Okay so first and foremost let's clarify, as a conversation piece and advancement of computer's understanding of intangible human experiences, this is fantastic. However, as a cookbook this is rubbish. It falls victim to the standard cookbook syndrome, only contains recipes that you may oogle on the menu of a single Michelin star restaurant but won't actually order because there is always one item that is better, more appealing, where your mouth waters in a Pavlovian fashion.
Albeit, this cookbook never insinuates it is a simple 5-ingredient book, it is just too far-fetched from home cooking. 80% of the ingredients are moderately reasonable items to stock your pantry with, but the remaining 20% are the ingredients you know you will never ever use again and have to track down in the far depths of the internet and local markets.
Take Your Cooking to a Whole New Level with Chef Watson and the Institute of Culinary Education!
You don't have to be a culinary genius to be a great cook. But when it comes to thinking outside the box, even the best chefs can be limited by their personal experiences, the tastes and flavor combinations they already know. That's why IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education teamed up to develop a groundbreaking cognitive cooking technology that helps cooks everywhere discover and create delicious recipes, utilizing unusual ingredient combinations that man alone might never imagine.
In Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson, IBM's unprecedented technology and ICE's culinary experts present more than 65 original recipes exploding with irresistible new flavors. Together, they have carefully crafted, evaluated and perfected each of these dishes for "pleasantness" (superb taste), "surprise" (innovativeness) and a "synergy" of mouthwatering ingredients that will delight any food lover.
Sprinkled throughout the book are cooking tips from the pros at ICE, entertaining anecdotes on the various stages of IBM and ICE's collaboration and ideas for home cooks to expand their repertoires or spice up current favorites. From Chef Watson's first recipe ever, the Spanish Almond Crescent, to Creole Shrimp-Lamb Dumplings, Italian-Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Hoof-and-Honey Ale, Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson introduces home cooks and professional chefs to a whole new world of culinary possibilities.
Overall, how this book was created is far more fascinating than any of the contents as all sense of practicality was thrown out the window but I seriously recommend this if you are purchasing it for the sake of the story behind it and as a conversation starter. If you want a good cookbook for the recipes and context of why everything in the recipes make sense, just buy the ATK book.
Just to give a bit on context as everything is relative, I am not a formally trained chef/cook but I am certainly quite comfortable in the kitchen (cooking, baking, coffees, and cocktails) even with larger and more elaborate meals.
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