Audio Chef brings a fresh idea to meal prep

Audio Chef (free with in-app purchases) is a clever app that walks you through preparing interesting meals with spoken instructions. The free version gives you four interesting recipes to try, and you can get another 30 for US$0.99.

The directions are in real time and you can hear the narrator actually preparing the recipe as she walks you through the steps. You can pause and rewind anytime you want, but the app is designed to actually let you prepare a meal without touching your iPhone.

The included recipes are Turkey Sausage and Pasta Bake, Almond Crusted Salmon, Sesame Udon Noodles, and Picadillo with Quinoa and Zucchini. Preparation time for the recipes varies between 15 minutes up to about an hour. Audio Chef also has a built-in timer to help you keep track of cooking times.

This is a clever idea and something different from the usual endless recipe apps that fills the app store. Instructions are clear, and there is also an on-screen list of ingredients, and a textual version of the recipe.

I think the four included recipes are a bit stingy in the free version, and 30 recipes seems a bit slim for the paid offering. It seems to me that about 50 would be a better deal. The company plans to offer international cuisine in a future version, including meals from Thailand, India, Russia, France, and more countries.

I like the idea of Audio Chef, and it works well. 30 recipes may not satisfy ardent chefs, especially since it is likely that not all of them will please everyone.

Audio Chef requires iOS 6 or later, and is a 41 MB download. It's not a universal app.