I spent time cooking with Gemini Live. Was it a piece of cake?

Few recent Google developments excite me as much as Gemini Live. The smart, conversational chatbot that attempts to make chatting with AI more seamless and natural, at least on paper, sounds like an amazing prospect. I’ve tried to fit it into my daily life but haven’t succeeded. However, one thing that I haven’t yet tried is cooking with Gemini Live. Could it be the concrete use case I’ve been searching for?

I regularly employ Google Assistant to keep me company while cooking, and I wish it offered a wider array of conversational features. So, given Live’s prowess in this field, would it fare better? Is Gemini Live the perfect kitchen helper — a digital sous chef, if you will?

I wanted to consider Gemini Live for those learning to cook and those who are more at home in the kitchen. My findings are detailed below.

“Grab a pot or a bowl, depending on whether you want stove or microwave oatmeal. You’ll also need some milk or water, rolled oats, and a pinch of salt,” it replied after I delivered it my problem. Live also provided measurements, the procedure in steps, and heat settings without me directly prompting it. It even provided a few extra tips — add more liquid if you want creamier oats, and once the cooking process was underway, it suggested I add a few toppings.

But well before my breakfast was ready, I wanted to see how it handled the back-and-forth questioning a novice may demand. I asked, “How much liquid did you say I needed?” and it quickly recounted those details. It also provided the precise ratio required when I pressed it again.

Unlike paging through a cookbook or a website on my phone, chatting with Live kept my hands free to focus on the actual cooking. This arrangement is perfect for someone lacking confidence in the kitchen. Add the service’s patience, willingness to recall information or backtrack steps whenever required, and advice and suggestion delivery, and it’s a surprisingly good way to learn how to cook.

There are some essential items I can’t live without in the kitchen. My Dutch oven is one, and my carving knife is another. I’d even suggest that my Google Nest Mini features on that list. Then there are some items I thought I’d use but never do, like an avocado slicer. Gemini Live has more in common with the latter.

For one, it’s not entirely practical. I value the information it offers, but unlike Assistant, I can’t use Live to play music or set timers. You cannot ask Gemini Live to keep time, nor does it keep time for you. It doesn’t note when you started cooking (or at least when you say you’ve started cooking), making it less useful than its dumber sibling.

It can convert imperial to metric, but it’s easier to ask Assistant on my Nest Mini, which requires no physical activation. Live cannot be triggered using a wake word and cannot be used through smart speakers. That’s a problem when your hands are wet or messy.

Live often struggled to understand my demands, too. I don’t think my South African accent is that tough to decipher. At least Assistant has no problem, but I often confused its new-gen replacement. See the images below for an example.

I’ll admit that it’s rather comical when it happens. When I requested a “bulgar” wheat recipe, the AI heard “vulgar” wheat. I did have a chuckle. When I tried to clarify myself, it heard, “I’ll go eat.” Perhaps it was trolling because, oddly enough, it does demonstrate the ability to understand erroneous words when used in a specific context and correct them, but it doesn’t happen frequently enough.

Conversations with Live remain awkward, which largely detracts from the enjoyment and efficacy of using the service. I don’t want to use Live when it feels like a chore.

Of course, then there’s the question of sources. Live doesn’t tell you where exactly it gets information, making cooking with it a journey of trust. I believed it to be accurate during my oatmeal experiment — my breakfast was pretty good that day — but I wouldn’t trust it for more advanced, procedural dishes, like Beef Wellington or souffle.

But, for all its flaws, Gemini Live is helpful in certain kitchen situations. Here are a few other scenarios I found Live immensely useful:

• It’s particularly great for suggesting cocktails. I asked it to advise on a negroni recipe, and it obliged, providing the required steps and quantities. Provided you have the equipment, Gemini Live is a great way to teach yourself mixology.
• Live is also good at suggesting remedies for common kitchen gaffes. You can ask it how to fix your bitter curry, what to do if your cake is brown on top and soggy in the middle, and how to tame an overspiced soup. The immediate way it offers guidance makes it very useful in such situations.
• If you need a refresher on a specific cooking method, Live’s willinggness to backtrack and reiterate information when you request it makes it an excellent on demand resource.

Despite its announcement in August 2024 and its wider availability at the end of August, Gemini Live still feels half-baked. It’s undoubtedly impressive, and I enjoyed making oatmeal, pour-over coffee, and “vulgar” wheat with it backing me up, but its shortcomings hamper its benefits at the hotplate.

I will reiterate that it’s an absolute boon for beginners and appears to be an easy way to grasp simpler kitchen processes in little to no time. Some may find it easier to absorb info when it’s vocalized rather than printed. Need to boil an egg, sear a steak, or make a simple salad dressing? Gemini Live is quicker off the mark than an answer engine or recipe book. It shows off when you must fix a kitchen blunder or repeat a specific method. In these select instances, it is a great kitchen tool that you can whip out when needed.

Given my experience thus far with the chatty AI, will Gemini Live become a fixture in my kitchen? Probably not. I still see its potential. It should be a worthy, powerful alternative once it swallows more of Assistant’s features. Until then, it remains in my fun novelty drawer keeping the avocado slicer company.