ChefSleeve
Latest
Chef Sleeve's Smart Food Scale sends nutritional info to your iOS device
Seeing as how Chef Sleeve is best know for its combo cutting board / iPad stand, the company's latest product isn't a huge leap. Sadly, the it didn't actually have a prototype of its Smart Food Scale at its booth here at TechCrunch Disrupt, but we did get a chance to chat a bit about the product, which just had its Kickstarter page open up. The device is a food scale that communicates via Bluetooth with your iOS device. Put the food on, input what it is and it will send that information to your iPhone and iPad. The app offers up USDA nutritional information, letting you keep track of calories, fat, vitamins, minerals and other information. The company's also looking to expand the functionality of the software, to open things up to chefs and other folks who might appreciate such info. The Kickstarter page still has 29 days left to hit its $30,000 goal, and pledge of $79 or more will get you access to the scale. When it hits retail, it'll run closer to $99.
Chef Sleeve Dishwasher Safe iPad Stand a welcome addition to the kitchen
Long-time TUAW readers may remember that spring day a few years ago when I cracked open an egg on my iPad. I wasn't worried -- the iPad was protected by a Chef Sleeve, an ultra-thin splash- and grease-proof reusable bag that keeps cooking goo from sullying your favorite kitchen device. The company was at Macworld/iWorld 2013 with a couple of new products, but the one that caught my eye was their Dishwasher Safe iPad Stand (US$34.99). Like the original Chef Sleeve, which basically took some specially designed Ziploc-type plastic bags and did some clever packaging, the iPad stand is pretty generic. Any kid in wood shop could cut out a piece of wood, sand it nicely and route some slots into it. But if you don't have a kid in wood shop and just want something that is going to hold your iPad in one place while you cook, look no further. %Gallery-178371% The best feature of the Dishwasher Safe iPad Stand is the first two words of the name -- dishwasher safe. If this gets a little grease or sauce splashed on it, you just toss it into the dishwasher with the rest of the dirty goods and it comes out nicely sanitized. The product even has an NSF (National Sanitary Foundation) approval stamp; probably the first iPad accessory I've reviewed that has that distinction. The stand has two slots with two very different viewing angles, and is designed to be used with iPad generations 2 through 4 and the mini. There are nonskid feet on the bottom to keep things from moving as you tap through recipes on the iPad, and the weight (a little over a half pound) is helpful for keeping things stable. Chef Sleeve partnered with kitchen utensil design firm Epicurean on the design of the iPad Stand, and it shows in the professional construction. Those with an eye out for green products will love the stand as well, since it's made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood fibers that are compressed with a food-safe resin. Sure, it doesn't do much than to just hold your iPad while you're cooking, but I think the Chef Sleeve Dishwasher Safe iPad Stand is going to end up in a surprisingly large number of kitchens worldwide. If you have a Target store nearby, you can pick one up along with a box of Chef Sleeves today. While you're at it, also take a look at their Cutting Board with iPad Stand ($69.99).
Chef Sleeve for iPad: The iPad 2 meets a raw egg (video)
Longtime readers of TUAW know that I love to cook, and when I'm not whipping something up from scratch I use my iPad to read recipes that I've stored on Dropbox. I've been extremely lucky using my iPad in the kitchen; about the worst thing I've ever done is to smear the screen with greasy fingers and dribble a small amount of wine-infused mushroom pan sauce on it. But I am really worried that one of these days, my luck's going to run out, and that iPad 2 is going to end up with a ladleful of Bison Chili on -- and in -- it. Some cyberchefs have taken to putting their iPads into gallon zip top bags to protect them, but I've found that the thickness of those bags means that my taps and gestures sometimes don't translate too well to the iPad's touch screen. I recently received an interesting package from Santiago Merea, the CEO of Merea Consulting of Minneapolis. He's the man behind Chef Sleeve, his solution to the problem of using an iPad in the kitchen. Chef Sleeves are cleverly packaged clear plastic sleeves designed specifically for those situations where you need to use an iPad, but might have fingers covered with a patient's bodily fluids or a cake batter. Although they're not designed to be used to immerse an iPad, they are splash-resistant, so using your iPad in the rain might become a possibility. I decided to put one to the test the best way I knew how: by cracking a raw egg right onto my white iPad 2. Video after the break.
