Amazon’s partnership with SideChef makes Alexa your sous chef

By Clayton Moore Published September 21, 2018

If you’re not already reeling from the baker’s dozen of devices and breakthroughs that Amazon unleashed on Thursday, September 20, here’s one more bulletin. SideChef, the all-in-one home cooking platform, is going to help Amazon with its new expansion into the smart kitchen by integrating with Alexa to help Echo owners cook via interactive recipes.

The big news included the fact that Amazon has manufactured a completely redesigned Echo Show as well as a smart home-enabled microwave that is Alexa-friendly. Whether home cooking connoisseurs are using the Echo Spot (using audio navigation) or the new Echo Show (complete with voice guidance, photography, and video demos), users will be able to access a robust step-by-step cooking experience on all Alexa devices.

Recommended Videos

In terms of practical day-to-day benefits, Amazon Echo users will be able to ask Alexa for recipe suggestions, and the devices will display and read off options and search results. More than 7,000 SideChef recipes will be available at launch, with additional dishes added weekly. Budding and experienced cooks will be able to prompt Alexa for “next steps,” or “repeat instructions,” as well as get more clarity on ingredients, measurements, and set timers.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“By offering SideChef content through Amazon’s family of Echo devices, millions of users now have access to thousands of free interactive smart recipes,” CEO of SideChef CEO Kevin Yu said in a release. “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 is a cooking app that specializes in offering step-by-step recipe navigation, kind of like a GPS. Using hands-free voice commands, the app guides you through the cooking process, from chopping to sauteing to broiling, complete with photos, how-to videos, and built-in timers to keep you on track. The app is free on all iOS and Android devices. In 2017, it won the Google Play Editor’s Pick of “Best Daily Helper App.”

SideChef is poised to be a major ally to Amazon in the smart home market, particularly when it comes to the kitchen. As we reported, Microsoft’s first foray into the smart kitchen was announced in the form of the AmazonBasics Microwave, an Alexa-enabled device that adds a great deal of voice control for users.

SideChef, meanwhile, already has a big partnership with Amazon via its recently acquired Whole Foods brand. SideChef and Amazon joined forces earlier this year to offer Amazon Prime users who are also AmazonFresh subscribers the ability to order groceries for more than 5,000 different recipes and have them delivered the same day.

We’ll keep an eye on these developing stories and let you know what happens. Between these developments and rumors of an additional 3,000 Amazon Go stores coming on the market, how you get your groceries in the future could change considerably.

Topics

Contributor

Clayton Moore’s interest in technology is deeply rooted in the work of writers like Warren Ellis, Cory Doctorow and Neal…

Smart Home

These Linkind smart bulbs are 37% off, and have one of the best apps I’ve used

Linkind A19 E26 color smart bulbs matter support -- smart bulb deal

I know some people think that a lot of smart home tech is frivolous, and some of it is, I'll agree, but there are certain things that make daily life a little better. For example, I have security cameras, a video doorbell, smart lights, a smart garage door, and all of these things make living in my home convenient. With my lights, for example, I can create on-off schedules and I don't have to get up to use them. After a long day, that's a welcome feature, believe me. It's especially helpful with Christmas lights and decorative lights -- like the ones I have set up to automatically turn on at sunset on my patio.

With a smart video doorbell, I can answer my door, converse with parcel delivery teams, and shoo off solicitors -- we get a lot of them where I live. But among all of those experiences and devices, one of my biggest qualms is with the apps you use to interact with this tech.

Smart Home

This smart display alternative can now use AI to plan all your meals

The Skylight Cal Max installed on a wall.

Skylight is a smart home company that produces a variety of smart display alternatives, such as the Skylight Cal Max. These serve as a central hub for all your daily planning -- they’re primarily used as a digital calendar, but you can also use them to track chores, make lists, or meal prep. That last aspect just became much more exciting, as Skylight is officially introducing Sidekick, an AI-powered assistant that can plan all your meals in just a few minutes.

Sidekick is a new AI feature for Skylight devices. It’s capable of generating personalized recipes based on your budget, family size, and dietary restrictions, and it’ll even create a shopping list and load up step-by-step cooking instructions. Skylight hopes the new feature will save families 10 hours every month, as they’ll no longer need to worry about the logistics surrounding meal prep.

Smart Home

Get cleaner air for less with the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool for $200 off

The Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool on a white background.

It’s easy to not think about the air around you. After all, it’s invisible, right? But good air quality makes a huge difference to your quality of life. Right now, you can buy the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool for $200 off at Walmart. Normally costing $1,000, it’s down to $800 today and it’s ideal for keeping your living space cool, as well as providing purified air. Here’s all you need to know.

Why you should buy the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool
Responsible for some of the best humidifiers out there, Dyson knows how to provide everything you want. With the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool, it automatically senses, captures, and traps pollutants so you gain cleaner air with no hassle or requirement to do a thing. It’s able to detect and destroy formaldehyde as well as many other pollutants so you’re in safe hands.