This special issue offers an essay of the current research on theoretical aspects concerned with the philosophy of food, focusing on recipes. The topic is somewhat new to philosophical quarters. To introduce it, in the coming pages we provide (§1) a cursory map of the current debates in the philosophy of food followed (§2) by a review of the core methodological issues they raise. Then, in §3, we specify why recipes comprise an important chapter for philosophers working on food. Finally, in §4 we introduce the essays of this special issue.