Forget Gas, Now You're Cooking with Apps

Amateur home cooks have quickly taken to mobile tablets like the iPad because of interactivity the devices allow in providing step-by-step instructions when preparing meals. But if chef and restaurateur Cathal Armstrong is any indication of where the future of culinary innovation is headed, tablets like the iPad may soon become as standard as a set of trusty chef's knives in the commercial kitchen as well.

"I definitely always have it by my side. It's my office, my briefcase. I just use it all day, every day," he says. 

In some ways, Armstrong's uses for the iPad are not unlike the average consumer. An amateur photographer, his iPad is bursting with loads of photos of his kids, Eve and Eamonn, the namesakes of two of his restaurants in Old Town, Alexandria. But even Armstrong's photo gallery hints that his iPad is not relegated to tasks of ordinary civilian life, that is to say, the noncooking life of a celebrity chef. Indeed, it's not everyone's photo slide show that includes a candid St. Patrick's Day snapshot with President Obama and the first lady, Michelle.

As the owner of a round-the-clock, service-oriented business, Armstrong uses the tablet for everything from responding to recipe requests, to training his staff to maintaining relationships with vendors, and of course, seeking culinary inspiration.  For Armstrong, the desktop has become as antiquated as a brick-size cell phone from the 1980s.

Though recipe writing is not a task that he relishes, Armstrong's iPad helps him respond to guest requests quickly by having the ability to write and send information in one fell swoop. "People ask for recipes all the time and one of the worst things for us to do is write recipes...None of us ever writes recipes. You just know it's a little of this and a little of that and there's your dish. To be able to have something by your side and jot things down is really helpful," says Armstrong.

Armstrong also uses his iPad as an impromptu multi-media presentation system at "Q-time" meetings with the wait and cook staff. The meetings have been dubbed Q-time by Armstrong because this is time allotted for staff to ask questions about service, menu items and any other goings on of the restaurant. At one meeting he played a clip from YouTube on his iPad to reinforce the importance of kitchen safety; a gruesome but nonetheless effective PSA to demonstrate that there are no "accidents" in the kitchen, only preventable mishaps (click here to see the Canadian PSA Armstrong played for his staff. Warning: the clip is jarring and spares no amount of blood-curdling screaming.).

Not being chained to a desktop also gives Armstrong the advantage of shaving precious time off of his day when placing orders with vendors and researching new ones. "Every second you get to put an order together is a second saved.  It really helps to be able to do everything on the go and on the fly." 

The Armstrongs have long been proponents of supporting vendors that adhere to sustainable food practices. An artisan vendor the restaurant currently uses, Amano Artisan Chocolate, was discovered by Armstrong using the iPad. "It's more than just chocolate," says Armstrong in reference to the company's commitment to sustainability. "Ten years ago  we'd never had known about this. [The iPad] is a great communication tool; it's information at your fingertips when you're in the middle of the kitchen."

For generating new ideas in the kitchen the iPad is indispensable too, expecially when the seasons bring new ingredients like the coveted white truffle. "When the white truffle season comes in, I always use the iPad to find inspiration. It's basically like having a massive library of cookbooks." Armstrong also uses the device to research recipes when guests with dietary restrictions dine  at the restaurant. "Tonight we have a diabetic coming in and he wants a diabetic dessert. We'll interpret the recipes [we find] and make them our own," says Armstrong.

So, aspiring chefs and food service professionals take note: if you find yourself interviewing with Cathal Armstrong,  you may want to dismiss the old career counselor advice of burying your cell phone or iPad at the bottom of your briefcase during an interview with this devotee of  Apple technology, and trade some app secrets. According to Armstrong, only his chef de cuisine has an Android phone. "I always make fun of him," he says.