I recently tried using ChatGPT to plan dinners for the week, which is both an interesting attempt at AI application and part of my daily routine. My wife and I both have our own taste preferences and follow kosher dietary customs, which posed quite a challenge for AI's menu planning. I will share my experimental process, including successful recipes and lessons learned from failures, hoping to provide a reference for friends who are also interested in AI cooking. This article will record in detail my AI-assisted cooking journey, as well as the problems and solutions encountered during the process, and finally summarize the application prospects of AI in the field of cooking.
For me, experimenting with AI has become a hobby and part of my job. I've used AI to quickly find recipes before, but this time, I decided to take the challenge and see if it could tailor my dinners for the week, taking into account whether I was cooking for myself and my wife, or dining alone. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about cooking, although not nearly as good as my wife (whose family has been on a TV show showcasing their cooking skills). However, I am still shocked by the new cooking door opened by AI (this time ChatGPT), although there are also some "traps" that need to be paid attention to. The following is the performance of my AI sous chef and how to avoid the pitfalls I stepped on. You can try it too.
I first tried using more specific recipe prompts to see how ChatGPT performed with strict parameters, and then asked for suggestions without any specific requirements. The AI did an excellent job of designing kosher dinners for two, including a chicken dish and a vegetarian dish using rice and seasonal vegetables. For further testing, I also uploaded a picture from the recipe book for visual reference. I was impressed by how adaptable the AI was, recommending dishes like herb-roasted chicken with honey-glazed carrots and potatoes, and spicy tomato sauce rice stuffed with peppers.
Without my prompting, the chatbot even showed me how it thought the dishes would look on the plate. They mostly look appetizing, although sometimes the details are a little off, such as chicken and carrots being indistinguishable.
The AI does an excellent job of formulating diverse meals for the week. This recipe for herbed grilled salmon with couscous and asparagus is a crowd pleaser. I've never tried making citrus peel crust, but the instructions were clear and we ended up eating it all. One night while dining alone, AI directed me to make chicken shawarma burritos with tahini and Israeli slaw. The chatbot also offered some cooking and seasoning suggestions to keep me warm as the snow fell outside.
Probably the most successful dish is the homemade mushroom risotto. This dish is at the upper end of my cooking skills, but its meticulous step-by-step guidance got me through the labor-intensive process, while the truffle oil and white wine made the dish look more sophisticated than it actually was. Small adjustments throughout the week have made washing the dishes after meals a lot less stressful.
Luckily the other night was a simple grilled vegetable platter with hummus and other dips, so I didn't end up exhausted every night. Not that the recipes were hard to find, but the AI really made the process feel like it was customized to my preferences and overall schedule.
I committed to following every recipe ChatGPT had to offer (barring any obvious poisons), but this almost resulted in me abandoning the entire experiment the next day after my inexperience resulted in a disastrous sweet potato curry. The description of a hearty spice dish sounded great, but I overlooked the plethora of Indian mixed spices and chili powder called for in the recipe. I even thought it was a bit much at the time, but the success of the fish made me let my guard down, so I did it. I love spicy food, but after one bite, my taste buds went numb and I was speechless for hours. Maybe it was fine after scraping off the sauce, but the sweet potatoes were also cooked at the wrong time. Sweet potato shards scratched my mouth as I bit into it, and that's when the chili powder really started to kick in.
I bounced back and everything seemed better, until the last night when I thought dairy-free baked ziti sounded easy and fun. The AI clearly doesn't understand how plant-based cheese behaves when baked. The result is a gritty, unappetizing texture that makes eating the entire dish feel like a chore. Even more disappointing, the AI recommended mixing the tomato paste with nutritional yeast, which resulted in a bland, weirdly bitter taste. It looked pretty good when it came out of the oven, but the first bite let me know it was a failed attempt.
This experiment solidified some of my views on AI in the kitchen, with its pros and cons. As far as AI is concerned right now, you can definitely use it as an assistant. But only as an assistant, not the final decision. If you have specific ideas about the type of dish you want, clear, detailed tips are crucial. But don't throw away your recipe book. AI cannot replace human chefs to create menus. You should trust your instincts and make adjustments when you think they make sense. Maybe reduce the amount of paprika, or look up how best to use alternative ingredients. Nonetheless, as an inspiration and culinary endeavor, it’s definitely a good idea to put on ChatGPT’s chef hat.
All in all, AI has great potential in the field of cooking, but it still needs to be used with caution. It can be a powerful assistant, providing recipe suggestions and cooking tips, but final cooking decisions and adjustments still rely on human experience and judgment. We look forward to more amazing performance of AI in the field of cooking in the future!