So, this is an exclusive... How do we know the details of the App? Simple, we filmed and edited it in partnership with Leaf Publishing.
So, what is it and why is it so different to the current cooking apps that have started to appear for the iOS platform?
Officially it is a 'mini-App', which is a self coined phrase from the collaboration team. Specific, targeted and quality driven content rather than trying to stuff as much 'stuff' in there as you can. And it will be $0.99, currently £0.59! We actually can't make it any cheaper. We want everyone to use our mini-Apps and have chosen a price point to enable this, rather to make as much profit as we can get away with we want as many people to enjoy our work as possible, whilst still managing to pay the mortgage ;-)
'Simplicity' focuses on some beautifully simple and utterly delicious recipes covering red meat, fish, poultry and desert. All very quick, easy and equally importantly directly scalable. No messing with differing ingredients for different number of servings. Simply divide or multiply based on the recipe.
There are 9 videos in the mini-App. Each produced in cinematic HD quality with colour and emotion used to make the video simply enjoyable to watch as well as being highly instructive. Each are either in real time, or as close as is sensible to make it watchable. So with over an hour of video in the App, it's a pretty big download, but this way it's always there and always at the best quality. In addition, we have used music from the Gotan Project and Mind Food from the !YA BASTA¡ record label and OZ Productions in Paris which works wonderfully with the film.
In addition, if you really like the music, which we think you will, you can purchase it from iTunes instantly from your iOS device.
One thing worth mentioning is that there is no talking - at all. James wanted the focus to be on the food itself and his approach to creating it rather than on him and what he has to say.
So we created something to achieve just that... 'Simplicity'.
This achieves two fundamentally different results from all other cooking apps. Your focus is on all of the little details and techniques usually missed when trying to take in every word from the chef. Remember, the chef knows exactly what they are doing and almost always leave out the little day to day details that makes life easier and makes their dishes that much more special than our amateur attempts. The fact that it is beautiful to watch also enhances the instructional experience as fed back from those that have viewed them.
In landscape it's a cinematic experience, in portrait it's a cook along and in most cases, in real time.
With your ingredients and longhand instructions available with the video, you can pause, scrub back and forth through the video and the longhand instructions will simply follow the point you stop at in the film timeline.
Even on the iPhone! As far as we are aware, we have the only App that will enable you to play video in portrait mode whilst also having other content on screen, let alone presented in harmony with the video. A brilliant achievement from our technical team.
In my next post, I'll run through some more of the Apps details, add some screen shots and cover some of the recipes that we have included.
My last word is to return to the focus of the App. As far as James Martin is concerned, the focus is on the food and the process of creating it and not on him. An industry first I think... Quality over quantity and publication using a book style model in an electronic environment at the lowest price point we are able to charge.
If you have only a remote interest in cooking, you're going to love this App!
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