Last updated: 14 August 2026
Welcome to Secret Kitchens. These terms cover your use of the website secret-kitchens.com ("the site"). By using the site, you agree to them. We've written them in plain English on purpose.
1. Who we are
Secret Kitchens is operated by Hyperbolic Time Chamber Pty Ltd (ABN 79 537 581 568) ("we", "us"), based in Queensland, Australia. You can contact us at info@secret-kitchens.com.
2. What Secret Kitchens is (and isn't)
Secret Kitchens is a showcase and directory. We build and host menu pages and order request forms for independent local food businesses ("kitchens"). That's the whole service.
- We are not the seller of any food shown on this site.
- We do not take deposits or hold money between you and any kitchen. Where a kitchen has switched on card payments, those payments are processed by Stripe and paid into that kitchen's own Stripe account — the money doesn't pass through us.
- We do not prepare, handle, store or deliver any food.
- Each kitchen is an independent business responsible for its own food, licensing, food safety and customer service.
3. Orders
When you submit an order form on a kitchen's page, you are sending an order request directly to that kitchen. An order only exists once the kitchen confirms it with you directly. Prices, availability, pickup times and refunds are set by each kitchen and are between you and them. Some kitchens offer delivery as well as pickup; delivery availability, delivery areas and any delivery fee are set by each kitchen and are between you and them. Where a kitchen offers delivery at card checkout, any delivery fee is shown with your order total before you pay and is included in your card payment to the kitchen.
Most kitchens arrange payment with you directly — cash, bank transfer, PayID or similar. Some kitchens offer card payment on their page; those payments are processed by Stripe and go straight to that kitchen's own Stripe account. Either way, the kitchen is the seller, and your payment is to them — not to us. Some pages also include optional tip or support buttons; these link out to Stripe payment pages, are entirely voluntary, and are separate from your food order.
4. Refunds, cancellations and problems with an order
Each kitchen is the seller of record for everything it sells. We never hold your money — even card payments go straight to the kitchen's own Stripe account, so refunds are handled directly between you and the kitchen, not by us.
- If something is wrong with your order, contact the kitchen first using the contact details on its page. Kitchens handle their own refunds, replacements and cancellations.
- Where you paid by card, any refund is issued by the kitchen through its own Stripe account back to your original payment method.
- How refunds and cancellations generally work on this site is explained at secret-kitchens.com/refunds, which each kitchen page links to.
- Nothing in these terms or in any kitchen's refund approach limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Your legal remedies regarding food you purchase are against the kitchen that sold it to you. If you can't resolve a problem with a kitchen, tell us at info@secret-kitchens.com — we can't issue refunds on a kitchen's behalf, but we take complaints about kitchens seriously.
5. Food safety, licensing and allergens
Each kitchen is responsible for meeting the food safety and licensing requirements that apply to it, and confirms on registration that it accepts that responsibility. We do not verify, licence or inspect any kitchen, and we make no representation that any kitchen holds a particular licence or approval. Responsibility for food safety, licensing compliance and accurate allergen information rests with each kitchen. If you have a food allergy or intolerance, contact the kitchen directly before ordering — do not rely on menu descriptions alone.
6. Accuracy of information
Menus, prices, photos and business details on kitchen pages are supplied by the kitchens themselves. We do our best to keep pages current, but details can change without notice. If something looks wrong, tell us at info@secret-kitchens.com and we'll fix it with the kitchen.
7. For kitchens: listing on Secret Kitchens
- By registering, you confirm the information you give us is true, the photos and content you supply are yours (or you have permission to use them), and you authorise us to display them on your page.
- You are responsible for holding any licences, registrations or approvals your local council or state authority requires for your food business, and for meeting all food safety obligations that apply to you. We may ask for evidence and may remove listings that can't provide it.
- You are responsible for your own food, pricing, fulfilment, refunds and customer disputes.
- Pricing: hosting is offered on monthly subscription plans — currently Essential ($20 AUD), Professional ($35 AUD), Premium ($65 AUD) and Truck & Stall ($99 AUD) per calendar month, billed monthly via Stripe. Current prices and inclusions are always at secret-kitchens.com/plans. Billing relates to your page going live, not the date you register.
- Plan inclusions: each plan includes a menu item limit — currently 20 items on Essential, 40 on Professional, and 60 on Premium and Truck & Stall. Every menu item counts toward the limit, including hidden items and each size or flavour variant. If you move to a plan with a lower limit, your existing items stay live — you just can't add new items until you're under your limit, and we never delete your items. Menu categories (Food, Beverages, Specials) are available on the Premium and Truck & Stall plans. Kitchens on any plan can offer delivery and describe their delivery arrangements; setting a delivery fee is available on the Professional and Premium plans. Current inclusions are always at secret-kitchens.com/plans.
- Kitchen Build: every page starts with a one-off Kitchen Build — our page build charge, currently $200 AUD (Essential), $450 AUD (Professional), $800 AUD (Premium) and $1,500 AUD (Truck & Stall); fully custom builds are quoted individually. Where we invoice a Kitchen Build fee, it is fully refundable for 14 days from payment — tell us within that window that you've changed your mind and we'll refund it in full. After 14 days the Kitchen Build fee is non-refundable.
- Trials and billing: no card is needed to register. When your page goes live we send you a payment link, and your plan starts with a 30-day free trial (card details are taken then). On the Essential and Professional plans, monthly billing begins automatically when the trial ends. On the Premium and Truck & Stall plans, when the trial ends your first 3 months are billed as a single upfront payment — $175 AUD (Premium) or $270 AUD (Truck & Stall), a saving of about 10% on three months at the standard rate — and normal monthly billing ($65 / $99) begins from your fourth month, after which you can cancel anytime. Cancel during the trial and you won't be charged anything.
- Paid Checkout add-on: Professional and Premium kitchens can optionally add Paid Checkout — card payments on their page — for $25 AUD per calendar month on top of their plan, billed via Stripe. The Truck & Stall plan already includes card checkout and pickup slots, so it never needs the add-on. Card payments are processed by Stripe through the kitchen's own Stripe account, and Stripe's processing fee (currently 1.7% + A$0.30 per domestic card transaction, plus GST — current rates at stripe.com/au/pricing) is deducted from each payment before it reaches the kitchen. We take no commission and no percentage of sales on any plan — our monthly fees are our only charges.
- You can cancel any time by emailing us. Your page comes down and monthly charges stop at the end of your current paid month — and if you'd like a copy of your page files to take with you, just ask. Fees already paid aren't refundable, apart from the Kitchen Build refund window above.
- If a monthly payment isn't received, we'll contact you first. If it stays unpaid, your page may be paused and later taken down.
- Updates: when your page goes live, you manage it from your seller dashboard at secret-kitchens.com/dashboard, signing in with the email and password you created at registration. Change your menu, prices, hours, photos and notices yourself, any time — included in your monthly fee. Prefer us to make a change for you? Email info@secret-kitchens.com from your registered address and we'll do it.
- Order records: paid card orders appear in your seller dashboard for 90 days from the order date, then are permanently deleted from our systems — we keep only anonymised daily sales totals. You can download a copy of your order records from your dashboard (or ask us for one) any time before they're deleted. Downloaded records include your customers' contact details: once exported, that information is your own customer record, and handling it in line with Australian privacy law is your responsibility. Any record-keeping obligations that apply to your business — tax records, for example — are yours to meet from your own copies; our 90-day deletion doesn't pause for them.
8. Acceptable use
Don't misuse the site: no false orders, no scraping, no attempting to interfere with forms or hosting, no unlawful content. We can refuse or remove any listing or block any user who misuses the site.
9. Intellectual property
The Secret Kitchens name, logo and site design belong to us. Kitchen names, photos, menus and stories belong to their kitchens and are displayed with permission. Don't copy or reuse either without permission.
10. Liability
Nothing in these terms excludes rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded. Beyond that, to the maximum extent the law allows: we provide the site "as is"; we are not liable for the food, conduct, or services of any kitchen; and we are not liable for loss arising from your dealings with a kitchen. Your legal remedies regarding food you purchase are against the kitchen that sold it to you.
11. Changes
We may update these terms from time to time. The current version will always be on this page with the date above. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated terms.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia.
13. Contact
Questions, corrections or complaints: info@secret-kitchens.com.