Terms & Conditions
1. About Cook
CookSocket is a digital marketplace that helps customers discover and order food from independent home kitchens and food hosts. We provide the technology that allows hosts to list their kitchens, menus, availability, and order options. We do not prepare food, sell food directly, handle food, inspect kitchens, provide delivery riders, or process customer payments in MVP1. Each host is an independent food provider. When a customer places an order, the food contract is between the customer and the host.
2. Who These Terms Apply To
These Terms apply to customers who browse kitchens, place orders, arrange takeaway, collection, host delivery, or dine-in; hosts who create kitchen listings, upload menus, accept orders, prepare food, manage fulfilment, and receive payments directly from customers; and visitors who access our website, app, content, or support channels.
3. Our Role as a Platform
Cook provides an app-based platform to connect customers and hosts. Cook does not prepare, cook, package, or deliver food. Cook does not own, operate, or inspect host kitchens. Cook does not employ hosts, riders, or delivery drivers. Cook does not collect customer payments in MVP1 or hold customer money on behalf of hosts. Cook does not guarantee the quality, safety, legality, availability, or accuracy of host listings and does not take responsibility for host hygiene certificates, local authority registration, food safety compliance, licences, or insurance. Hosts are independent providers and are responsible for their own food, kitchen, business operations, delivery, customer communication, refunds, and legal compliance.
4. Host Responsibility
Hosts are fully responsible for the food and services they provide through Cook. By using Cook as a host, you confirm that you are legally allowed to prepare and sell food from your kitchen, that you will comply with all applicable food safety, hygiene, consumer, tax, and business laws, and that you are responsible for registering with your local authority where required. You are responsible for maintaining any required hygiene rating, certificate, licence, approval, training, or food safety documentation. You are responsible for accurate menu descriptions, allergens, ingredients, prices, photos, availability, and fulfilment options. You are responsible for preparing, storing, packaging, and handing over food safely. You are responsible for any delivery you choose to offer, for having suitable insurance where required or appropriate, and for handling customer complaints, refunds, cancellations, and disputes relating to your food or service.
5. Customer Responsibility
Customers are responsible for providing accurate account, contact, delivery, and order information. Customers must check the host’s menu, description, allergens, fulfilment options, price, and availability before ordering. Customers should inform the host about allergies, dietary needs, or special instructions before placing an order. Customers are responsible for being available at the agreed delivery, takeaway, collection, or dine-in time, paying the host directly using the payment method agreed between the customer and host, and contacting the host directly for order changes, cancellations, refunds, or food-related concerns. Customers should not place an order if they are unsure about ingredients, allergens, kitchen suitability, or host information.
6. Orders
When a customer places an order through Cook, the host may accept, reject, cancel, or request changes to the order depending on availability, capacity, ingredients, timing, location, or other operational reasons. An order is only confirmed when the host accepts it. Cook may display order details, estimated times, prices, availability, and fulfilment options based on information provided by the host. These details may change if the host updates the order, cancels the order, or contacts the customer directly.
7. Payment in MVP1
For MVP1, Cook does not collect payment from customers and does not process payments on behalf of hosts. Customers pay hosts directly. This may include cash, bank transfer, card reader, payment link, or another payment method agreed between the customer and host. Because Cook does not receive or hold customer payment in MVP1, Cook is not responsible for collecting payment, issuing refunds, chargebacks, payment disputes, unpaid orders, or payment errors between customers and hosts. Hosts are responsible for managing their own payment terms, receipts, refunds, tax obligations, and records.
8. Refunds and Cancellations
Refunds are handled directly by the host kitchen. Because Cook does not collect payment in MVP1, Cook cannot issue refunds to customers. If a customer wants to cancel an order, request a refund, report missing items, report food quality issues, or raise a payment dispute, the customer should contact the host directly. Hosts should make their own refund and cancellation approach clear to customers before or at the time of ordering. Refunds may depend on whether the host has accepted the order, whether preparation has started, whether the food has already been made, whether delivery, collection, takeaway, or dine-in has already been arranged, whether the issue was caused by the host or the customer, and any applicable consumer law. Cook may help facilitate communication between the customer and host, but the final refund decision and refund payment remain the host’s responsibility unless Cook later introduces in-app payments and separate payment terms.
9. Delivery, Takeaway, Collection, and Dine-in
Cook does not provide delivery riders or courier services. Where delivery is available, it is provided or arranged by the host. The host is responsible for confirming whether delivery is available, setting delivery areas, times, and fees, delivering the food safely, managing delays, failed delivery attempts, and customer communication, and complying with any legal, vehicle, insurance, food transport, and safety requirements. For takeaway or collection, the customer is responsible for arriving at the agreed time and location. For dine-in, the host is responsible for the dine-in arrangement, including suitability of premises, hygiene, safety, insurance, customer experience, and legal compliance. Cook may show estimated times, but these are estimates only and may be affected by preparation time, host availability, weather, traffic, customer availability, or other factors.
10. Hygiene, Certificates, Registration, and Insurance
Hosts are responsible for making sure they have all required or appropriate local authority registration, food hygiene rating or inspection status, food hygiene training, allergen information, food safety procedures, public liability insurance, product liability insurance, vehicle or delivery insurance where applicable, and any licence, certificate, approval, or permission required for their food business. Cook may allow hosts to upload certificate numbers, hygiene information, registration details, insurance details, or other trust information. However, unless we clearly state otherwise, Cook does not independently verify every certificate, document, rating, or claim. Cook is not responsible for a host’s failure to register, maintain insurance, comply with hygiene rules, follow food safety law, or provide accurate certificate information.
11. Allergens and Dietary Information
Hosts are responsible for providing accurate allergen, ingredient, and dietary information. Customers with allergies, intolerances, religious dietary requirements, or specific food preferences should contact the host directly before ordering. Cook does not guarantee that any food is allergen-free, contamination-free, halal, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, or suitable for any specific dietary need unless the host has clearly confirmed this. Customers are responsible for deciding whether a host and menu item are suitable for their needs.
12. Reviews, Ratings, and Content
Customers may be able to leave ratings, reviews, photos, comments, or feedback. Users must not upload content that is false or misleading, abusive, threatening, discriminatory, offensive, unlawful, infringing someone else’s rights, spam, promotional, or unrelated to a genuine experience. Cook may remove, hide, edit, or restrict content where we believe it breaches these Terms, our community standards, or applicable law.
13. Account Rules
You must provide accurate and complete information when creating and using your account. You are responsible for keeping your login details secure. You must not use another person’s account without permission, create fake or misleading accounts, misuse the app, interfere with the app’s operation, scrape, copy, reverse engineer, or misuse Cook content or technology, use the app for unlawful purposes, harass, abuse, threaten, or discriminate against other users, place fake orders or manipulate reviews, or upload false kitchen, hygiene, insurance, or certificate information. We may suspend or close an account if we believe a user has breached these Terms, created risk for other users, misused the platform, or acted unlawfully.
14. App Availability
We aim to keep Cook available and reliable, but we do not guarantee that the app, website, or any feature will always be available, uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. We may update, suspend, withdraw, restrict, or change any part of the service for operational, security, legal, or business reasons.
15. Information on the App
We aim to provide a premium and trustworthy experience, but much of the kitchen, food, menu, pricing, certificate, hygiene, delivery, and availability information is provided by hosts. Cook does not guarantee that host-provided information is always accurate, complete, current, or suitable for your needs. Customers should check important details directly with the host before ordering, especially allergens, dietary requirements, delivery arrangements, collection times, and dine-in suitability.
16. Intellectual Property
Cook owns or licenses the app, website, design, branding, software, content, features, and technology. You may use Cook only for personal customer use or approved host use. You must not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, lease, reverse engineer, scrape, or misuse any part of Cook without our written permission. Hosts retain ownership of their own menu photos, kitchen descriptions, and content, but by uploading content to Cook, hosts give Cook permission to use, display, resize, store, promote, and share that content for the purpose of operating and marketing the platform.
17. Limitation of Responsibility
Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or rights that cannot be excluded under consumer law. Subject to the above, Cook is not responsible for food prepared by hosts, food safety, hygiene, allergens, ingredients, food quality, host certificates, local authority registration, licences, insurance, host delivery, takeaway, collection, dine-in arrangements, customer payments made directly to hosts, refunds, chargebacks, unpaid orders, payment disputes, losses caused by inaccurate host information, delays, cancellations, rejected orders, unavailable items, disputes between customers and hosts, business losses, lost profits, lost revenue, loss of opportunity, or indirect losses. Cook’s role is to provide the technology platform, not to act as the food seller, kitchen operator, delivery provider, insurer, or payment processor in MVP1.
18. Disputes Between Customers and Hosts
If there is a problem with an order, payment, refund, delivery, collection, dine-in experience, food quality, allergen issue, or host service, the customer should first contact the host directly. Cook may, at its discretion, help customers and hosts communicate or investigate platform misuse. However, Cook is not required to decide disputes and is not responsible for paying refunds, compensation, or damages arising from a host’s food or service.
19. Removing Hosts or Listings
Cook may remove, suspend, hide, or restrict a host, kitchen, menu item, review, or account if we believe the listing is inaccurate or misleading, the host has breached these Terms, the host may not be compliant with food safety, hygiene, insurance, certificate, or legal requirements, we receive serious complaints, there is a safety, fraud, legal, or reputational risk, the content is inappropriate or unlawful, or the platform is being misused. We may do this without notice where needed to protect customers, hosts, Cook, or the public.
20. Privacy
We collect and use personal information as described in our Privacy Policy. By using Cook, you agree that we may process your information in line with that policy.
21. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make important changes, we may notify you through the app, website, email, or another suitable method. The latest version of the Terms will apply whenever you use Cook.
22. Ending Your Use of Cook
You may stop using Cook at any time. We may suspend, restrict, or close your account if you breach these Terms, misuse the platform, create risk for others, or if we need to do so for legal, safety, operational, or business reasons. Some parts of these Terms will continue after your account ends, including sections about payments, refunds, responsibility, intellectual property, limitation of liability, disputes, and legal rights.
23. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you live in England or Wales, legal proceedings may be brought in the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also have the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.
24. Contact Us
If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at support@cooksocket.com. Company name: CookSocket LTD Address: 59 Green Lane, Redhill, London For order-specific refunds, cancellations, payment issues, food quality concerns, delivery issues, takeaway issues, or dine-in issues, customers should contact the host directly in the first instance.