How AI became an indispensable ingredient in my cooking.
I typically don’t cook with recipes. It isn’t that I’m a great cook, but I’m busy, and I often just throw things together for my family based on what we have in the kitchen, what’s in stock or on sale at the grocery store, and most importantly my family’s long list of preferences and requirements. But over the last couple years, since I first started cooking with ChatGPT, AI has transformed my cooking. Cooking with AI has improved my cooking variety, allowed me to adapt to what I have available, and filled gaps in my knowledge.
COVID got me back in the kitchen
Growing up, Mom’s 80s kitchen was my first cooking school, all spaghetti and tacos. But my real culinary spark came from a friendly chef during my high school busboy days. Life got busy, though, especially with work travel, and cooking took a backseat. Then, COVID hit, and suddenly, I had time again. I rediscovered the joy of creating in the kitchen, watching online videos and recipes, eager to learn.
Over time, my breadth of knowledge on how to cook slowly expanded. I got more creative, and rarely if ever made exactly the same meal twice. My spice rack got bigger, my fridge was stocked with more exotic pastes and sauces, and the quality of my cooking slowly improved. At the same time, I streamlined the tools I used, my rice maker, slow cooker and VitaMix became well-worn friends. My wife and kids started asking if I could make things again that they really liked. Which of course was hard, because I was just tossing whatever I had together.
Discovering cooking with ChatGPT
Around this time, ChatGPT was born, and I adopted it quickly and almost immediately started using AI in my cooking. I had so many gaps in my knowledge that it was an amazing way to quickly get an answer.
Here are just a few of my early questions to ChatGPT:
“How long and at what temperature should I roast cauliflower if I want it charred and crispy?“
“I'm out of cumin, any suggestion for a replacement in Mexican cooking?”
“How do I make those big fat 2-inch meatballs for spaghetti you see in restaurants?“
“What seasonings are used in Greek food?”
“How do I make quick refrigerator pickles in 20 minutes, I'd like something with an asian flavor.”
“How do I make a stew inspired by the stuffing in Peruvian empanadas?”
It was ideal when my hands were dirty and I needed to know something quickly. The results were sometimes inconsistent, and there were certainly times when I needed to refine my prompt. But overall, it was like having a much, much more knowledgeable chef sitting in the corner, full of pretty darn good advice.
Using AI to capture recipes
As time went on, I found that I wanted to share some of the recipes I was making, and so I created an AI agent using a platform called Obot.ai called The Cookbook that integrated with OpenAI and WordPress. This allowed me to turn my ideas into more formal recipes and save them to this website. I could then easily go back and find my favorite recipes, or share them with others. These days, I often have an idea for something I’d like to make while I’m at the store, and will quickly work up a recipe using The Cookbook AI to get an idea of what I need to buy. I usually start with a high-level idea, and some ingredients that I have or know i want to use.
For example, I’ll ask something like:
"I'd like to make tacos, but using Thai ingredients. I have ground chicken, carrots, and tofu and some yellow curry paste."
Then after looking over a recipe I’d make some changes, asking something like: "What would be a good cool topping on these? Maybe something pickled?"
and if I think it needs more, suggesting something like:
"What about some kind of sauce on top? any ideas?"
In the end, I end up with a recipe like “Thai-inspired Chicken Tacos.” Even then, I’m still tinkering. I know my wife loves avocados, and maybe a bit more heat so I go back and ask The Cookbook to “add chopped avocados and jalapeños as a topping on the side.”
AI has improved my cooking confidence
Interestingly, as I have learned more about cooking through AI, I have also started buying more cookbooks, and watching more cooking content. I signed up for the NY Times Cooking subscription earlier this year to find more inspiration and ideas that I can incorporate into my cooking.
AI isn’t the only cooking solution. That’s true. But it’s helpful. Especially for those short on time. Or those with food restrictions. Or those with more ideas than skills. It meets you where you are and can help you on your chef’s journey. It can even document your favorite recipes. I hope you’ll give The Cookbook a try and see how it works for you?
