The main photo is courtesy of Cooksy, which showcases a Stovetop Lasagna recipe by Laurie & Garret, two Cooksy creators.

The 2022 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, KBIS, starts today, bringing with it more exciting innovative home products for the new year. One product that immediately caught our attention is Cooksy, the Smart Cooking Assistant, which uses artificial intelligence to guide you through stovetop culinary preparations like a Master Chef.

Table of Contents

 

How Cooksy Was Invented

Cooksy was created by Jeff Knighton, an electrical engineer and self-avowed enthusiastic home chef, who became frustrated with being unable to recreate favorite dishes with flawless consistency. Knighton pondered if it were possible to develop an app that would guide him during food preparation such as, when to flip an egg to get even cooking in order to achieve perfection every time.

As long as he was inventing, Knighton decided to build an app that would allow culinary enthusiasts to recreate beloved recipes that stayed with them in their palate’s memory but were difficult to recreate, no matter how many attempts were made. It is his belief that cooking should be foolproof, enjoyable and most importantly, easy for everyone to create meals like a professional chef.

Fast forward three years later and Knighton is introducing Cooksy and Cooksy Pro to the world at KBIS this week. Cooksy combines the intelligence of video, thermal imaging technology and an artificial intelligence app on a smart phone or tablet to take the guess work out of cooking.

Cooksy CEO Jeff Knighton in Kitchen

 

Why Cooksy is a Better Cooking Aid

Cooking with aids, such as cookbooks and online recipe sites, requires multitasking and a division of attention that can be distracting and formidable, especially if attempting a recipe for the first time. Without real-time feedback on your actual progress, how do you know if you are preparing the dish correctly?

Expanding your culinary repertoire requires attention to details, such as insuring the correct temperature is maintained, using the proper cooking techniques, and incorporating the right ingredients at the right time. For example, how do you know if the pan is hot enough or too cool for the next step?

Cooksy allows you to follow recipes that are available in the Cooksy recipe database, which comprises a myriad of recipes of all types such as vegan, vegetarian, and Keto.

The device provides real-time audio instruction with visual cues and thermal imaging, provides a level of confidence that can largely eliminate mistakes and miscalculations on timing and temperature, which are often the bane of failed culinary attempts.

With the integrated Cooksy app loaded to your smart phone or tablet, you will be notified when the pan and food have reached the correct temperature and guided through each step of the recipe. The app also allows you to monitor your stovetop cooking from another room, as you wait out boiling or simmering times.

Unique Benefits of Cooksy:

  • Continuous Guidance on Temperature
  • Notifications When Correct Temperatures Have Been Reached
  • Real-Time Audio Instruction
  • Remote Visual Monitoring
  • Overlaid Visual Cues & Information
  • Thermal Imaging
  • Timed Step-by-Step Guidance on the Recipe

 

How Cooksy Works

The eleven ounce, 4″x4”x1”, Cooksy device is mounted above the stovetop, preferably on a range hood or stove vent, and is equipped with thermal sensors that monitor your burner. Mounting is achieved by either a magnetic or wall mount, or a stand that allows thermal sensors to cover the area above the stovetop to provide thermal feedback on both pan and food temperatures. The cameras within the device rotate to allow the cook to adjust the view to different burners, although the device is concentrated on one burner or pan at a time.

Cooksy Smart Cooking Assistant Black

Cooksy Installation Options: Magnetic, Counter Stand, or Wall Mount

The Cooksy device works with either gas, electric or induction stovetops and requires no special pans or stovetop implements. The simple plug and play device coupled with the downloadable app is all that’s needed to begin your audio and visual cooking experience. The smart app is available for either iOS or Android devices via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store respectively. Once installed on your smart device, the app will pair with the Cooksy device via Bluetooth and you are ready to cook!

As Cooksy livestreams your stovetop cooking to your smart device, it displays, in real time, the exact surface temperature of both your pan and the food cooking inside the pan. This is especially helpful for techniques such as browning meats, or caramelizing fruits or vegetables, which both require specific temperature bands to achieve perfect results without destroying flavor. Maintaining proper temperature of both the pan and the food being cooked allows better control of the outcome with both precision and consistency.

The app allows you to switch to a thermal or heat-coded view to allow better inspection of areas of the pan that may be hotter or colder, due to uneven heat distribution. This allows you to correct the food placement for improved heat distribution and thorough cooking.

Cooksy Companion App with Temperature Readouts

Artificial intelligence allows step-by-step prompts that detect ingredients and verbally coaches the everyday chef to stir the contents, turn up or down the heat, throughout the process, for a perfect dish every time.

Cooksys Smart Cooking Assistant Three Colors

 

Cooksy vs. Cooksy Pro

The Cooksy Pro device allows you to create, record and share your own recipes from scratch, as the device effortlessly follows you as you cook, recording your ingredients, temperatures and timing. Your original recipes can be shared with your Cooksy community via social channels, allowing followers to recreate your dishes accurately again and again, consistently each time.

The Cooksy Pro is best for recipe creators, bloggers, foodies or anyone who wants to share instructional culinary information, as it has higher thermal and visual resolution with more storage than the standard Cooksy device. Create private or public cookbooks, produce your own culinary technique channel for instructional or educational use, or just pass down family recipes that will maintain consistency with each generation and around the world!

 

How Much Does Cooksy and Cooksy Pro Cost?

Cooksy currently retails for $299, while Cooksy Pro is priced at $699. Both include hundreds of recipes in a database that is growing every day. The library has easy-to-follow recipes, from chefs and other Cooksy users. Recipes guide you via step-by-step video instruction, while analyzing your progress and prompting you to adjust your cooking times and temperatures for the perfect outcome every time.

 

Does Cooksy Recommend any Particular Type of Cookware or Stove?

Cooksy does not endorse any specific cookware brand or type. As users cook more frequently with Cooksy, however, they may notice that some of their cookware may have uneven-heat distribution. Thick aluminum pans that allow for even-heat distribution are best for any type of cooking. Additionally, gas and induction stovetops are more nimble – meaning the surface temperatures of skillets can adjust more quickly – than electric stovetops. This responsiveness to temperature is helpful when needing to follow cooking instructions closely.

 

Closing Comments

Though Cooksy certainly does make cooking easier, we prefer Cooksy’s more apropos description that this is “the closest thing you’ll have to a Master Chef over your shoulder“.

If the music recording industry can rely heavily on autotune and the automotive industry can spoil timid drivers with parking assist, then the culinary world should certainly be ready for an increasing reliance on expert devices like Cooksy.

Based on early user feedback summarized to us by Knighton, we expect that Cooksy customers who get the hang of it will not want to go back to unassisted cooking. One of Knighton’s college-bound children put it succinctly when realizing Knighton’s homemade meals would not be available on campus:

“I need a Cooksy, Dad, so I can make your food!”

 

Cooksy Links

 

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