Published: 20.10.2026
The .cooking zone is a generic extension for the art of preparing food. Cooking is an everyday task for most households and a profession for chefs, but for a website it usually means recipes, lessons, techniques and honest notes on equipment. A name in .cooking shows the topic at a glance, which suits cookery schools, food writers and home-cooking blogs. Use the availability form just below this text to see whether your name in .cooking is still available.
Check if a .cooking domain is available .cooking Check
A short history
Cooking is among the oldest human skills, and for most of history it was passed from one generation to the next by watching and doing rather than by reading. Written recipe collections later spread through households and kitchens, and magazines and television programmes turned cookery into a hobby that many people follow for pleasure. The .cooking extension is a generic ending, not linked to a country or a single cuisine, so one site can cover dishes from many traditions.
Who runs it
The zone is operated by a registry that publishes its rules and keeps the database of names. Registrars sell names to the public and forward the orders to the registry. Policies are updated from time to time, so read the terms in force on the day you buy. A cooking site that gives advice on diet or allergies should also be clear about the limits of what it says.
Rules in practice
- Open registration: most individuals and businesses can apply for a generic name, subject to the operator's acceptable use terms.
- Accuracy: recipes should state quantities, timings and serving sizes clearly, because readers follow them step by step in a real kitchen.
- Characters: names use letters, digits and hyphens, with labels of up to 63 characters.
- Continuity: a recipe archive is valuable to readers who saved its links, so keep the registration active.
Who uses .cooking
- Cookery schools and tutors who run courses on knife skills, baking or regional dishes.
- Recipe writers and food bloggers who publish step-by-step guides and seasonal menus.
- Food festivals, pop-up kitchens and supper clubs that promote their programmes.
- Reviewers of cooking equipment and small producers of spice blends and sauces.
Strengths
- The word reads clearly on a book cover, a class flyer or a social media profile.
- It fits a site that combines practical lessons with written recipes and videos.
- A teacher or writer can keep the same name while the content grows and changes over the years.
Things to keep in mind
- Recipes are shared widely, so a personal voice, tested methods and your own photographs help a site stand out.
- Allergy and food safety information must be accurate, so state your sources and the limits of your advice.
- Recipes and photographs copied from other publishers can lead to copyright complaints, so write and photograph your own material.
- Visitors may type .com out of habit, so consider whether to hold that address as well.
Tips before you register
- Look at the name in .com, and also check the video and social handles you plan to use for your dishes.
- Choose a name that says what you teach, such as baking, grilling or family dinners.
- Add an about page that explains your background and whether you test every recipe yourself.
- Make recipe pages load quickly on phones, since many cooks read a method while they work at the stove.
- Mail records should be in place before any class booking or newsletter goes out from the domain.
Frequently asked questions
Is .cooking only for professional chefs? No. Home cooks, students and teachers can use it too, as long as the content is honest about its background.
How should a cooking site handle allergy questions? Say clearly that readers must check ingredients themselves and take medical advice from a qualified person, and repeat that notice on each recipe that touches on health.
Does .cooking help a recipe page reach readers? It shows the topic, but tested recipes, clear steps and honest photographs usually count for more.
