# The Photo Cookbook — user reviews > 50 indexed App Store user reviews of The Photo Cookbook by ditter.projektagentur GmbH, rated 4.44/5 from 617 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-photo-cookbook/id374473999/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-photo-cookbook/id374473999.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 462 · 4★ 72 · 3★ 23 · 2★ 8 · 1★ 51 ## What do users think of The Photo Cookbook? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 📸 Stunning high-quality step-by-step photography - 👨‍🍳 Mise en place visual layout of ingredients - 📱 Clean, elegant, and intuitive app design - 🎯 Easy-to-follow instructions for beginners - 🥗 Well-organized recipe categories (meat, fish, vegetarian, dessert) - ✨ Beautiful presentation of finished dishes - 📚 Comprehensive ingredient information and education - 🛒 Shopping list feature via email - 💰 Reasonable pricing for cookbook content - 🍽️ Diverse, creative recipe selection **Cons** - 💸 In-app purchase model feels like double-charging - 📉 Limited number of recipes overall - 🔄 Requires repurchasing content after app consolidation - 🍔 Lack of family-friendly/comfort food recipes - ⏱️ Inconsistent cooking times compared to instructions - 🚫 No universal search across all cookbooks - 🎨 Recipes may appear exotic/unfamiliar to some users - 📊 Missing nutritional information - 🔐 Poor customer support for purchase issues - 🌍 Limited cuisine variety (heavy on Italian/Asian/Baking) **Commonly reported bugs** - Recipe images going dark requiring additional purchase - Restore purchase function not working properly - In-app purchase pop-ups not dismissible - Recipes not matching advertised content after updates **Most requested features** - Ability to save favorite recipes - User notes/comments on recipes for modifications - Nutritional information and calorie content - Print functionality for recipes - Universal search across all cookbooks - More comfort food and family-friendly recipes - Vegan and vegetarian dedicated sections - Basic cooking techniques tutorial section - Ingredient identification in group photos - More diverse cuisine options - Recipe rating and user review system - Metric/Celsius conversion tools - Support for multiple languages ## Newest reviews (14 of 50) ### 3/5 — Universal Search *2019-03-06, version 8.3.1* It’s inconvenient to search through recipes, by having the change books, it would be cool to search say “chicken” and have it filter through all books. ### 3/5 — A free app that could save you $3 *2014-09-09, version 7.0.2* The app was free, which is nice, but requires a $2.99 payment to fully unlock three of the four cookbooks that come with the app by default. The good thing is the extra content is $1 cheaper then normal. If you check the other Photo Cookbook apps from the developer, they are charging $3.99 for individual apps that have the same content found in the Quick and Easy unlockable categories such as Baking and Asian meals. In the future, I hope they expand on the usefulness of Quick and Easy by making more cookbooks available directly within the app, instead of having to individually purchase their standalone apps which are dedicated to only one food or topic. ### 5/5 — So good! *2013-10-06, version 7.0.1* This is so far my go to cookbook on the iPad. All the recipes I've tried so far have been exquisite. The only small drawback is that you have to pay for any additional recipes. Other than that it's pretty awesome. The pictures help a ton. If I could make a request, it would be that I wish I could save dishes that I like. Also, the ability to add notes to recipes in case I made any changes etc. ### 5/5 — Great app great recipes and photos *2013-10-05, version 7.0.1* Personally I love visual recipes. I like to see what I am supposed to be doing as well as what a dish will look like when finished. Great app for both of these. I understand some people are displeased with the number of recipes/cost. However I think there is a very good sampling of a wide range to dishes to make. Also the cost is a little bit higher than some apps, but I believe the quality of the photos and instructions justify it. ### 5/5 — Review *2013-04-30, version 6.3* Great suggestions and ideas!I find it easy to alter some Recipes ... After all it's suppose to stimulate the creative cook within .... I enjoy the step by step organized and easy to follow ideas, clean plus educational / informative with the ingredient review. The ability to have / send a shopping list via email is also great! ### 5/5 — Outstanding. *2013-04-18, version 6.2* Love this app. All the photos are clear and pristine. As a chef, I naturally ended up buying all the accompanying books (baking, Italian, and Asian) which are a dollar cheaper each if you buy them from within the app instead of separately through the App Store. The photos! I just can get over the photos!! They're simply gorgeous. The info for the individual ingredients is a great teaching for beginners and intermediates. ### 4/5 — Cookbook app *2012-09-29, version 6.1* I like this app a lot. The pictures are great. The HD quality of the pictures are awesome. The way they show the ingredients needed for a recipe helps you know what they are as well as have the confidence that you can make it because they show, with pictures, each step to prepare. My twenty year old daughter that doesn't cook was able to prepare a meal using this app. The only downside is the limited number of recipes. To get more recipes you have to purchase each additional one around $3.99. ### 5/5 — Easy to follow!!!! *2012-06-18, version 6.1* So far everything I made was delicious! I absolutely love the layout and the easy to understand instructions! I hope they will create a vegan and vegetarian group. It is a bit pricey to buy additional groups which made me a bit hesitant to purchase them all. I will finish all recipes first in the "quick and easy" group first and if I am still satisfied I will invest. If they put a vegan option in I will buy it right now no questions asked:) hint.....:) Ps: the chocolate orange pots ( under the dessert section ) is unbelievably easy to make and to die for!! Made Huge impression on guests! ### 5/5 — Wow!!! *2012-06-06, version 6.1* The app is amazing!!! I love cooking, but now with cookbook - I adore it!!! Design is fresh, modern, clean and simple - just how it should be. Navigation is so pleasant, I would say "iPad-ish". The app makes you sit on the sofa and scroll, scroll, scroll the pics and imagine). I tried some recipes and they were delicious and looked exactly like on the picture. Every recipe contains not many ingredients and takes a little time to prepare. It is just perfect app for kitchen. Please continue working and add some more cuisines! Or expand existing sets... I need more wonderful recipes from you! And it will be cool if you could add Russian language. Anyway, you made great job guys! A big thanks to all your team! ### 5/5 — Love it! *2012-03-06, version 6.0* Great app! Love the photos. Interesting recipes. Only wish there were more kid friendly recipes. Still worth the money! I love that they have added to the recipes since my original download. Hope this will continue as I might consider buying the other cookbooks...Asian, Italian and baking. ### 5/5 — Motivated me to buy iPad *2012-02-14, version 6.0* I saw this app on a display iPad. I was so amazed! I wanted an iPad, but this app is what put me over the edge with the decision. It shows step by step high def photos. It's like watching a cooking show with the camera angle from overhead. This is the BEST cooking app I have found online. And I have researched hours and ours of apps. You HAVE to try this one. it comes with lots of recipes, but it's expandable as well. A+++++ ### 5/5 — Beautiful, good recipes *2012-01-07, version 6.0* While not as comprehensive as maybe some other apps, the step-by-step photos are excellent and perfect for reference on iPad while cooking. The pho was excellent! I usually make pho from scratch (knuckle bones and all, clicking in around 4 hours), and it was excellent for only taking twenty minutes! ### 5/5 — Total Convenience! *2011-10-10, version 5.0* Being in Paramedicine, working the shifts I work, it's really convenient to open the app on my iPhone and pick up some things on the way home after a 64 hr shift. Only having 2 days with my Girl a week I need to dote on her as much as I can and she absolutly loves my little chef role! These recipes are simple, quick, easy to follow, and best of all they are absolutely delicious!!! A must buy for EMS Personnel!!! ### 5/5 — Love this app! *2011-09-17, version 5.0* This is actually a great cooking app. The recipes are straight forward and pics help you keep your cooking on track. Most are pretty easy to do and the expansion cookbooks are great too. My critics are first I think you extra cookbooks should be less. $4.99 is a little much. $2.99 is perfect to me. Also, I wish there was like a "favorites" section so you don't have to go searching for recipes you liked. A new issue I've noticed with these recipes is that NONE of them follow the same cook time as it says. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Use to be great *2018-02-22, version 8.1.2* So now the developer finally decided to update and upgrade this application after years of not working on it great so now all the apps and recipes I’ve paid for already I now have to repay for all over again Update I sent An email to developer and got no response no help nothing ### 1/5 — Don't get!!!!!! *2014-09-06, version 7.0.2* First off why is this the app of the week and who Is dumb enough to buy this app when it's not free there is literally only 3 categories of things you can look to make Italian, Asian and baked food and there not even complete lists you get this app with like 10 items you can see and then if you have to purchase any of the categories of foods you want to buy its 2.99 per category and the Asian is incomplete with only Chinese Asian not any other I Asian varieties anyways don't buy it or download it complete trash app apple needs to look at the apps the decide to make app of the week ### 1/5 — Great idea. Terrible value and content *2014-09-04, version 7.0.2* If I paid he $3.99 asking price I'd be furious (I got it free). The idea is great. Very crisp HD images in categories, However there are not a lot of choices. And then once you do move around the in app purchases pop up... $2.99 a recipe! As a $4 paid app I would expect a lot more content available for free. I only kept it on my ipad this long so I could write a negative review to possible save people their money. Please read other reviews an you'll realize it is e majority who feel they have been duped... ### 1/5 — Really? *2011-05-27, version 5.0* This update is lame. I have already purchased the baking application, and here the developer is asking me to purchase it again through an in app purchase. If there really are any new baking recipes in this in app purchase I have been unable to ferret them out. Additionally, to receive all the recipes I am to pay an extra $15 for an app I have already paid $5 for?? And on top of that, the majority of what I am assuming are to be 'example recipes' were a part of this app prior to this update! None of this is enticing me to pay more than what I already have. ### 1/5 — Deceptive *2010-10-26, version 0* If you are an uncultured slob like me - don't but this app. Let's see.....Sardines with Pine Kernels and Raisins - yum! How about - Monkfish Skewers with Basil Mayonnaise - delicious! Better yet - I think I'll serve the kiddos a generous helping of Sea Bass with Olive Gremolatta tonight. And for dessert you get....Blueberry Amaretti Mess - yes, you read that right - Mess! I can't wait to get going. I'm p$&@ed-off here. The app does not accurately describe what you are buying. You only find this out after WASTING your $5.00. Maybe this works for some people, but if you are looking for crowd pleasers to feed family and friends, you won't find those recipes here. Very disappointing. Unless you like experimenting with your dinner - steer clear of this loser of an App! ### 2/5 — Meh. *2012-01-26, version 6.0* The only thing that this app really has going for it is that it's pretty. For what it is it's overpriced, nothing goes into great detail and the recipes are very basic. I mean you want me to buy store bought crepes? Get real! That usually means its going to taste disgusting! I don't really know about the pho recipe, shouldn't I let the beef cook a bit before serving? I'll never know! It's great for people who like to make really easy meals, but for those who like to get more involved with their meals I'd say pass and spend the money on a better cooking app. ### 2/5 — First of all-- I love it but... *2011-12-01, version 6.0* Make it so that i can print these-- I can`t take my 600$ machine into the kitchen -- do other people actually DO that??! Awesome pics, great recipes, I`ll definitely enjoy trying these out, but It should be more "open".. theres no reason why i should`t be able to print this out. Oh.. and tiramisu with just "strong coffee".. Hell no. I made this recipe-- incredibly delicious however, for next time, do real espresso, don`t pour in ½ cup of rum like what it tells you to because we did this and my 10 year old got completely drunk on one slice (i would only do about ¼ cup, because this was so overpowering), and chop the chocolate yourself by using a cheap coffee bean chopper so you get some cool uneven variety of chocolate pieces, and put these in-between the layers too, not just on top. So yummy! This brings up new point--- PLEASE MAKE IT SO WE CAN COMMENT ABOUT RECIPES AND SAY WHAT WE LIKE/DONT LIKE/ COULD SUBSTITUTE/ DIFFICULTY RATING. It makes sense for such an expensive cookbook especially if there are only a few recipes. ### 2/5 — What a ripoff! *2011-09-16, version 5.0* I installed this app and it looked great, but then most of the pictures of the recipes "went dark" and a little pop-up came up telling me I could buy them!!! I did buy the dessert recipes (even though there were only two cookie recipes) and then couldn't get rid of the pop-up. I love the way the recipes are presented and would have loved this app if there were more recipes but now I just feel ripped off. I should have read the reviews first!!!!!! ### 2/5 — Nice at first... *2011-05-31, version 5.0* I bought this app awhile back and i liked it but I felt that it needed more recipes. There was a recent update to add new recipes based on Italian and asian dishes I was excited to update it until I find out that I have to buy the extra recipes! If the app was originally free I could understand, but since it wasn't free and I paid for it the first time, I think asking us to pay more money is simply classless. I for one am disappointed in something that had so much potential. I will not be recommending this app to anyone. ### 2/5 — Missing basic features *2010-09-01, version 0* I really like the help that the photos provide as you prepare a recipe, but the recipes really need nutritional information -especially CALORIE CONTENT!!!!! Another great addition, other than more recipes(!), would be a section on basic cooking techniques. One thing that has made things difficult for me as I learn to cook, it how to replicate some foundational techniques (like braising, caramelizing, etc) and how to know if what I've created looks in any way like what it is meant to look like!! Overall, what you are paying the big bucks for is the aesthetic. With only 60-something recipes I'm not sure it's worth the price.... ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — This book *2022-11-14, version 8.4* Will lay you. ### 5/5 — Miss en Place Perfection! *2022-10-17, version 8.4* Every recipe has a visual layout of all the ingredients, as they’ve been chopped, peeled, juiced, puréed etc. This is a MASSIVE help! To the developer, please produced more of these, aimed at different cuisines! ### 5/5 — LLLOOOONNNGGGG time favorite *2022-06-11, version 8.4* I remember when the Photo Cookbook apps were all individual apps. It was a great idea to fold all of the cookbooks into one “umbrella” app and allow us to chose with cookbooks we wanted to add to the collection. When the developers did this I had already purchased very cookbook because each one is amazing in its detailed photographic and written (step by step) instructions. This app, or rather these apps have been my absolute favors from their launch — it’s a collection of cookbooks that have e never left my iPhone or my iPad. ### 5/5 — Problem *2020-04-07, version 8.3.1* I bought all of them when they had a seprate applications but now i cant access them What should i do!? I submitted the restore purchase but nothing happened HELP ME please ### 5/5 — One of the best recipes apps. *2018-02-19, version 8.1.2* Discovered from one of the original iPad commercials. It’s a great visual dictionary for ingredients and simple directions. A variety of recipes that makes cooking a joy! ### 5/5 — Great App *2015-06-29, version 7.0.2* This app is clean and beautiful. I think why some get upset is that they paid an initial amount for one part of the book and feel ripped off if they have to pay for more. I only wanted the quick and simple and Italian. I paid a total of like $7. I would have easily paid that for a physical cookbook with the same recipes. If you buy all of it, it's like $12-$13, still a very reasonable price for a cookbook. They've just simplified it and allowed you to pay less if you don't want certain chapters. Think of it that way and it makes perfect sense. Thanks for a great app that lets me experiment with new food in a fun way! ### 5/5 — Love this app *2014-09-10, version 7.0.2* This app is worth every penny spent. The pictures are gorgeous and the way they display all needed ingredients is helpful. I tend to get carried away tapping on each ingredient's photo just to read the interesting information provided for each. I am so excited to start cooking with this app! ### 5/5 — FABULOUS *2014-09-09, version 7.0.2* Let me jut start off by saying that I, a 13 year old, was able to follow one of the recipes in this app precisely. It really helped me cook a meal for my family, which I've always wanted to do but never knew what to make. I absolutely adore this app due to the fact that I am a vegetarian and it separates the food types into columns (ie: meats, fish, vegetarian, dessert) and so when I chose a recipe to make, I knew that what I was making was 100% vegetarian. It simply just told me! Another thing I love about this app is how it shows pictures!! Without them, I probably would have completely messed up the recipe ten times along the way. P.S. GET THIS GREAT APP WHILE IT IS FREE (because to be honest, if I found it at full price, then I most likely wouldn't have purchased it. The only reason I might recommend buying it at full price is because of how wonderfully organized everything is, how delicious the food selections are, and the pictures are just so great!) ❤️ ### 5/5 — Good value, especially if you got it free. *2014-09-07, version 7.0.2* Not sure why people are rating this 1 star and slamming the publishers simply because there were fewer recipes than they expected. You get 60 (15 recipes in 4 categories) in the Quick and Easy section, all beautifully laid out, with very illustrative photography so that you can see the ingredients (and estimate the amounts) at a glance. You would easily pay the same or more for an e-book. Makes me wonder what people think $3-4 entitles them to; just because it's not a physical object you're buying doesn't mean that time, effort and creativity didn't go into making it. Boggling. ### 5/5 — Exceptional apps *2014-02-02, version 7.0.2* One of our favorite collections of apps. Liked teriyaki steak, risotto tomato soup with noodles, pasta arabiata, burger recipes, and more. Didn't care for ratatouille. Worth the money. Improvement: allow note writing on recipes by users so we can remember our own tips. We have been using this app heavily for more than a year. It's a keeper --- *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 2026-06-10.*