Is Your Next Master Chef... a Computer?

Curious about the origins of that banana fricassee you just gobbled up? Give credit to a computer. The newest top chef is a computerized app called 'Chef Watson with Bon Appétit,' released yesterday by IBM. This app is designed to help cooks come up with creative recipes and think about unconventional ways to combine ingredients.

This new chef is the result of a collaboration between IBM's famous cognitive computer, Watson, and the food magazine Bon Appétit. Over the past year, massive amounts of culinary knowledge and 9,000 recipes from the magazine have been uploaded into the computer. It analyzed all this information and drew conclusions about cooking patterns, terminology, and recommended combinations. Now, Watson can create entirely new recipes based on the data it has processed.

How do you use the app? You input the desired ingredients (or whatever is left in your pantry) and select the desired cooking style (Italian? Middle-Eastern?). You can also specify any ingredients to avoid (like gluten). Watson processes the information and offers a range of recipes tailored to your requests.

Before you expect Watson to replace all the world-renowned chefs, it's worth remembering there is still no substitute for a human chef, even one working alongside a computer. As the editors at Bon Appétit recount, Watson once suggested adding nuts to a punch drink. They were surprised: nuts are a clear choking hazard for anyone gulping down a beverage. However, shortly after, they encountered a punch drink enhanced with nut syrup that was truly delightful. The takeaway: Watson was 100% right on the flavor combination, it just wasn't aware that people can choke on nuts...