How do I get automapper to map enums that are part of a list of child objects - automapper

Question

I've got the majority of my automapper maps working but I'm facing a problem trying to translate an enum from the value to the string when part of list of child objects. I have the enum to string converter working when at the top level but it seems when I am converting from RecipeStep to RecipeStepResource it isn't using the map defined for Ingredient to IngredientResource and therefore the conversion from enum to string isn't being called.
I've looked around but can't seem to find a similar example to work from and am having trouble deciphering the automapper help on this which says it should automatically pick up the map defined, which it doesn't seem to be, unsure if this is because the Ingredient items are part of a list. Major code snippets below, any help appreciated.
Model:
public class RecipeStep
{
[Required]
[Key]
[DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
public IList<Ingredient> Ingredients { get; set; }
public Timer Timer { get; set; }
public int RecipeID { get; set; }
[JsonIgnore]
[IgnoreDataMember]
[ForeignKey("RecipeID")]
public Recipe Recipe { get; set; }
}
public class Ingredient
{
[Required]
[Key]
[DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
public int ID { get; set; }
[Required]
[StringLength(50)]
public string Name { get; set; }
[Required]
public ETypeOfIngredient Type { get; set; }
[Required]
public double Amount { get; set; }
[Required]
public EUnitOfMeasure Unit { get; set; }
public int RecipeStepID { get; set; }
[JsonIgnore]
[IgnoreDataMember]
[ForeignKey("RecipeStepID")]
public RecipeStep RecipeStep { get; set; }
}
Resources:
public class RecipeStepResource
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
public List<IngredientResource> Ingredients { get; set; }
public TimerResource Timer { get; set; }
}
public class IngredientResource
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Type { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public double Amount { get; set; }
public string Unit { get; set; }
public int RecipeStepID { get; set; }
}
Mapping code:
CreateMap<Ingredient, IngredientResource>()
.ForMember(src => src.Type,
opt => opt.MapFrom(src => src.Type.ToDescriptionString()))
.ForMember(src => src.Unit,
opt => opt.MapFrom(src => src.Unit.ToDescriptionString()));
CreateMap<Timer, TimerResource>();
CreateMap<RecipeStep, RecipeStepResource>()
.ForMember(dest => dest.Ingredients,
opt => opt.MapFrom(src => src.Ingredients))
.ForMember(src => src.Timer,
opt => opt.MapFrom(src => src.Timer));
Enum to string conversion code:
public static string ToDescriptionString<TEnum>(this TEnum #enum)
{
FieldInfo info = #enum.GetType().GetField(#enum.ToString());
var attributes = (DescriptionAttribute[])info.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false);
return attributes?[0].Description ?? #enum.ToString();
}
What I have tried:
Creating an Ingredient -> IngredientResource map
Creating a List<Ingredient> -> List<IngredientResource> map
Adding an AfterMap call to the List<Ingredient> -> List<IngredientResource> map to convert the enum value
None of these have worked. Really struggling to understand why AutoMapper is not picking up the Ingredient to IngredientResource map for a List property on the RecipeStep object, I thought it would have done this automatically.

Answer 1

The issue came down to the parent object, I had it incorrectly mapped with both the model and resource files referring to RecipeStep, instead of RecipeStep -> RecipeStepResource. Really want to thank #Lucian for helping me and making me go back to basics to work through the understanding from a simpler standpoint and building up to a representative model.