Cooking from a phone is a small nightmare: the screen dims at the worst moment, you scroll back to find your place, and you smear sauce across the glass. A dedicated cooking mode fixes all three.
What “hands-free” really needs
- One step at a time, in large type you can read across the kitchen.
- A screen that stays awake the entire cook.
- Timers built into the steps that need them, with a chime.
- A prep checklist so everything's ready before the heat's on.
Why step-videos help
For techniques — folding dumplings, knowing when a sear is done — a short video clip that jumps straight to that moment beats a paragraph. The best cooking modes link each step to the exact point in the source video.
Prep first, then cook
Run your mise en place before you turn on the stove so you're assembling, not chopping, once things are hot. See mise en place.
CookBuddy turns any recipe link or YouTube cooking video into a clean, cookable recipe — then helps you plan, shop, and cook hands-free. It's free to start. Its Cook Mode shows big steps, keeps the screen awake, runs timers with chimes, and jumps step-videos straight to the action.
Read the whole recipe once before you start. Surprises (“marinate overnight”) are much cheaper to discover before you begin.
