IBM and The Institute of Culinary Education Publish a Cookbook

NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 (ICE) teamed up to explore cognitive computing and creativity in the culinary arts. The partnership led to entirely new recipes, created by ICE experts and inspired by unconventional ingredient concepts generated by Chef Watson. The new cookbook, Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson, will help cooks everywhere discover and create delicious recipes, designed by chefs working with Watson, IBM's cognitive computing system.

The cookbook is a way to help people discover the potential of cognitive computing systems, and Chef Watson represents another example of the diverse ways in which humans and technology can work together. Systems like IBM Watson can understand vast amounts of data, as well as learn from interactions with people and information in an intuitive way, to provide insights and answers. Chef Watson shows that cognitive systems can also understand compounds and food pairing theories to help us discover brand new knowledge and augment human creativity.

In Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson (ISBN 9781492625711; APRIL 14, 2015; $29.99 U.S. Cookbooks/Science; Hardcover), IBM's cognitive computing technology and ICE's culinary experts present more than 65 original recipes exploding with irresistible new flavors.

"For chefs, creativity is one of the most important elements for success. Human chefs can reason with a finite set of ingredients, or those that they have been exposed to. Using this technology, their creativity is enhanced by quintillions of possible ingredient pairings, augmenting their creativity," said Brian Aronowitz, Chief Marketing Officer at the Institute of Culinary Education. "After working with IBM for the last few years testing and refining the system, ICE chefs have developed many unique and interesting recipes along the way. The natural next step was to develop a cookbook to share the unique pairing of ICE and IBM with the rest of the world."

Together, they have carefully crafted, evaluated, and perfected each of these dishes for "pleasantness" (superb taste), "surprise" (innovativeness), and a "synergy" of mouth-watering ingredients that will delight any food lover.

"One of the concepts we wanted to demonstrate with Chef Watson is this notion of discovery and computational creativity," said Florian Pinel, Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM Watson Group. "To discover something new, be it a medical insight or recipe, requires insight into a large body of information and being able to use that insight to make connections and draw conclusions. Whether you're working in the kitchen or the laboratory, Watson's ability to reason and learn can help humans arrive at new discoveries."

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.

"What makes this book so fun is how easy it makes it to pick up things you didn't know and discover combinations you might have never imagined," said Todd Stocke, Vice President, Editorial Director at Sourcebooks. "The pairing of Chef Watson with the masters at ICE is nothing short of a culinary dream team."

From Chef Watson's first recipe ever, the Spanish Almond Crescent, to Creole Shrimp-Lamb Dumplings, Vietnamese Apple Kebab, and Hoof-and-Honey Ale, Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson introduces home cooks and professional chefs to a whole new world of culinary possibilities.

Sourcebooks is one of the largest independent book publishers in the United States and well-known as the fastest growing. We are committed to innovative publishing, to exploring every platform, and creating breakthrough models. We truly believe that books have the power to touch people and change lives. Sourcebooks is home to more than 100 enthusiastic book-loving colleagues who are dedicated to finding new ways to connect with authors, readers, and ideas. We publish more than 300 new titles each year and are honored to have 40+ New York Times bestsellers. Sourcebooks is proud to be one of the largest woman-owned book publishers in the country. Visit www.sourcebooks.com for more information.

The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) is one of the largest and most diverse culinary schools in the world. Established in 1975, ICE offers award-winning eight- to 13-month career training programs in culinary arts, pastry and baking arts, culinary management, and hospitality management—with more than 11,000 graduates and successful alumni who are leaders in the industry. ICE offers continuing education for professional development, hosts more than 600 special events, and has one of the world's largest recreational cooking, baking, and wine programs with more than 25,000 students annually. In 2015, marking the school's 40th anniversary, ICE will move to a new, transformative 74,000-square-foot facility at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan, designed for inspiration, creativity, and community. Visit us at www.ice.edu or join us @iceculinary to find your culinary voice.

IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing: IBM Watson represents a new era of computing in which third party apps and systems will interact with human users more naturally, analyze volumes of data, understand complex questions posed in natural language, and propose evidenced-based answers that help improve decision making.

Fueled by innovation from a mission to transform industries and professions, Watson is uniquely positioned at the forefront of the new era of computing, evidenced by an unmatched demonstration of what cognitive systems can bring to transform decision making. IBM is delivering a range of cloud-based products and services to clients in industries such as banking, healthcare, insurance, retail, and education.

IBM is investing $1 billion into the Watson Group, focusing on development and research and bringing cloud-delivered cognitive applications and services to market. This includes $100 million available for venture investments to support IBM's ecosystem of start-ups and businesses building cognitive apps made with Watson.

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: www.ibmwatson.com. To join the social discussion about Watson, include the hashtag #ibmwatson. Follow Watson on Facebook and see Watson on YouTube and Flickr. Check out the IBM Watson press kit at: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/27297.wss.

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