I posted a while back on the merits of cooking software. Today I am going to let you in on a program that I now use in every aspect of my kitchens. From my kitchen at work, at home, and my own cookbook, this program has been the center of it all. I am speaking of Living Cookbook 2008. (The link goes to the product page in my Amazon Store.)
Support
The problem I had with other programs is that they usually ended up not being supported. They are released, kind of work, and their life cycle ends. You are then left with a buggy program that works, (some of the time.)
With Living Cookbook 2008, Lee Granger is active in his forums, and is always there to help. If there is a problem that you are having managing your data, he is there to help. If there is an update to fix a major bug, it is there.
I did have a little snag with the license key (mainly I did not have one after buying it from Paypal), but a reminder on the forums got me the key within a day.
To me, this is the most important selling feature of the software. I have used other software (like Mastercook) where the program simply would not do what it was supposed to do.
Recipes
Screen Shot of Recipe Tab - Click to Enlarge
If you only used the program for this feature, it would be worth all of your investment. You are greeted with a tree-view of your recipes on the left hand side. I like that feature because at least you can see all of your recipes at a glance. That feature is in use for all tabs later, and comes in handy.
Data entry is a snap. While that aspect is always no fun, at least the interface is intuitive enough to respond with you as you are typing. I find it best to use the tab button to navigate through your ingredient lists.
In entry, there are a myriad of things that you can enter in for recipe. Nutritional information, links to media files, pictures, etc. The best part of this program is the “capture” ability for recipes. (Also ingredients, but that is later.)
You can copy and paste a recipe into the same recipe entry window – from the “capture” tab. Like other programs, you can then highlight the text and press the corresponding button for what it is. The best part is you are not in an entirely separate window – you can go back and check your progress as you go. If the ingredients did not enter in correctly, you can go back and fix it.
You also have the ability to create new cookbooks, ingredients, measures, etc from the recipe entry window. While that may seem cumbersome at first, it becomes a powerful asset later when you are getting into multiple recipes.
The ability to link ingredients is the key to the whole works. You can link to ingredients or recipes. Better yet, if the program does not understand you at first, you have the option of searching for the ingredient to get an exact match. Again, it seems a little cumbersome at first, but the ability to be on the same page as your program is priceless.
Ingredients
Screen Shot of Ingredient Tab - Click to Enlarge
I will say one thing about this program: there are about a million ingredients already pre-loaded into the program. If you are an average user, this will not really affect you as much. For the professional, it is a little unwieldy. The reason is that the ingredients are so precise. An example is Tuna. If you are looking for it, it is called, “Finfish, Tuna, All Grades”. The saving grace of the program is the ability to use “common words”. You can instead call it “tuna” and the links will all work. The problem comes from multiple items that use the same common terms. I wish that the common terms could be more like a tag structure, so multiple common terms could be used for that.
That being said, Living Cookbooks is the most powerful program for ingredients that I have ever come across. The database is well though out, and almost every aspect a chef could want is there.
Entry of ingredients is a snap. (Even editing ingredients is a snap!) You have space for the name, common name, description, picture, nutritional information, etc. Most importantly, (here is where the power of this program shines!) is the measure and shopping tabs.
In the measuring tabs, you can add a measure to the ingredient with all the standard formats, (lb, kg, gram, etc,) and you also have the ability to add your own custom measures. That means if you routinely buy a 20 lb bag of onions, you can add it to the measurements pad. Thing is, you need to add the weight in grams. Best still, you can even estimate the weight of the ingredient based on common weights of other items. Better yet, you can even compare it to weights already in the database by searching for the item. If you can understand the awesome power of that, then you are on the same page as me.
Shopping is more for the professional user, like a chef. If you are at home using this program, chances are that, unless you are super anal, you are not going to update prices on an ongoing basis for all the stores in your area. As a chef though, I have all my suppliers as separate “stores” so I can keep track of their prices. You can even opt to have a default buying place. Better still, the program does all the costing for you behind the scenes. If you buy your eggs from a supplier at X cost, then you can also automatically see what the cost of 1 egg is. (Remember you put in the grams earlier on for the custom measures? Here is where the accuracy shines!)
Menus
Screen Shot of Menu Tab - Click to Enlarge
The ability to make menus based off of recipes, and ingredients is another powerful aspect of this program. The average user may not use this feature; for my banquet menu, I can just add recipes, ingredients and come up with a menu that is costed, and the portions are costed. As a bonus, there is even nutritional information supplied. There is not much more to say except that the interface is flawless, and the interactivity between the other tabs is nothing short of amazing.
Calendar
Screen Shot of Calendar Tab - Click to Enlarge
I don’t use this tab very much, but for those of you into that, you have the ability to drag and drop recipes and ingredients to the calendar to plan your meals. There are spots for Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and night cap. Best of all, nutritional information is calculated for the whole day, and the cost can also be displayed. Part of the reason I do not use the calendar much is that you only have one to work with. If there were multiple calendars, I would use them.
Shopping
Screen Shot of Calendar Tab - Click to Enlarge
This tab has both stores and inventory lumped together. I would prefer to see the two separate, but I can deal with it. The best part about this section is you can link your ingredient items with their respective inventory items. Then you can even maintain a large inventory, and remove inventory items as you are prepping them. (You do this from the context menu of recipe/menu items and selecting “remove from inventory”.) I have not gone as far as to use this feature, but I can see the raw power. When I slow down a little, I may start to incorporate the inventory feature of the program a little more.
Reference
I never use this tab. However, there is a plethora of information available at your fingertips. There is an alphabetized glossary, and a reference section of cooking techniques.
Screen Shot of Reference Tab - Click to Enlarge
Adding a glossary term is a snap, and we also enjoy the same “capture” ability as in recipes and ingredients. This is awesome if you are searching through the internet, and find a term that you want to remember for later. Best yet, you can also link techniques inside recipes in case you need to refer to a technique later. This comes in handy for me sometimes. An example is for sushi. I have a video on how to roll a tiger roll. For the recipe, I can link the technique (and even the video!) for reference later!
Internet
Screen Shot of Internet Tab - Click to Enlarge
I never use this tab. I am not the type that likes browsing inside an application. I prefer having a separate window for that. If you like the feature though, it is there for you, and I am sure the ingredient capturing is even easier from that.
What about printing?
Screen Shot of Print View - Click to Enlarge
Finally, the printout format is infinitely customizable through a print options screen. There are so many bells and whistles there it boggles my mind. The only gripe I have is I have no way to add an image to the header of the document, so I can have the restaurant logo on the top of the page.
Final Verdict:
Here’s the deal: As of this writing, this program is $34.95. You will get more than your money’s worth if you put some time into it.
Living Cookbook 2008 will not solve every problem you have as a chef. Hey, if that was the case, some monkey in a suit could sit behind the program and run the kitchen. It is excellent in its execution. There are a few things I would like to see though, as a chef only:
- Integration with Excel – This is super important to me, because there are a lot of cost calculations and what if’s that I use on a daily basis. I keep records on what has been sold, and how the items are doing. Right now the best workaround I can get is exporting out in the .fdx format, change it to an .xml extension and try and go for that. It is clunky, and sort of workable.
- I would love the ability to do basic culinary calculations. I can get a portion cost out of the program, but the amount is set off 100% yield. If I could be able to put an average yield on an item (like an apple for instance, the yield is 85%) it would help me to determine the real cost.
