Cook Mode

What is Cook Mode?#

Cook Mode gives you a full-screen, step-by-step view of any recipe. Steps are large and easy to read, even from across the kitchen.

Starting Cook Mode#

1. Open a recipe.
2. Tap the Cook button.
3. Cook Mode launches with your first step.

Navigating steps#

• Swipe left/right or tap the arrows to move between steps.
• The current step number and total steps are shown at the top.
• Your screen won't dim or lock while Cook Mode is active.

Smart timers#

Cook Mode automatically detects times mentioned in your recipe steps (e.g. "bake for 25 minutes"). Timers appear as tappable buttons -- tap to start a countdown.

You can have multiple timers running at once. Active timers appear as a Live Activity on your lock screen.

The first time a timer runs, allow notifications when prompted. That way a timer still alerts you when you've left the recipe, switched apps, or turned the screen off. If you blocked notifications, turn them back on in your phone's Settings under SousChef. Live Activities also need to be enabled there to show timers on the lock screen and Dynamic Island.

Voice commands#

Navigate hands-free when your hands are covered in flour:

• "Next" -- go to the next step.
• "Previous" or "Back" -- go to the previous step.
• "Read it" -- read the current step aloud.

You can also start timers by voice, e.g. "Start a timer for 10 minutes" or "Start the timer" to begin the timer on the current step.

Turning on voice commands#

Voice commands are off until you enable them from the Cook Mode menu. The first time you turn them on, your phone asks for microphone permission (and, on iPhone, speech recognition). If you tap Don't Allow, voice commands won't work -- you can re-enable them later in your phone's Settings under SousChef.

Voice recognition listens for English commands only, regardless of your device language. The rest of the app still follows your regional settings.

Reading steps aloud#

Turn on Narrate steps aloud in the Cook Mode menu and Sous reads each step as you reach it. Tap "Read it" (or say it) to repeat the current step. Narration plays through the speaker even with your ringer muted, and it shares the audio session with voice commands so both work at once.

Getting a better narration voice#

The quality of the spoken voice comes from the text-to-speech voices installed on your device, not from SousChef:

• Android: The biggest improvement comes from installing a high-quality voice. Go to Settings > System > Languages & input > Text-to-speech output > Google Text-to-speech Engine > Install voice data, then download an Enhanced English (UK) voice. SousChef automatically prefers an enhanced voice when one is available.
• iPhone: SousChef narrates with a UK English voice. To add higher-quality voices, go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Voices and download an enhanced English voice.

Ask Sous mid-cook#

Tap the Ask Sous button at the bottom of Cook Mode to ask a question without leaving the screen. Sous has full context of which recipe you're cooking and which step you're on, so you can ask things like:

• "What temperature should the oil be?"
• "Can I use dried herbs instead?"
• "How do I know when it's done?"