What this work involves
A home kitchen is crowded with small skills: opening jars, cracking eggs, judging when the onions have gone soft, finding room on a cramped counter. Researchers are studying whether video of people doing tasks can help train robots, and the results depend on the task and the training method; the guide on how robots learn from human video explains that research. To record it, you cook the way you normally do while a camera on a head strap or cap films your hands and the food from your point of view.
The category here is everyday meals at home. Restaurant or cafeteria work has its own professional kitchen page, and other chores around the house have their own household chores page. You don't need recipes, plating skills or an audience. Each project says which dishes or steps it needs before you accept.
What a recording can show
Some examples of what home cooking footage can cover (none of them describes a current project):
- Washing, peeling, chopping and measuring ingredients.
- Stirring, flipping, frying and boiling, tasting as you go.
- Working with knives, a grater, a blender, pans and the oven.
- Dishing up a meal at the table or packing a lunch.
- Clearing the counter, washing the dishes and putting them away.
Good footage has a well-lit counter and keeps your hands in frame from the first step to the last. For camera height, light and pace, see the guide on how to record first-person video.
- Pay is USD 5–15 per hour of accepted footage; it varies by project and is not guaranteed.F1b
- Review usually takes about a week, with a contractual limit of 30 days. Payment usually arrives within 7 days of acceptance, with a contractual limit of 60 days.F8, F7
- Collectors are paid in US dollars (USD) through Wise.F9, F9b
- Rejected footage is not paid.F11
- There is no fee to apply, and no coding or AI background is needed.F2
- No English is needed: instructions and support are in Spanish and Portuguese.F12
- You never pay for equipment: the project provides it, or the task needs no special equipment.F3b
Releases and privacy in your kitchen
Anyone who can be identified in the footage, such as a family member or a guest, needs to sign a release. A person under 18 can appear only with a parent's or guardian's release; we reject and delete footage of a person under 18 without one.
A kitchen holds more personal details than you'd think: notes on the fridge, letters on the counter, a phone with messages showing. Clear them away before you start. The guide on what gets footage accepted explains what review looks at.
How to join the pool
- 01
Apply once
Fill in the short form on the collector page, and mention the kind of meals you cook at home.
- 02
Wait for a suitable project
If a project fits what you do, we arrange it with you by email. You see its requirements, equipment and exact rate before you accept.
- 03
Record and send
You record the agreed tasks; people and automated checks then review the footage.
- 04
Get paid
We pay for accepted footage in USD, as described above.
The same steps apply to every kind of footage, and the overview of how recording works covers them.
Other types of recording work
The types of recording work directory has the full list. Two of these five can also be recorded at home:
- Warehouse and stock: picking, packing and shelving goods.
- Household chores: laundry, tidying and organizing at home.
- Gameplay: the game screen and your inputs, with no camera.
- Mechanic workshop: inspection, tools and parts in a workshop.
- Shop floor: shelves, folding and placing goods in a shop.
Questions
Do I need to be a good cook?
No. This activity is about everyday meals, cooked the way you normally cook them. Each project says what it needs before you accept.
Can my children help in the kitchen?
Only with a parent's or guardian's release for each person under 18 who appears. Without one, we reject and delete the footage.
Is this the same as a cooking channel?
No. There's no audience and you don't talk to the camera. The footage is about your hands and the task.