Registered user. This application looks to be abandoned. There is a "new beta" on the website, but the current version is largely unchanged since 2006.

Tip: YummySoup will import your Connoisseur recipes quite easily.

"Version 1.3: Completely re-written recipe engine"

Unfortunately too little too late. I got my wife Mac Gourmet Deluxe. She's much happier, and it's getting regular updates and new features. Not looking back.

I've owned this product for 6 months now, use if frequently and have over 300 recipes in it. I am unfortunately increasingly disappointed with the product the more I use it, and am now looking to purchase another product. I'd rather not because there are some things I really like about Connoisseur, but the application design is lacking some basic features and versions feel untested sometimes as after latest upgrade my auto-fill ingredient feature stopped working. Sometimes I wonder if the developers actually use the program themselves or consult with those that do. Overall, the application feels a little amateurish and sloppy, and while the price is low and maybe worth it, there's always the time and effort cost of getting your recipes into whatever application you choose so it should be the right one.
The overall "itunes" design is quite nice much better than other applications I've seen with search features, smart folders and clear presentation. However for all it's user-friendliness, the program is missing some fundamental application design features such as asking you if you are sure when you delete a recipe or if you want to re-import the default recipe database. By accident, I have nuked many a recipe because the "delete" button is right next to the "edit" button, and I've imported many unwanted recipes that I then I had to go through and manually get rid of. (Work around is to stick all the recipes in a smart list which has no delete feature). Also missing is an Undo feature when you're editing text. The lesson is: backup your recipes a lot.
You have to re-enter your serial number every time you upgrade, so don't lose your confirmation email or write that serial number down somewhere!!!!

Likes:
auto-fill as you type ingredients (when it worked)
smart lists (Using the recipe date added is often buggy)
ability to import from websites with an Apple Menu Service
ability to import from text
the recipe entry interface is pretty good
the "itunes" interface is clean


Dislikes:

Lack of Undo and double checking when you Delete
"Cooking view" too big and not adjustable
There are definitely database and record bugs when managing the cuisine and course lists
Descriptions of the recipes don't appear on the main window so one recipe for Banana Bread looks like the next one unless you change recipe titles


Wishes:
Editing the ingredients list. If I want to change the ingredient "salt" to "table salt," I have to go to every recipe and change it rather than just go to an ingredients table/database and change once for every recipe.
Ability to add sub-recipes like glazes on cakes or marinades for meat etc.
Nutritional calculations -- some other recipe programs have it, but it's understandbly proabably out of scope for this program.

I have been trying to decide whether to buy this app or MacGourmet. In the end, I think I will be buying this program. It seems to be very well done, and it is cheaper than MacGourmet. Also, I like the integrated online catalog very much.

Here are a list of my quirks:
1) There seems to be a lot of useless space in the interface. The "margins" around the tables of the main windows seem to be unnecessarily large. I'd like to see these margins slim down to the point of iTunes 5 or Mail.
2) I'd like a "Preview" view (like any email application) to show the details of the selected recipe. I find it annoying that I have to double-click the recipe to see details.
3) The Display view shouldn't show fields with null values. I don't need "Cuisine", "Cook Time", etc to show up if they don't have a value.
4) The cuisine field in the display view never displays the set value. The edit window for a recipe shows the correct cuisine, but the cuisine never shows in the display view.
5) The cook view is very nice, although why does "%PICTURE%" show when a picture isn't set?

I must say that the import feature in Connoisseur is amazing. It correctly parses any allrecipes.com recipe I throw at it. Kudos to the devleoper!

Sorry for being an interface snob, but I think these small enhancements will dramatically refine the visual look of the application.

Thanks for making a great recipe manager! I'll be buying it soon.

This is a great application. It has a high level of refinement. For example, it will add the "s" to the measurement units in the ingredients if you have more than one (1 cup, 3 cups). If you take a lot of recipes from the web, this app is for you. If you select the text in your browser and choose "[App name]-Services-Import recipe into connoisseur, connoisseur will enter almost all the fields in the recipe correctly. Huge time saver and extremely impressive. Another neat feature is the smart groups with many options and dynamic updating (Smart Groups are like smart playlists in iTunes). It does have a few quirks, though:
Even though it lets you enter a picture for the recipe, this picture only shows up in Edit view, and not in either Cooking or Display view.
Also, if you download a recipe with a course or a cuisine that you don't have and then change it, the unwanted field will still remain. My only other complaint is that the Display view is not ideal and clear.

This is driving me CRAZY and I haven't heard of anyone else having a problem with it yet, but Connoiseur randomly deletes my recipes. I will enter the recipe, save it, use it several times, and then go back and it is gone. Sometimes it will erase about 20 randomly, no idea why. Another big problem I have is that I went to the trouble of actually taking pictures of the all the food I cooked so taht I could paste the pictures in there. Sometimes, the applicatin deletes the pictures for no apparent reason. I have backups of all of these but the pictures in the backups will be gone as well. Finally, I have never been able to get the picture function to work in chef view.

Anyone else ahve this problem? I tell you, it is a real pain because I have entered over 200 recipes so I am vested in the software. I just cant figure out why it works so badly and why they haven't fixed it. they also do not respond to emails. ever.