Privacy notice

1. Who is responsible for your information

Chefs Studio is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. We operate in the United Kingdom and decide why and how this information is used.

Privacy questions and requests can be sent to [email protected] or made through the contact page. We will add any further legally required business or representative details before the shop and community launch.

2. Information we collect

The information collected depends on how you use Chefs Studio.

• Identity and contact details, such as your name, email address, telephone number, billing address and delivery address.
• Account and profile details, including username, profile image, biography, preferences and membership information.
• Order and transaction details, including products, services, amounts, currency, discounts, tax status, order history and payment status.
• Community activity, including posts, comments, reactions, messages sent through community features, spaces joined, course progress and moderation records.
• Enquiries, support messages, survey responses, reviews and other communications you send to us.
• Marketing preferences, newsletter subscriptions and records of consent or objections.
• Technical and usage information, such as IP address, device and browser details, login records, pages viewed, referring pages and cookie choices.

Please do not include sensitive personal information in community posts or ordinary contact forms unless it is genuinely necessary and you have a lawful reason to share it.

3. How we collect information

We collect information directly from you when you complete a form, subscribe, create an account, update a profile, place an order, join a community space, publish content or contact us.

We also collect limited technical information automatically from the website and may receive information from payment providers, delivery partners, authentication services or other services you choose to connect.

4. Why we use your information

To provide a contract

We use information to create and manage accounts, process orders, take payment, arrange delivery, provide downloads or services, manage memberships and give access to community features.

For legitimate interests

We use information where reasonably necessary to answer enquiries, support customers, secure the site, prevent fraud, moderate the community, improve services, keep appropriate business records and understand how the platform is used. We balance these interests against your rights.

With consent

We rely on consent for optional marketing and non-essential cookies where required. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier lawful use.

To meet legal obligations

We use and retain information where needed for tax, accounting, consumer protection, safeguarding, regulatory requests, legal claims and other duties imposed by law.

5. The FluentCart shop

The shop will use FluentCart, a self-hosted WordPress commerce system. Customer, order and store information is expected to remain in the Chefs Studio website database rather than being sent to FluentCart as a hosted commerce service.

Checkout may collect names, contact details, billing and delivery addresses, order items, tax information, discount information and payment status. Complete card details will be handled by the payment provider selected at checkout and are not intended to be stored by Chefs Studio.

The payment, tax, email and delivery providers actually enabled at launch will receive only the information reasonably needed to provide their part of the service. This notice will be updated when those providers are selected.

6. The FluentCommunity area

The community will use FluentCommunity and WordPress user accounts. Depending on the features enabled, it may store profile information, activity, posts, comments, reactions, spaces, course progress, notification choices and moderation history.

Some profile and community information may be visible to other members or the public according to the privacy setting of the profile, space or post. Public spaces should be treated as public. Private or secret spaces restrict visibility but members must still avoid sharing information they are not entitled to disclose.

Community administrators and moderators can access information needed to operate the service, investigate reports and enforce community rules. Account deactivation or deletion may not automatically remove content that remains necessary for the continuity of a discussion, legal records or the rights of others; where appropriate, it may instead be anonymised.

7. Who we share information with

We do not sell personal information. We may share limited information with:

• website hosting, security, backup and technical support providers;
• payment, accounting, tax, email, delivery and customer-support providers;
• professional advisers, insurers and auditors;
• regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other parties where disclosure is legally required or needed to protect rights and safety;
• a buyer, investor or successor if the business is reorganised or transferred, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards.

Providers acting for us may use information only on documented instructions and must protect it appropriately. Independent providers, such as a payment company, may also act as their own controller under their privacy notice.

8. International transfers

Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data-protection law requires it, we will use an adequacy regulation, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses, or another lawful safeguard, together with appropriate security checks.

9. How long we keep information

We keep information only for as long as needed for the purpose collected, including legal, tax, accounting, security and dispute requirements. Retention periods depend on the record.

• Order, invoice and tax records are normally retained for up to six years after the relevant accounting period or longer where law requires.
• Account and membership information is kept while the account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards.
• Community content is retained while published and may remain in anonymised form where removing it would damage a discussion or another member’s rights.
• Routine enquiries and support correspondence are generally kept for up to two years unless connected to an order, complaint or legal claim.
• Marketing records are kept until you unsubscribe or object, with a minimal suppression record retained so we do not contact you again.

Deleted data may remain temporarily in secure backups until the backup cycle replaces it.

10. Your UK data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may ask for access to your information, correction, deletion, restriction, portability or an objection to processing. You may withdraw consent and may object at any time to direct marketing.

We may need to verify your identity. Some rights are not absolute, and we may retain information where law requires it or where it is needed for legal claims or the rights of others.

You may complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your information has been mishandled. We would appreciate the opportunity to address the concern first.

11. Security, children and changes

We use proportionate technical and organisational safeguards, including access controls, updates, backups and secure connections. No online service can guarantee absolute security, so please use a strong unique password and report suspicious activity promptly.

Chefs Studio is intended for adults and professional kitchen audiences. We do not knowingly offer accounts or paid services to children under 18. Please contact us if you believe a child has supplied personal information.

We may update this notice when the platform, providers or law changes. Material changes will be highlighted appropriately, and the date at the top will be revised.

12. Contact

To ask a privacy question or exercise a data-protection right, contact:

Telephone: +44 (0)79 734 88670