Smart technologies are gradually taking off in the kitchen, as multiple partnerships were formed lately between appliance makers, recipe app providers and smart home ecosystems.
Sweden-based Electrolux, the second largest appliance maker after Whirlpool, just announced a partnership with Drop, a recipe app provider, to let its connected kitchen appliances load recipe instructions to streamline the cooking process.
With Drop, users may also get customized recipes and modified cooking instructions will be sent to Electrolux’s appliances. The partnership can make cooking “more simple and personized,” said Ola Nilsson, head of Electrolux’s Home Care & Small Domestic Appliances business unit.
While assisted cooking makes life easier for users, the partnership also helps Electrolux to expand its connected ecosystem, Nilsson said. Earlier this year Electrolux announced several partnerships in the smart kitchen domain, with connected cook platform Innit in Europe, the recipe platform SideChef in Asia Pacific and smart home platform Google Assistant.
SideChef and Amazon teamed up
Two weeks ago SideChef announced that it is teaming up with Amazon to provide step-by-step cooking guidance with voice, image presentation and video demos, made possible through Echo Show or Echo Spot.
SideChef claims there are over 7,000 recipes in its database with additional dishes added weekly. When asked for recipe suggestions, Amazon Echo will read off search results while Echo Show or Echo Dot will read off options along with image display.
During cooking, users may utter commands like "next step" and "repeat instructions," request further clarity on ingredients and measurements, set timers, among other actions. This saves users the hassle of manually referencing recipes while their hands are occupied with food preparation.
SideChef co-founder and CEO Kevin Yu envisions a future where people cook more smartly with technology. "Our smart cooking platform is paving the way for technology to seamlessly integrate with kitchens around the world, and we're excited to be able to connect users with recipes from celebrity chefs, popular bloggers, and the ever-growing SideChef community."
SideChef has also expanded partnerships with a number of appliance makers including Electrolux, V-ZUG, LG and Sharp, as well as grocery delivery service AmazonFresh, a subsidiary of Amazon.
Multi-functional smart kitchen appliances
Another sign that smart kitchen is starting to gain traction in the everyday life is that the third edition of Smart Kitchen Summit is set to take place Oct. 8-9 in Seattle. It is where startups, inventors and companies showcase their latest innovations.
The Smart Kitchen Summit helps today’s cook grow and enjoy the many advantages of being a smart cook, said Heshy Biegeleisen, founder of Gourmia, which sponsors the event.
Gourmia offers kitchen appliances with smart technologies. The built-In cook camera, for example, takes videos or photos of food being cooked, which can then be transferred to social media sites via the Gourmia mobile kitchen app. Users can also reference with time-stamped photos, to compare what they are cooking with how it should appear.
Mobile app is an essential smart kitchen element. Gourmia says its mobile app automatically programs recipes into any Gourmia IoT kitchen appliance to plan meals. Also, the app can integrate each family member's preferences regarding food choices, favorite recipes, and desired meal for special events.
The app allows users to control the appliances remotely. To enable safe cooking, the app can block usage of certain appliances if there is no adult supervision present, and it can remotely monitor a smart appliance and turn it off if needed.
Last but not least, Alexa and Google Home is also integrated with some kitchen appliances to allow for voice control.