NEW YORK, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and
Bon Appetit today announced that their one-of-a-kind Chef Watson
cognitive computing cooking app is now open to anyone interested in
expanding his or her imagination in the kitchen. The web app is one
of many ways that IBM is demonstrating how cognitive computing
systems can help amplify human creativity.
Created through a collaboration with Bon Appetit, the app
inspires home cooks everywhere to discover unexpected flavor
combinations to address everyday mealtime challenges in creative
ways and bring new ideas to the kitchen.
Aimed at adventurous cooks, the free Watson-powered app includes knowledge
gained from training Watson
to understand 10,000 recipes from the
Bon Appetit database, in addition to how ingredients are
used in different dishes and cooking styles. IBM has combined this
information with what the system knows about food chemistry and
human taste preferences, and has also integrated the valuable input
shared by users who participated in the beta.
With quintillions of possible ingredient pairings available at
their fingertips, the app is designed to provide cooks with an
everyday tool for discovering unique flavor profiles that are
changing the way they think about food and cooking. Conditions such
as Celiac disease, allergies or sensitivities to foods like nuts or
dairy, or lifestyle choices such as vegetarian or vegan, can
frustrate people's attempts at creativity in the kitchen.
Chef Watson can help people deal with dietary restrictions by
allowing them to exclude specific ingredients, enabling people to
inspire their culinary imaginations no matter what diet they
follow.
"We've been impressed by the creative ideas users have
discovered so far - to see not only what dishes they were making,
but what common food problems they were solving with the help of
Watson," says Stacey C. Rivera, Digital Director, Bon Appetit.
"From cutting out gluten to limiting the amount of waste in their
kitchen, the Chef Watson app proves: If you give cooks a tool to
help them be creative in the kitchen, they will be."
"Watson's strength is finding
patterns and relationships hidden among data, providing people with
a jumping off point to explore ideas that may never have been
considered before," says Dr. Steve
Abrams, Distinguished Engineer & Director, IBM Watson.
"The application of Watson in the
culinary arts illustrates how smart machines can help people make
discoveries. These technologies are being adopted not only by
cooking lovers, but professionals in other industries ranging from
life sciences to fashion to explore new ideas."
Over the last year IBM and Bon Appetit have also evolved the
app's design based on how users wanted to collaborate with Chef
Watson as part of their creative process. Today, people can start
to discover new flavor profiles with as little as one ingredient.
Based on that input, Chef Watson suggests three other ingredients
that it predicts go well together. Chef Watson brings these flavor inspirations a step
closer to the table by suggesting dish ideas, ingredient amounts,
and preparation steps that serve as a starting point for the cook
to customize, try in the kitchen, and share with friends.
Available in beta until today, the app has been used by several
thousand accomplished home cooks who have helped to expand
Watson's knowledge. This was
accomplished in a variety of ways including sharing feedback on
recipes and how best to interact with the app. The beta users also
discovered new, meaningful uses for the tool including how to
create tasty meals that exclude or substitute key ingredients based
on health or dietary choices; reduce food waste by creating dishes
around unused ingredients; exploit local or seasonal ingredients to
maximize a sustainable farm to table concept; and even teach
children about creativity and healthy eating.
Anyone can experience the free IBM Chef Watson with Bon Appetit
web app at www.ibmchefwatson.com - and here are a few stories from
Chef Watson users about what they're discovering with Watson in their kitchens today
http://ibm.co/1LfvKJH.
IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing
Watson is the first
commercially available cognitive computing capability representing
a new era in computing. The system, delivered through the cloud,
analyzes high volumes of data, understands complex questions posed
in natural language, and proposes evidence-based answers.
Watson continuously learns,
gaining in value and knowledge over time, from previous
interactions.
IBM Watson continues to foster a growing ecosystem of
developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts worldwide
by placing the power of cognitive computing in their hands via more
than 20 Watson services available on the Watson Developer Cloud,
allowing them to discover, explore and create an entirely new class
of apps and businesses fueled by Watson. Across industries
and specialties, IBM and its more than 280 commercial partners,
along with tens of thousands of tech enthusiasts, are working
together as part of the Watson Ecosystem to make cognitive
computing systems the new computing standard.
IBM continues to build on its strengths in cognitive computing,
analytics, security and cloud with IBM Watson Health and the Watson
Health Cloud platform. This unit is helping improve the ability of
doctors, researchers, health plans and individuals to innovate by
surfacing new insights from the massive amounts of personal health
data being created daily. The Watson Health Cloud allows this
information to be anonymized, shared and combined with a dynamic
and constantly growing aggregated view of clinical, research and
social health data.
About IBM
For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/watson. For more
information on IBM Watson Health, visit: ibm.com/watsonhealth
Check out the IBM Chef Watson press kit at:
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/46500.wss and the IBM
Watson press kit at:
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/27297.wss.
Join the conversation at #ibmwatson. #chefwatson and
#ibmwatsonhealth. Follow Watson on
Facebook and see Watson on YouTube
and Flickr.
About Bon Appetit
Bon Appetit is where food
and culture meet. The award-winning No. 1 food lifestyle brand
covers food through the lens of cooking, fashion, travel,
technology, design, and home. Under editor in chief Adam Rapoport, the brand has been nominated for
18 National Magazine Awards, including wins in 2014 for General
Excellence & Photography, and Best Cover in the "Most
Delicious" Category in 2015; 14 James Beard Foundation Journalism
Awards; and more than 50 Society of Publication Designers (SPD)
nominations including 12 wins for 2015 alone, including Design
Entire Issue (June & November
2014) and Website of the year. Under Vice President and
Chief Revenue Officer Pamela Drucker
Mann, the magazine was named the Advertising Age
A-List Magazine of the Year in 2013 and "One to Watch" in 2014, and
has been Adweek's Food Magazine of the Year in 2012, 2013,
and 2014.
Contacts
Fiona Doherty,
IBM External Relations
Tel: (914) 945-2319
Email: fhdohert@us.ibm.com
Dan Aldworth, Bon Appetit
Tel: (212) 286-5392
Email: Dan_Aldworth@condenast.com
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SOURCE IBM