diff --git a/compose.override.yml b/compose.override.yml
index 177a19d..0949b10 100644
--- a/compose.override.yml
+++ b/compose.override.yml
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ services:
       # Docker can follow the symlink inside the container.
       - /Library/Assets/kiwi:/Library/Assets/kiwi:rw
 
-  # cf-orch agent sidecar: registers kiwi as a GPU node with the coordinator.
+  # cf-orch agent sidecar: registers this machine as GPU node "sif" with the coordinator.
   # The API scheduler uses COORDINATOR_URL to lease VRAM cooperatively; this
-  # agent makes kiwi's VRAM usage visible on the orchestrator dashboard.
+  # agent makes the local VRAM usage visible on the orchestrator dashboard.
   cf-orch-agent:
     image: kiwi-api  # reuse local api image — cf-core already installed there
     network_mode: host
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ services:
     command: >
       conda run -n kiwi cf-orch agent
       --coordinator ${COORDINATOR_URL:-http://10.1.10.71:7700}
-      --node-id kiwi
+      --node-id sif
       --host 0.0.0.0
       --port 7702
       --advertise-host ${CF_ORCH_ADVERTISE_HOST:-10.1.10.71}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/RecipesView.vue b/frontend/src/components/RecipesView.vue
index fd13cb7..7671b29 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/RecipesView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/RecipesView.vue
@@ -287,7 +287,10 @@
           @click="handleSuggest"
         >
           <span v-if="recipesStore.loading && !isLoadingMore">
-            <span class="spinner spinner-sm inline-spinner"></span> Finding recipes…
+            <span class="spinner spinner-sm inline-spinner"></span>
+            <span v-if="recipesStore.jobStatus === 'queued'">Queued…</span>
+            <span v-else-if="recipesStore.jobStatus === 'running'">Generating…</span>
+            <span v-else>Finding recipes…</span>
           </span>
           <span v-else>Suggest Recipes</span>
         </button>
@@ -312,7 +315,9 @@
 
     <!-- Screen reader announcement for loading + results -->
     <div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true" class="sr-only">
-      <span v-if="recipesStore.loading">Finding recipes…</span>
+      <span v-if="recipesStore.loading && recipesStore.jobStatus === 'queued'">Recipe request queued, waiting for model…</span>
+      <span v-else-if="recipesStore.loading && recipesStore.jobStatus === 'running'">Generating your recipe now…</span>
+      <span v-else-if="recipesStore.loading">Finding recipes…</span>
       <span v-else-if="recipesStore.result">
         {{ filteredSuggestions.length }} recipe{{ filteredSuggestions.length !== 1 ? 's' : '' }} found
       </span>
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/api.ts b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
index ef19ab6..acb9078 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
@@ -524,6 +524,15 @@ export interface RecipeResult {
   rate_limit_count: number
 }
 
+export type RecipeJobStatusValue = 'queued' | 'running' | 'done' | 'failed'
+
+export interface RecipeJobStatus {
+  job_id: string
+  status: RecipeJobStatusValue
+  result: RecipeResult | null
+  error: string | null
+}
+
 export interface RecipeRequest {
   pantry_items: string[]
   secondary_pantry_items: Record<string, string>
@@ -593,6 +602,18 @@ export const recipesAPI = {
     const response = await api.post('/recipes/suggest', req, { timeout: 120000 })
     return response.data
   },
+
+  /** Submit an async job for L3/L4 generation. Returns job_id + initial status. */
+  async suggestAsync(req: RecipeRequest): Promise<{ job_id: string; status: string }> {
+    const response = await api.post('/recipes/suggest', req, { params: { async: 'true' }, timeout: 15000 })
+    return response.data
+  },
+
+  /** Poll an async job. Returns the full status including result once done. */
+  async pollJob(jobId: string): Promise<RecipeJobStatus> {
+    const response = await api.get(`/recipes/jobs/${jobId}`, { timeout: 10000 })
+    return response.data
+  },
   async getRecipe(id: number): Promise<RecipeSuggestion> {
     const response = await api.get(`/recipes/${id}`)
     return response.data
diff --git a/frontend/src/stores/recipes.ts b/frontend/src/stores/recipes.ts
index 4798e17..ffff6cf 100644
--- a/frontend/src/stores/recipes.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/stores/recipes.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 import { defineStore } from 'pinia'
 import { ref, computed, watch } from 'vue'
-import { recipesAPI, type RecipeResult, type RecipeSuggestion, type RecipeRequest, type NutritionFilters } from '../services/api'
+import { recipesAPI, type RecipeResult, type RecipeSuggestion, type RecipeRequest, type RecipeJobStatusValue, type NutritionFilters } from '../services/api'
 
 const DISMISSED_KEY = 'kiwi:dismissed_recipes'
 const DISMISS_TTL_MS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ export const useRecipesStore = defineStore('recipes', () => {
   const result = ref<RecipeResult | null>(null)
   const loading = ref(false)
   const error = ref<string | null>(null)
+  const jobStatus = ref<RecipeJobStatusValue | null>(null)
 
   // Request parameters
   const level = ref(1)
@@ -199,18 +200,57 @@ export const useRecipesStore = defineStore('recipes', () => {
   async function suggest(pantryItems: string[], secondaryPantryItems: Record<string, string> = {}) {
     loading.value = true
     error.value = null
+    jobStatus.value = null
     seenIds.value = new Set()
 
     try {
-      result.value = await recipesAPI.suggest(_buildRequest(pantryItems, secondaryPantryItems))
-      _trackSeen(result.value.suggestions)
+      if (level.value >= 3) {
+        await _suggestAsync(pantryItems, secondaryPantryItems)
+      } else {
+        result.value = await recipesAPI.suggest(_buildRequest(pantryItems, secondaryPantryItems))
+        _trackSeen(result.value.suggestions)
+      }
     } catch (err: unknown) {
       error.value = err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Failed to get recipe suggestions'
     } finally {
       loading.value = false
+      jobStatus.value = null
     }
   }
 
+  async function _suggestAsync(pantryItems: string[], secondaryPantryItems: Record<string, string>) {
+    const queued = await recipesAPI.suggestAsync(_buildRequest(pantryItems, secondaryPantryItems))
+
+    // CLOUD_MODE or future sync fallback: server returned result directly (status 200)
+    if ('suggestions' in queued) {
+      result.value = queued as unknown as RecipeResult
+      _trackSeen(result.value.suggestions)
+      return
+    }
+
+    jobStatus.value = 'queued'
+    const { job_id } = queued
+    const deadline = Date.now() + 90_000
+    const POLL_MS = 2_500
+
+    while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, POLL_MS))
+      const poll = await recipesAPI.pollJob(job_id)
+      jobStatus.value = poll.status
+
+      if (poll.status === 'done') {
+        result.value = poll.result
+        if (result.value) _trackSeen(result.value.suggestions)
+        return
+      }
+      if (poll.status === 'failed') {
+        throw new Error(poll.error ?? 'Recipe generation failed')
+      }
+    }
+
+    throw new Error('Recipe generation timed out — the model may be busy. Try again.')
+  }
+
   async function loadMore(pantryItems: string[], secondaryPantryItems: Record<string, string> = {}) {
     if (!result.value || loading.value) return
     loading.value = true
@@ -308,6 +348,7 @@ export const useRecipesStore = defineStore('recipes', () => {
     result,
     loading,
     error,
+    jobStatus,
     level,
     constraints,
     allergies,