SuChef

Decisions about what to eat are often made close to mealtime, when hunger clouds people's ability to think creatively or conscientiously about their meal choices. As a result, people we studied tended to resort to "everyday meals": recipes that are tasty, quick, and cheap. These choices often run counter to cooks' stated values regarding health, variety, ingredient choice, and so forth, but are chosen for their convenience and familiarity. This lack of variety seemed to stem from a scarcity of "everyday" recipes compounded by the fact that usually, at the time they are preparing the meal, cooks are tired, hungry, and don't want to search for or try less familiar recipes. Based on a study of current cooking practices, we developed the SuChef prototype: a low-fidelity probe supporting the in-kitchen display of everyday meal ideas along with the sharing of recipes among members of social groups. The probe was deployed for a week among 5 geographically dispersed but socially connected households and yielded insights into the design space for technology to support everyday cooking.