Supercomputer turns chef — IBM’s Watson logs its first cookbook

Watson, the IBM supercomputer's, first-ever cookbook is out. The book, Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson, is a collaboration between IBM’s Watson and the Institute of Culinary Education and went on sale on April 14.

This is the first cookbook that’s cocreated by computer algorithms. Around three years ago, IBM began building an "idea-generating tool" for Watson, which would let the supercomputer tap into its massive data trove to create new ideas. According to the book, IBM taught Watson all about existing food dishes so it could learn how flavours and food chemicals interact.

Once it had enough data, Watson began spewing out combinations of ingredients, which the Institute of Culinary Education converted into dishes for the book.

The book has 65 different recipes, sorted by preferences and dietary constraints.