Have to agree with the suggestion to standardize the lighting for the photos. I know there are my blog posts about best practice for taking photos of food.
My other suggestion would be to provide something other than photos of food on the homepage. Something that allows the user to reveal why they are visiting your site so that you can tailor their experience to suit their need.
“Why are you here today?”
– To search for a recipe – Provide the search
– to browse highly rated recipies – provide that
– to comment –
etc.
