The Excelitehost Reader Test Kitchen is a small group of home cooks who get our new recipes a week before anyone else. They cook the ones they like in their own kitchens and tell us honestly what worked and what didn’t. We fix the recipe before it goes live, so every reader gets a version that has already been through a real home kitchen.
The idea comes from our comments. Readers have told us when an amount was missing, when a bake time ran long or when a photo didn’t match the recipe. Those comments made our recipes better. We fixed those posts and added an “Updated” note to each one. Now we want that kind of feedback before a recipe goes live, not after.
Some readers already share their cooking with us. You can watch home cooks make our recipes on YouTube on our Made by Our Readers page.
How the Reader Test Kitchen works
- We send you a new recipe. About a week before it goes live, you get a private link and a printable recipe card by email.
- You cook it if it suits you. Skip any recipe you don’t fancy. We only ask that you pick and test one recipe a month.
- You fill in a short form. It takes about five minutes: did it work, did any amount or time seem off, how would you rate it from 1 to 5, and an optional phone photo of your result.
- We fix the recipe and publish it. Reader-tested recipes carry a note with the number of testers. With your permission, we thank you by first name.
What the Reader Test Kitchen feedback form asks
Every Reader Test Kitchen form has the same short set of questions, so it is quick to fill in on your phone:
- Did the recipe work the way it was written?
- Did any amount look wrong, or did you have to add or cut anything?
- How long did it really take, and did your bake or cook time match ours?
- Was any step unclear, or in the wrong order?
- What would you change next time?
- Your rating from 1 to 5, and whether you would make it again.
- An optional photo, and whether we may publish it with your first name.
Short answers are fine. A note such as “needed 10 more minutes in my oven” or “the sauce was too thin” is exactly what we need to fix a recipe.
What Reader Test Kitchen testers get
- A free Silver plan, six months at a time (normally USD 4.95 a month). It starts when you join and renews for another six months while you keep testing. That’s three dinner recipe cards by email every week, plus the full salad, soup and appetizer library to print.
- Gold for one year after five tests in six months (normally USD 79 a year). Send us five feedback forms at any point during a six-month Silver period, and we upgrade you to Gold for a full year. That includes seven dinner cards a week and the full recipe archive, with international and premium recipes. A test counts when you send us the feedback form.
- The Senior Member title on the Reader Test Kitchen page and on the recipes you helped test, if you’d like to be named.
See all plans on our Memberships page.
Our promises to testers and readers
- Honest feedback only. You earn your plan by sending feedback, whatever it says. A recipe that flopped is just as useful to us as one you loved, and we will never ask for a good rating. This follows the FTC rule on consumer reviews, which bans buying positive reviews or hiding negative ones.
- Clear labels. If a tester’s comment, rating or photo appears on a recipe, it is marked “Reader Test Kitchen member, received a free membership”.
- Your email stays with the panel. We use it only to send test recipes and panel news, and we never share it.
- Your photo, your name, your choice. Testers appear on this page with their first name and the photo they sent us when they applied. We remove it as soon as you ask, or when you leave the panel. Photos of your test dishes are only published if you say yes on the form.
- Leave any time. Just reply “stop” to any panel email.
Who can join the Reader Test Kitchen
Any home cook aged 18 or over, at any skill level. Beginners are welcome, because they spot unclear steps that experienced cooks read past. Our recipes use US cups and Fahrenheit, but testers anywhere are welcome.
We keep the Reader Test Kitchen to 10 home cooks. We publish about five new recipes a month, so each tester can pick one or two that suit them, and we can read every form and act on it. We choose every tester ourselves. If the group is full, we keep your note on our waiting list and contact you when a place opens.
How to apply to the Reader Test Kitchen
- Send us a short note with the button below. Tell us a little about you and your cooking, and why you’d like to test our recipes.
- We reply by email and ask for a photo of you, ideally in your kitchen. With your first name, it introduces you on this page.
- If you’re chosen, we send your welcome email and your free Silver plan starts.
Questions about the Reader Test Kitchen
How do you choose testers?
By hand. We read every note and look for home cooks who enjoy trying new recipes and will tell us honestly how they turned out. Experience doesn’t matter. Motivation does.
Do I get the Silver plan upfront?
Yes. Your first six months of Silver start as soon as you’re chosen. Your commitment to pick and test one recipe a month is enough for us.
Do I have to cook every recipe?
No. Pick the ones that suit your family and your budget. One test a month is all we ask.
Who pays for the ingredients?
You do, the same as when you cook any recipe at home. The free membership is our thank-you for your time and feedback.
What happens after six months?
If you sent five Reader Test Kitchen feedback forms in that period, you move up to Gold for a year. If you sent fewer but are still testing, your Silver plan renews for another six months. If you’d rather stop, your plan simply runs to its end date.
What if the recipe doesn’t work?
Tell us. That’s the most useful feedback you can give, and it still counts toward your five tests for Gold.
Can I share the preview recipe?
Please keep it to your own household until it’s published. After that, share it as much as you like.
Do I need to leave a review on the site?
No. The feedback form is all we need. You’re welcome to comment after a recipe goes live, and your comment will carry the tester label.