Food Network's cooking instruction service lets you ask Alexa for help

Discovery wants to be your one-stop shop for cooking classes, and it's enlisting Amazon's help to make that happen. The broadcaster has unveiled a Food Network Kitchen service that offers a mix of live classes from celebrity chefs, on-demand classes, TV shows and recipes. It'll be available on a raft of Amazon devices (including Echo Show and Fire TV gear) in addition to the virtually obligatory Android and iOS apps, but the real attraction may be the deep tie-ins with Alexa -- Food Network Kitchen may effectively become the go-to option for cooking on Alexa-equipped devices.

You can ask Alexa to find classes, videos and recipes, but you can also use it to navigate and save recipes. That could be more than a little helpful when you'd rather not touch a screen with your flour-covered hands. Of course, you can handle ancillary tasks like setting timers or asking about measurements.

Discovery also plans to one-up rivals with two features coming in 2020. You'll eventually have around-the-clock "Kitchen-on-Call" support in case you're stymied by a recipe. There will also be a way to buy the pans, spoons and appliances you see chefs use. We can't imagine that last option being cheap, but it may be an easy way to ensure you have the equipment necessary to produce what you see on screen.

Food Network Kitchen goes live in October 2019. It'll be free if you're willing to to peruse a "limited" batch of recipes and videos, but Discovery is no doubt hoping that you'll pay $60 per year (or $7 per month) for full access. Early adopters will get both a three-month trial period and the option of a discounted $48 yearly membership. It's not certain if people will leap on this, especially if they aren't invested in Amazon's ecosystem. The sheer variety of learning options stands out, though, and the live help will offer a rare lifeline to amateur cooks.

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