In directed storytelling, a participant relates a past experience in detail, while an interviewer probes for underlying motivations and breakdowns.

We interviewed three intermediate cooks and four novice cooks about their cooking experiences. Questions focused on what types of events they cooked for, types of food, standard cooking procedures, and most notable difficulties.

With experienced cooks, we asked for stories about large events requiring plenty of food preparation, such as holiday family gatherings. With novice cooks, we discussed everyday cooking and shopping, as well as any experience they had with large events.

The data collected formed the foundation for our personas and, later, helped to develop the feature list for Soirée.