Gustos - Community-Driven Food Recipes with Front-end Submission System 2.9.16

Gustos is a high-utility, community-focused WordPress theme designed specifically for creating a collaborative recipe platform.1 Unlike standard food blogs where only the site owner posts content, Gustos is a "Recipe Social Network" that allows users to register, create their own profiles, and submit recipes directly from the front-end.2

It is built for developers and foodies who want to create a site similar to AllRecipes or Epicurious, where the community drives the content.

Core Highlights

Front-End Submission System: This is the theme's standout feature.3 Users can submit, edit, and manage their recipes through a dedicated front-end dashboard without ever seeing the WordPress back-end.

Smartik’s Framework: Built with a clean, modular approach, allowing for high performance even as your community grows to thousands of recipes.

User Profile & Management: Every member gets a beautiful public profile showing their "Cooking Level" (Beginner to Professional), their recipe collection, and their reputation points.4

Reputation & Achievement System: Encourages engagement by awarding points and "levels" to users who contribute frequently or receive high ratings.5

Key Features for Community Building

Private Messaging System: Allows members to connect with each other, ask questions about specific recipes, and share culinary tips directly through the site.6

Advanced Recipe Search: A powerful filtering system that lets visitors find dishes by category, difficulty level, cooking time, or ingredients.

Follow/Following Logic: Users can follow their favorite home chefs and get notified (via AJAX updates) when they post a new "mouth-watering" creation.

Favorite & Rating System: A built-in, non-plugin-reliant rating system that allows the community to vet recipes, moving the best content to the top of the "Popular" lists.

The Recipe Submission Workflow

The submission process in Gustos is designed to be as intuitive as a social media post:

Recipe Details: Users add titles, descriptions, and serving sizes.7

Ingredients List: A dynamic field where users can add unlimited ingredients with specific measurements.8

Step-by-Step Instructions: Utilizing a rich-text editor for clear, formatted cooking steps.

Media Upload: A front-end drag-and-drop uploader for featured images and additional gallery shots.9

Admin Review: By default, recipes go into a "Pending" queue for the site admin to approve before they go live.

Comparison: Gustos vs. SocialChef (Community Themes)

Feature

Gustos

SocialChef

Primary Vibe

Clean, Organized, Modern

Professional, Corporate, Polished

Member Engagement

Focus on Levels & Reputation

Focus on Social Groups

Submission UX

Minimal & Fast

Feature-Rich & Detailed

Best For

Niche Baking/Cooking Hubs

Large-Scale Recipe Portals

Is Gustos Right for You?

Choose Gustos if: You want to build a site where the users do the work. It is the perfect engine for a "Home Cook" community or a specialized diet niche (e.g., Vegan, Keto) where members share their own discoveries.

Skip Gustos if: You are a solo food blogger. If you are the only person posting, the community features (messaging, levels, etc.) will make the site feel empty. In that case, a "solo" theme like TinySalt would be a better fit.

Would you like me to help you configure the "Cooking Levels" for your community, or are you looking for a guide on how to set up the front-end user dashboard?

Creating a Community Recipe Website

This video provides a practical look at how recipe box and community-driven platforms operate, giving you a better understanding of the user journey you'll be building with Gustos.