A day in the life of connected cooks

We brought together a group of innovators in our connected kitchen. People who are combining modern technology, sustainability and passion to change eating habits. Reimagining the kitchen is a big part of this challenge, so they spent time together cooking with our connected appliances to show what the future may hold. They will take us through the day – starting with a wake-up coffee and ending with after dinner conversations.

9:00 COFFEE TIME WITH JULIEN

The day is just getting started – and how to start it better than with a delicious cup of coffee? Julien is today’s barista and serves coffee specialities according like flat white or a shot of espresso.

Kick things off with coffee

Kick things off with coffee

Just say the word, and your favourite coffee will be ready in no time. If you integrate voice control into your connected kitchen, you can add an automatically prepared coffee to your morning routine. A voice command is all it takes to get the day started with your favourite music while sipping your espresso or flat white. On the subject of coffee: don’t forget to use your coffee grounds to grow mushrooms – delicious when grilled.

A tasty playlist

Julien is today’s barista and brews everyone’s favourite coffee with a little help of the Home Connect app. Cathleen opts for a flat white, while William goes for a classic cappuccino. A few taps and Juliens job is done. He creates a playlist of their coffee choices and sends to the machine, which immediately starts brewing in the order they’re listed. The flat white is ready to serve – it’s ladies first after all.

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PermaFungi

Julien and William are the founders of PermaFungi, a social enterprise in Brussels, Belgium. They grow mushrooms in big sacks of used coffee grounds, which they collect from local cafés to use as a nutrient medium. PermaFungi use old buildings to cultivate the mushrooms reducing the environmental impact of transport by being as near to the consumers as possible. After harvesting the mushrooms, the coffee grounds are further recycled as fertiliser. PermaFungi also develops kits so people can grow mushrooms sustainably in their own kitchen.

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12:00 SHOPPING TIME FOR CAROLINE

After taking notes on what the group wants to cook for dinner, Caroline hops on her bike and is off for food shopping at the local farmers market – she wants fresh ingredients, after all.

Cool connections

To make sure the refrigerator is ready for a new load of ingredients, you can use Home Connect to cool it before you get home. A few taps in the app and the fridge temperature is set to the right degree. So that when you get home, it’s ready to keep your produce fresh. When keeping cool is best.

Loads of taste

Loads of taste

Carolin just back in from the local farmers market and she’s helping to prepare dinner, she’s bought a load of fresh ingredients – as much as the basket of her bicycle allowed her. Before she went out she took the opportunity to cool her fridge down, so it was ready when she got back. Quite cool, Carolin.

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Evergreen food

Carolin and Cathleen founded Evergreen Food in Vechta, Germany, to put environmentally friendly, appetising food on people’s plates. There’s nothing new about algae – it’s the oldest plant alive today – but their approach is certainly novel. Rich in protein, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids and iron, algae is often seen as a superfood. But Carolin and Cathleen say it’s a must-have in every kitchen.

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16:00 CATHLEEN DECIDES IT’S TIME TO MEET

With all the veggies and fish in the fridge, Cathleen calls for a meeting. Not the usual boardroom stuff though. It’s knives out all around – everyone is chipping in to help get the ingredients ready in time for dinner.

Open to good things

Home Connect supports cooks in living out their creativity, and it also helps people in need with a simple but powerful idea. The Home Connect app counts how often you open the fridge door and collects money when you do so. After a certain period you can donate this money to a charity of your choice. It’s a playful way of doing good and being sociable.

The doors to donations

The door to donations

Cathleen starts chopping up the veggies Carolin brought from the market – while all the others jump into help. Each and every time they open the fridge door to grab an ingredient, they’re donating to a charity they’ve decided on before. Doing good never tasted better.

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19:00 TIME FOR DINNER

The smell of crayfish is already filling the kitchen but apart from Sara and Lorenzo everybody is outside by the campfire, waiting for dinner to be served. Well, not long now – time for Home Connect to invite the rest of the group to the table.

Let the oven do the talking

When things get rolling in the kitchen and you start kneading dough, cutting herbs or marinating beef, Home Connect voice control comes in handy. It let’s you start the oven or ask about when it’s ready using voice control – all hands- and hassle-free. And the oven can talk back too: it sends a notification to your device when dinner is ready.

Let the oven email your friends

Let the oven email your friends

Slowly the crayfish that Sara and Lorenzo have prepared is getting ready. Cathleen’s salad is already on the table when Lorenzo’s smartphone goes Ping! - the oven programme has finished and the crayfish is done. Nicely enough, it also sends emails to the others telling them dinner is ready too. While the guests make their way to the table, Sara and Lorenzo have a few extra moments to toss the tagliatelle in oil and lay the table.

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Bulbo Lights

This design studio from Bologna, Italy, has invented LED lights for home gardening. Inspired by nature and the latest technology, their carefully crafted lamps bring the Italian sun into kitchens all year round. The result of five years of research, they are inspired by the most advanced technology of all: nature. They simply give it a helping hand to let plants thrive all year round, come rain or shine.

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The connection between the kitchen and the future

NEFF appliances with Home Connect

NEFF appliances with Home Connect give you more flexibility and freedom to concentrate on your cooking. Preheat the oven when you’re on your way home, brew a coffee from your living room. The Home Connect app lets you control all of your connected NEFF appliances via a smartphone or tablet from wherever you are.