Get your food and flavour pairings from IBM’s Chef Watson

Recipes created by IBM supercomputer to hit book shelves in spring.

A new cookbook featuring computer-generated recipes like Creole shrimp-lamb dumplings and hoof-and-honey ale hits bookshelves this spring with the aim of showing that computers can be used as a source of culinary creativity.

You may remember Chef Watson from last year, when the AI chef debuted at music festival SXSW last year as the world’s first cognitive cooking food truck.

Created by IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), Chef Watson taps into the same cognitive computing system that’s been used in the healthcare, insurance and retail industries. IBM’s Watson supercomputer also famously beat humans in the TV game show Jeopardy in 2011.

Cook Chef Watson's culinary creations with this book.

In the new cookbook Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson Recipes for Innovation from IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education, readers are introduced to new food and flavour pairings conceived by the IBM supercomputer.

Think Italian pumpkin cheesecake, Spanish almond crescent, Creole shrimp and lamb dumplings, and Hoof-and-Honey ale cocktail, which is veal stock topped with a burgundy wine foam.

The concept speaks to a larger idea; the notion that machines can be creative, understand the dynamics of flavour profiles and ingredient pairings and help chefs think outside the box.

“The point behind this cookbook effort is not simply to inspire people with recipes that will wow dinner guests with unusual ingredient combinations,” explains Florian Pinel, senior Watson Life software engineer in a post on IBM's A Smarter Planet blog.

“It’s also been a journey to discover the versatility of cognitive computing, and more specifically, what are the 'ingredients' needed to generate new innovations and ideas."

The cookbook, meanwhile, presents 65 original recipes created by computer algorithms.

The book also includes cooking tips from chefs at ICE.

Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson is set to be released in the US on April 14, 2015, and will retail for US$29.99. – AFP Relaxnews

Watch how the IBM Food Truck and chefs from the Institute of Culinary Education recreated two classic dishes poutine and chili at the SXSW Festival.