Our Story
Cooking from home, in a kitchen far from it
DishDrift started in a small kitchen in Germany. I'd moved abroad to study, and soon after arriving I just wanted to cook a dish from home, following a recipe I'd grown up with. The recipe was simple — but half the ingredients weren't on any shelf in the supermarket near me, and the rows of unfamiliar products that were there meant nothing to me.
Recipe apps were no help. They assume you live where the recipe was written, and not one of them could tell me what to use instead when the real thing wasn't there. So I asked around — other students, scattered WhatsApp groups. The answers were out there, but they surfaced and disappeared just as fast, scattered all over the place.
That's the gap DishDrift fills. It's a community cookbook for people cooking far from home, where the most valuable thing isn't the recipe — it's the line someone left underneath it: "can't find this in Germany? use this instead." Every swap, every photo, every adaptation someone shares means the next person doesn't start from zero.
We're still early, and we're building this one direction at a time — starting with the people we know best. If you're cooking the food of home somewhere its ingredients aren't sold, this is for you.
— Chi
Frequently asked questions
What is DishDrift?
DishDrift is a community cookbook for expats and travelers. You set your home country and where you live now, and you see recipes from people with the same background — along with notes on which local ingredients to use when the original ones aren't available.
What is a Local Swap?
A Local Swap is a note on an ingredient telling you what to use instead when you can't find the original where you live — for example, which German product works in place of a Taiwanese sauce. It's the heart of DishDrift: knowledge that usually disappears in chat groups, kept in one searchable place.
What is Adapt?
Adapt lets you take any published recipe and make your own version of it — swapping ingredients, adjusting steps for your country — while keeping a link back to the original author. It builds a visible chain of how a dish travels and changes from place to place.
What does "I made this" do?
When you cook a recipe, you can mark it as made and optionally add a photo and a note. The author gets notified, and other cooks see real proof that the recipe works. It's the easiest way to support someone whose recipe helped you.
Is DishDrift free?
Yes. DishDrift is completely free to use during our beta. If we ever add paid features later, the core — browsing, posting recipes, and sharing swaps — will stay free.
Who can join?
Anyone who cooks and wants to share or discover recipes is welcome. You need to be at least 13 years old. Our early users get a permanent Early Adopter badge as a thank-you for helping the community start.
Which countries and languages do you support?
You can set any home and current country, and recipes can be written in any language — many are in the cook's native language. The app interface is currently in English. We're focusing first on specific communities of people living abroad before expanding more widely.
How is my data handled?
We only collect what's needed to run the app, and we never sell your data or use your recipes to train AI. Full details are in our Privacy Policy, linked at the bottom of this page.
How do I report a problem or a recipe?
Every recipe and every "made" photo has a report option, and you can email us anytime at [email protected]. We review reports personally and remove anything that breaks our rules.
Can I delete my account?
Yes, anytime. Go to your Profile, open the Account section, and choose Delete account. This permanently removes your recipes, photos, and personal data.