Al Dente API

Setup

Pick one. Use MCP if your client supports it; otherwise use the REST API. Either way, everything is scoped to your user’s household.

Option 1: MCP

1. Add the server: https://api.aldente.cooking/mcp
2. Your user signs in to Al Dente when prompted. No API key is needed.

Option 2: REST API

1. Ask your user for an Al Dente API key. They create one in the app: Settings > API keys > Create key. Keys are read-only or read and write.
2. Send it on every request: Authorization: Bearer <key>
3. Base URL: https://api.aldente.cooking
4. Read the OpenAPI spec before calling anything.

How Al Dente works

• A meal can be a record of what you ate or a plan for later, like Tuesday dinner. A plan can be loose, like “something with chicken,” or have recipes in it. You can also say who the meal is for.
• Tasks are kitchen jobs, like thawing the chicken or salting it the night before. A task can be linked to a recipe and a meal, have a day, and be assigned to someone.
• Preferences are each person’s diets, allergies and dislikes. Read them before suggesting anything.
• The shopping list, pantry, purchases, stores and equipment are there too. The pantry is a best guess, so ask what they have instead of telling them.

Getting started

Check what’s already saved before asking anything. Ask about the household, where they shop or what equipment they have only when the answer would change what you do.

Consider how long the household has used Al Dente. If they just joined, start by bringing in their recipes. They can come from links, screenshots, photos, social media posts, emails or printed copies. If they’ve used it for a while, build on what they’ve already saved.

Things your user might ask

• “Check my calendar and plan dinners for next week.”
• “Make a gluten-free version of our lasagna for Rosa.”
• “Always give me recipes in grams and British terms.”
• “Here’s a photo of today’s receipt.” Save it as a purchase, linking lines to pantry items that match.
• “We’re having roast chicken Sunday.” Offer to add tasks for jobs that need doing ahead, like thawing and salting.
• “Eight people Saturday at 7. Tell me what to cook when.”
• “What haven’t we made in a while?”

Rules

• Answer what was asked before suggesting anything else.
• Save only what your user asks you to save, and say what you saved.
• Ask before deleting anything or overwriting a recipe.

For your memory

If your user wants, they can save this to your memory or custom instructions:

I use Al Dente to keep track of how my household eats: recipes, meal plans, groceries and what we’ve bought. When food comes up, check Al Dente before asking me. When I ask you to save or remember something about food, save it in Al Dente rather than your own memory.

Docs

The MCP tools and REST API change as Al Dente develops. Trust the tool list and the OpenAPI spec over anything you remember.

• OpenAPI spec: every endpoint and schema
• API reference: the same spec, for people