New Executive Flash: Restrictions on Recipes for Personal Websites

[fruit76loop]

Hello everyone!

I just got a copy of the New Executive Flash! It pertains to our personal websites and what we can list on them!!

This refers to the recipes we are allowed to put on our sites. We are only allowed to put PC recipes on our sites and we must include wordage saying it is a PC recipe.

I am NOT happy about this! I have a news section in my website that is for recipes I do at shows. I have begun doing Power Cooking shows (which I got from My NED, Chris Manion) and according to this new policy, I will not be able to list these recipes for my customers! Or other recipes such as the rice cooker cake, because this is NOT a PC recipe!! I mostly prepare PC recipes at my show, but I have found some that I love like the rice cooker cake that my hosts and customers love!

I personally just think this is a load of crap! We pay to have a site and now they are telling us what we can and can't put on it! Especially something as simple as recipes!

Sorry maybe it is just a bad day...had my show for tonight cancel because we got 12 inches of snow! Good reason if any...but I was looking forward to the double points!

 

[fruit76loop]

Here is the actual Executive Flashhttp://www.chefsuccess.com/showthread.php?p=33871#post33871

 

[fruit76loop]

Me againHere is an e-mail that I received from Chris Manion... makes more sense. Not as furious now...just sad .

Re: the recipes: we've never been permitted to put non-pc recipes on any document, flyer or website that carries the PC logo because it implies that all those recipes come from us, TPC. If anything should ever be wrong or bring about a lawsuit or injury, the TPC name and company would be liable because of the implication that it was our TPC recipe being on a page with the TPC logo. Therefore, this really isn't a "new" policy.

What IS new is that we are not being permitted to type up any PC recipes ourselves to add to our website. We can only refer to them by name and ask our customers to contact us via the website or email so that we can send them the recipe that way (via email).

Chris

 

[mcanavan]

PC recipesMarlene, there is a rice cooker recipe in the new Season's Best. I can't remember whats its called but its got hazelnuts and Nutella. I guess you can supplement this recipe for the one you already use. Hope this helps.


mcanavan
Independent Future Director

 

[fruit76loop]

Yes, I know...there is that recipe. But personally, I don't like it as much as some of the others! I am just sad that we won't even be able to type in old PC recipes! We are only allowed to use ones that we can cut and paste from the company website!

 

[Swirl]

That is CRAP!!!! I mean what else is it going to be? Everytime I turn around it's something else with this website stuff. We sure do pay a good bit for it to not have any liberties at all with it....makes me wonder if it's even worth the hassle?! You know I bust my butt trying to get my name out there and use what things I can to bring people to the site but if they keep taking away what can you promote??? Sorry for venting, but it's good to get it off the chest.

 

[monica_sweetconsultant]

it really stinks that the day i get my website and get some stuff on there including a recipe they start throwing new rules at us!! i put a recipe from the new SB on there...is that ok or do i have to take it off? like i wasnt confused enough already about the whole thing!!

 

[Swirl]

Monica I believe as long as it's from the SB series or off the PC website it is ok. But what I have read before you have to put that statement after every recipe you put on your website. I personal have not recieved anything from my director about it yet...but I'm sure it's coming sooner or later.

 

[fruit76loop]

The only recipes...we are allowed to post are ones from the web site that we can copy and paste. They are not allowing us to type in any recipes.

 

[pamperedchef2]

just look at it as a way to cross sell SB or cookbooks

 

[Sk8Mom209]

Do you thinkThey are just looking for the copyright information to be included? For example, if you posted a recipe from the All the Best cookbook and included the copyright info would that be okay?

 

[Admin Greg]

This refers to the recipes we are allowed to put on our sites. We are only allowed to put PC recipes on our sites and we must include wordage saying it is a PC recipe.

You are free to post your own recipes in our section!
http://www.chefsuccess.com/recipes.php

 

[dianevill]

What about recipes at shows?I know there are a number of consultants that don't always use Pampered Chef recipes at their shows, or use variations. I'm assuming that would be a problem, too, then.

Diane

P.S. As a side note, could a guest come after us for getting sick on a dish we prepared at a show? Does liability insurance cover that? I'm sure that's in the RFS or somewhere, but I don't remember reading it.

 

[luvs2sellit]

I never knew we were allowed to use other recipes at our shows. Common sense would tell me that we should only cook what is in our cookbooks. I sell cookbooks all the time for the recipes I prepared. If I made a recipe of my own I would loose out on those sales.

 

[dianevill]

Not sure I agree...luvs2sell it,

I appreciate your comments, however I'm not sure I totally agree with you. While I do agree that the best way to show our products is through our recipes, there are certainly exceptions! I have given hosts loaves of bread from the mini loaf pan (before the beer bread came out, I gave banana or cranberry nut bread - not a PC recipe, but sold lots of mini loaf pans!). I've rolled out french bread dough, brushed w/ butter and sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar, baked, cut into triangles and used it for our creamy chocolate fondue (I sell lots of rectangle stones!)

I LOVE making rings, but sometimes I do variations (roast beef w/ pepperjack cheese is AWESOME!). I always talk about All The Best when I do those, and guess what? All The Best is my #3 top seller.

I guess what I like to show my guests is that you don't have to make only PC recipes with our products. Our job is to sell tools to make our lives in the kitchen easier and more efficient, regardless of the recipe. I love to explain that to people - even baking a frozen pizza tastes better on a stone (I've even baked a frozen pizza at a show once, too!)


Diane

 

[Shawnna]

I agree....I live in a rural area and frankly PC is not a great business to be in here. People here buy everything at WalMart...groceries, tools, clothes, cooking tools...because they think WalMart has the best price and it is cheap enough that if something breaks/wears out they can go buy another one. I struggle a lot getting people into the "you get what you pay for" mode and to get them to see what a great investment our products are. Personally I do not use a lot of PC recipes at home. Some are too fancy and complicated, some my family hates, and for some, trying to find the ingredients is a nightmare. I have been thinking that I need to show them how to incorporate what they already cook into our wonderful products. I always talk about the rectangle baker and lid/bowl. I tell them that on Sunday evening I put a whole chicken or roast into the baker, add my potatoes, carrots, onions, and spices, put the lid on and slide it in the oven. When I return home from church, my family's complete dinner is ready and I just have to pull it out of the oven and put it on the table. People here do not want to go to a lot of trouble to prepare meals for their family. We are beans and potatoes, stew, roast or sandwich types of people. We have 3-5 children and live on a small budget, because most people in our area do not make much money.

 

[monica_sweetconsultant]

Shawna, I know your pain....i live in the backroads of my town and not many people know about PC here either and those that do cant afford much more than a mini spatula!! its been hard getting shows. as for recipes, i think if you show them that they can cook "regular" foods as well you might sell more. tell or show them that they can fix fish sticks, chicken nuggests, or corn dogs on the pizza stone!! thats more along the people in my towns budget and wants. they just dont eat fancy here. and not all PC recipes are fancy but some are a little more "elegant" than i would normally fix. i think it just depends on the area you are in. If you live in the city with alot of good industry then you can probably do just PC recipes....for us smaller folks try toning the recipes down and see what happens. you might be surprised!!

 

[fruit76loop]

It is your show...you can make any recipe you want. Or not cook at all! That is the great thing about the PC!!

My gripe is that the only recipes we can include are those available on the PC website. We have to copy and paste them, so no if you have a recipe you want out of "All the Best" and it is not on the website, you are NOT allowed to type it in! Now, do you see what one of my main problems is??

Also, how many of you are doing the rice cooker cake (cake mix 1/2 can frosting)? This is NOT a PC recipe, the hazelnut one is, but not this variation. So, if you are only doing PC recipes at your shows and that is what you want to do great, but I personally love to do "regular food" as well as variations on the recipes.

 

[luvs2sellit]

I of course tell people how great the stones cook frozen pizzas and chicken fingers and a roast to die for. But at my shows I only do recipes out of the book. No rice cooker cake here. And I do live in a very small town.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I do a combination of PC recipes, variations of them and original recipes (like the rice cooker cake). It depends on what the host wants.

I will only do non-PC recipes if I absolutely trust them and have made them several times before. I often do a PC recipe for the first time AT shows and tell them so - pointing out that I never worry about those recipes because our test kitchens do all the trials before they even share the recipes. As far as variations go, often those happen because the host gets the wrong ingredients or doesn't like a certain ingredient. Haven't had one fail yet when the basic recipe is PC!!

I am not happy that they've made those new recipe rules either but I can understand why. I wish though, that we could put our own recipes up with the disclaimer that it is NOT a PC recipe and was not tested by the company.

I also think that we should be allowed to put PC recipes that we share at our shows up for the guests to copy if they like as long as we add their required statement and what book it is in. People always want a book that they have gotten one or two recipes from because they know that there will be more great ones in the book too! No threat there!!

The new policy makes it not worth the effort to put recipes on our websites. We can just tell them how to find them in the recipe search and save ourselves the typing - cutting/pasting time.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

we are allowed to post are ones from the web site that we can copy and paste. They are not allowing us to type in any recipes.

I was just going to mention that all the recipes in the cookbooks are copyrighted, so they cannot be typed or reproduced in any form without permission.

So, if we're dealing with people who want to cook, expect us to cook, and expect recipes, we really can't help them out, can we?

Lemmee see if I got this right:

1) We can post recipes. Well, sort of.
2) We can't post recipes from the cookbooks lest you violate the copyright.
3) We can't post our own recipes because they are not controlled by TPC.
4) You can post recipes that the customer is perfectly capable of finding and downloading themselves. Oh, now, there's value-added service for us to provide.

It's like being a kid again: "Okay kids, you're all set. Go have fun, only, don't do anything that might actually be fun."

This is a catch-22 that is going to have to be addressed.

 

[Sk8Mom209]

Copyright InfoI always understood that as along as you include the copyright information and give the copyrighted individual credit, you were not in voilation of any copyright laws.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I always understood that as along as you include the copyright information and give the copyrighted individual credit, you were not in voilation of any copyright laws.

Take a look at the first page of any TPC cookbook. See that disclaimer at the bottom? The one that says, All rights reserved?

That means ALL rights are held by the rights holder. Without permission, you technically cannot even read it to someone over the phone. It's all a matter of how tightly they wish to enforce their copyright.

 

[monica_sweetconsultant]

this is to the Kitchen Guy

I just wanted to say that i love reading your posts. i always get a good laugh out of your sarcasm!! thanks for brightening my day with a much needed laugh!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Thank you, Monica!

Life is far too important to take seriously.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Weekly Bites - Feb 21 EditionRead it and weep.

If you didn't happen to read it, here's the official word:

You may copy and paste recipes onto your Personal Web Sites from four sources:

1. Those found under Products, Etc. on the corporate Web site. This includes recipes from Product Use and Care Recipe Cards and the monthly featured recipe.
2. The current and previous season's Season's Best Recipe Collection, which include the theme Show recipes, found under Products and Recipes on Consultant's Corner.
3. Archived issues of Consultant News and Weekly Bites found under Managing Your Business and News You Can Use on Consultant's Corner.
4. Finally, any recipes printed on promotional flyers found under Consultant Incentives on Consultant's Corner.

Well, so much for posting my recipe for Kickapoo Joy Juice.

 

[acherry]

I don't normally complain much, but I must admit the recipe thing really irked me. So I just made a complaint to PC. I just think that this decreases our unique "flair" to the business. I don't think it'll change anything, but at least I showed my displeasure at something that bothers me...Must admit though, this is the 1st thing PC has ever done that really got my goat!
Cheers,
Angela

 

[BethCooks4U]

Well, so much for posting my recipe for Kickapoo Joy Juice.

You can share the recipe here!

 

[monica_sweetconsultant]

i have to agree with acherry. i just got my website like a week or so ago and was really excited. the day i got it...this mess about the recipes came out. i think if we have to pay for a website we should be able to post a simple recipe!! we already use there backgrounds, colors, etc.!! before long they will be telling us what we can or cannot post on there. just makes me really wonder if i want to keep the website now or not!!

 

[fruit76loop]

Read it and weep.

If you didn't happen to read it, here's the official word:



Well, so much for posting my recipe for Kickapoo Joy Juice.

Oh...Kitchen Guy...what would we do with out you? You keep us light hearted, thank you!! And I want this recipe!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

A couple of things for you to keep in mind.

One) Relatively speaking, your Pampered Chef website is very economical. In fact, it's downright cheap. Check with your local ISP and find out what they would charge you per month to host a site. Suddenly, 7 bucks a month will look really attractive.

Two) 7 bucks a month starts to look even better when you find out what a good web designer would charge you for a web site - not just for setup but for maintenance, too. Pampered Chef makes setup and maintenance essentially idiot-proof.

Sidebar - owning a copy of GoLive or Front Page does not make someone a web designer any more than owning a stethoscope makes one a doctor.

Three) Giving up your Pampered Chef website over this issue would be a grave tactical error and a worse strategic decision.

As irritating as the recipe faux pas is, it is merely a speed bump in the highway of your Pampered Chef life.

 

[Chef Kearns]

Here, here Kitchen Guy!

 

[monica_sweetconsultant]

i understand what you are saying, but to your comment about not being a web designer, i may not be, but my husband is but anyways. i know what you mean. its just irritating to be told what to do over every little thing. i just dont get what the big problem is over a simple recipe!!! the way i see it i already paid for 6 months im going to keep it for 6 months!! to cheap not to! i didnt want the thing to begin with. my husband is the one who wanted me to have it!! but i will be good and stop griping about it!! lol

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Oh...Kitchen Guy...what would we do with out you? You keep us light hearted, thank you!! And I want this recipe!

Alright, alright, alright...Thank You All! Instead of answering all the messages I'm getting, here's the open reply to everyone who wrote to me!

It's an old joke - I'm showing my age, I guess. "Kickapoo Joy Juice" was a concoction brewed up in the fertile mind of Al Capp when he drew his comic strip, Li'l Abner. The most potent moonshine was brewed in Dogpatch, U.S.A. at the Skonk Werks*, by characters named Lonesome Polecat and Hairless Joe.

Follow this link to read about Li'l Abner, Dogpatch and http://www.lil-abner.com/kickapoo.html.

There is a rumor that someone is marketing a product (licensed) under this name, but I haven't been able to find it.

Li'l Abner, by the way, was an extremely popular comic strip in its day with biting social commentary. It spawned two movies and vast merchandising. A Broadway musical of the strip debuted in 1956 and ran for several years. (It was made into a movie in 1959.) The play is still performed by high schools and theatre groups.

I would imagine, that in today's world of politcal correctness gone mad, the strip would have far more detractors than fans. The strip was full of stereotypical characters that burst with naive goodness and purity, like Abner Yokum, Mammy and Pappy Yokum and the long-suffering Daisy Mae Scraggs. Lots of colorful characters with names like Senator Jack S. Phogbound, Earthquake McGoon, Fearless Fosdick, General Bullmoose and everyone's favorite jinx, Joe Btfsplk, peppered the strip along with words that have found their way into the American lexicon like skunk works* and the lovable schmoo. Every high school in America had a Sadie Hawkins Day race, also a Capp invention, the day when Dogpatch women were allowed to chase bachelors and marry the one they caught. (Joe Btfsplk walked around with his own little black cloud that was always raining on him.)

The bottom line is, I'm sorry, you can't make Kickpoo Joy Juice in a Quick-Stir® pitcher. (It would probably melt, anyway.)

------------------

* - The term "Skonk Works" was later adopted by Lockheed Aircraft and chaged to "Skunk Works" when Al Capp objected to the use of his copyrighted term. To this day, "skunk works" is a generic term that refers to a secret group within a company that develops products quickly, often on the edge of illigitimacy, unhampered by corporate hierarchy and protocals. At Lockheed, where they consider the term a trademark, the Skunk Works developed many secret military aircraft, including the U2 and the SR-71 Blackbird spy planes.

 

[Pampered Laura]

omg. That was awesome. Cheers to KitchenGuy! LOL!!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Did you get the message today?An e-mail from TPC today says they are revisiting this issue. No changes are required in our websites at this time.

I think that answers the question of whether or not HO monitors this site.

 

[fruit76loop]

Victory for now...Wow, I am so excited to know that the Home Office has realized the pain this was causing! Maybe they will add more recipes that we can cut and paste! If we had all of the recipes from the cookbooks, I certainly would not have complained! But of course all we had were the 2 Season's Best Fall and Spring and the 2 Una Muestra's Fall and Spring!

Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I don't think I would start planning on cookbook recipes being added to the website for C&P. If all the cookbook recipes were on the website, what reason would we have to sell cookbooks, let alone, what reason would a customer have for buying them?

Perhaps some old standbyes from out-of-print cookbooks?

 

[fruit76loop]

I was thinking....of on Consultant's Corner!! They could have all of the recipes available to us, not our customers! This way we would have access to them and still sale our cookbooks. I personally think I sale so many cookbooks because of the gorgeous pictures! These pictures always make me hungry!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

of on Consultant's Corner!! They could have all of the recipes available to us, not our customers! This way we would have access to them and still sale our cookbooks. I personally think I sale so many cookbooks because of the gorgeous pictures! These pictures always make me hungry!!

I think you're on to something.

Over the years, there has been a feature base for recipes - braids, rings, twists - that could be filled with everything from brunch fruits to main course fillings. Personally, I was never much of a fan of the twist (too much bread for my taste) or the ring (too much effort for a show) but I still use the braid for shows and in my own home.

Maybe TPC test kitchens could come up with another base recipe like a twist, and give us various fillings to use with them. We could post the base and then rotate fillings from time to time.