to you. 

The initial info screens can be swiped through from right to left until you reach the end (6 pages worth) and then click the done button to end those tutorials. After that you may be presented with 2 speech bubble popups that explain some features of the app. Just tap the screen to dismiss each of these popups and then the app should be functional for you.

Hope that helps you. Do please get in touch if you're still having problems. You can find contact details (twitter, and facebook) from the page linked to by the App Support link on the App Store.

### 5/5 — Indispensable App!

*2017-11-19*

I bought an iPad specifically to use this app. Hands down the most useful cooking app I've ever used, you can plan and save meals well in advance making preparing large, multi-dish meals super easy. The developer is also incredibly helpful and responsive. Can't recommend highly enough!

### 5/5 — Removes the complexity from managing complex meals

*2016-12-07*

This app is great for organising all the dishes that make up your meal so that they come together at the right time. We like the flexibility of the planning, ability to add padding between items and custom pre-heat times. Highly recommended.

### 5/5 — Xmas lunch

*2016-12-07*

Fantastic app!!!! I'm no gormet chef and this has helped me nail the Sunday roast.... next step xmas lunch!!! 😋🎅🏻☃️

### 5/5 — Great for new cooks

*2016-12-07*

This is a great app for helping you coordinate multiple dishes to be ready on time. I am new to cooking and this app guided me through the timings to put together my first ever full roast dinner - practically stress free.  I particularly liked that I could set a time when I wanted the meal to be ready and to then be prompted for each step at the appropriate time. Great integration with Apple Watch and quick response to a support query. Very flexible - you plug in the timings for each dish and it works out the schedule. I highly recommend this.

## Frequently asked questions about MealTime

### What is MealTime?

MealTime is an iOS application designed to help users coordinate the cooking of multiple dishes so that they all finish at the same time. It provides timed instructions and alerts to manage the cooking process efficiently.

### How does MealTime ensure dishes finish at the same time?

MealTime analyzes the cooking steps for each item in a meal and arranges them to ensure all components are ready simultaneously. It provides precise timing for when to start each dish.

### Can I pause cooking with MealTime?

Yes, MealTime allows you to pause the cooking process if you fall behind schedule and resume when you are ready. It will warn you if pausing may cause already cooking items to overcook.

### Does MealTime offer hands-free operation?

Yes, MealTime can speak cooking instructions aloud, enabling hands-free operation so you can focus on cooking without needing to look at your screen.

### How does MealTime handle microwave cooking?

MealTime can automatically time-share your microwave oven if multiple items require it. It also allows for microwave wattage adjustments to accurately calculate cooking times based on your specific appliance.

### What devices is MealTime available on?

MealTime is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, offering a seamless experience across your Apple devices.

### What is the price of MealTime?

MealTime is a paid application priced at $1.99. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned.

### How often is MealTime updated?

The latest version of MealTime is 1.5.1, last updated on January 29, 2020. Users can expect updates to improve functionality and compatibility.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6.2 — 2026-04-22

- Fixed bug where when cooking a meal the top and bottom buttons were missing after going to the landscape timeline view and back to the portrait list of cooking items. 
- Fixed small text alignment and cropping problems on some text and input fields
- added some light haptics for major user actions around starting/stopping/pausing meals and simple timers

### 1.6.1 — 2026-04-20

Updated iOS and Watch app to work with the latest versions of iOS and WatchOS.

### 1.5.1 — 2020-01-29

Minimum version of iOS supported is now iOS 9
Added support for iOS 13 features, Dark Mode and new interactive dismissal of all popup windows
Added blurring which appears when the app first loads whilst its still loading all the app data 
Watch app now supports Dynamic Font size properly so even with the largest size selected all information is fully readable
Improved layout of progress bars in timers and cooking steps on iPad
Improved multitasking on iPad by blocking the timeline view from appearing when multitasking in landscape
Fixed crash scanning barcodes on older hardware like iPad 2, and newer hardware when scanning things other than barcodes
Added protection to ignore any invalid quick actions which may be selectable within search and siri suggestions
A few other bug and crash fixes

### 1.5 — 2020-01-28

Minimum version of iOS supported is now iOS 9
Added support for iOS 13 features, Dark Mode and new interactive dismissal of all popup windows
Added blurring which appears when the app first loads whilst its still loading all the app data 
Watch app now supports Dynamic Font size properly so even with the largest size selected all information is fully readable
Improved layout of progress bars in timers and cooking steps on iPad
Improved multitasking on iPad by blocking the timeline view from appearing when multitasking in landscape
Fixed crash scanning barcodes on older hardware like iPad 2, and newer hardware when scanning things other than barcodes
Added protection to ignore any invalid quick actions which may be selectable within search and siri suggestions
A few other bug and crash fixes

### 1.3 — 2018-12-13

- Added support for Apple Watch Series 4
- Improved support for iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR
- 3D Touch Peek Preview Fixes 
- fixed missing Settings Page contents

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*
