Mindy Kaling is facing criticism from authors of online recipes after complaining about the background stories some chefs include before the cooking directions. 

On Sunday, Kaling, who seems to be cooking at home while quarantining like many others amid the coronavirus pandemic, tweeted: “Why do all online recipes have endless pages of the chef’s whole life story about the recipe and then on the 12th page is the actual recipe?”

“I just want the recipe!” the comedian continued. “I don’t need the Modern Love essay on how you came up with it!”

In a second tweet, Kaling mimicked some of the stories that are common to online recipes, writing: “‘Back when Tim and I were living in Denver, we always wanted a heart healthy way to start our day before a brisk Colorado morning! This was before I was diagnosed with GERD, and just after we adopted Pepper our black lab.’ JUST GIVE ME THE FRITTATA RECIPE GODDAMNIT.”

The tweets prompted backlash on social media, where many chefs, recipe creators and food bloggers took offence to Kaling’s opinion.

“You are free to hit the jump to recipe button on my site and you’ll be taken directly to the recipe. I don’t tell stories. All of the text you are skipping over is additional information for the recipe,” one chef tweeted in response. “I’ll be sure to skip the credits and commercials for your shows from now on.”

Another food blogger said: “It’s very sad to see this. So much work goes into testing my recipes. I spend literally hundreds of dollars on groceries every week to test my recipes over and over and share them for free online. I write to make connections and be helpful and include a jump to recipe button.”

Others pointed out that many food bloggers and home chefs are producing content, including recipes, for free, and that they need to include blog-like posts for search engine optimisation (SEO) and brand-building purposes, while some suggested Kaling should be more understanding considering she is a writer herself.

“Aw, people are usually producing this content for free (or sometimes as a way to make a little extra money). The family stories are an important part of the equation for their brand-building, SEO, and otherwise. We gotta be patient and just scroll. It’s the least we can do!” one person said. 

Someone else tweeted: "Oh my god, you’re a WRITER and you’re begrudging people telling you a story??? So from now on I can just watch the last five minutes of your projects because the journey doesn’t matter. 

“Check it girl, this is a spectacularly bad take.”

Many of Kaling’s followers also suggested she could purchase a cookbook if she didn’t want to read or scroll past the stories that many online recipes include.

“Then buy a cookbook or come up with your own recipes,” one person tweeted at the comedian.

In addition to helping the authors of online recipes build their brands, the stories that preface the cooking instructions can also help lure readers in, according to recipe writers.

“If the blogger can really describe the recipe in vivid detail, as to how it smelled coming out of the oven, or how the guests loved the recipe at the party, then I know the recipe was actually prepared, consumed, and loved enough to write about,” Anne Byrn, author of Anne Byrn Saves the Day! Cookbook: 125 Guaranteed-to-Please, Go-To Recipes to Rescue Any Occasion, previously told The Kitchn.

As of now, Kaling has not addressed the criticism. 

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