The 2025 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show kicked off today with global leaders in every sector of the tech world meeting in Las Vegas to present their latest innovations.
Most of the innovation seen in smart cooking at CES this year revolves around built-in AI capabilities. AI in grills and countertop ovens, for example, can assist by providing inspiration for your next meal and to monitor the cooking status of food to ensure the product is cooked to perfection. The capabilities in each product range in the amount of work you actually have to do with your own hands.
Another apparent emerging trend in smart cooking is sous vide-style technology. Using proprietary technologies, several gadgets are using low temperature cooking by surrounding the food with steam rather than submerging in water. These all-in-one appliances also sear the food for you, making cleanup much easier, all in a fraction of the time that sous vide cooking would take.
This story will be updated throughout the week of CES.
Brisk It
Brisk It is the first outdoor grill with built-in artificial intelligence capabilities. The company is rolling out its brand new Vera generated AI technology, which is designed specifically with grilling and cooking in mind. Through the app, you can scan your pantry and it will let you know what recipes you can make with what you’re currently stocking. You can also input photos that you see on Instagram and it will tell you how to recreate it. Or, you can go (relatively) old school and just type in something like, “give me a burger recipe for 5 people, but one of them has a lactose allergy and nothing spicy.” Within seconds, you’re ready to grill.
In tandem with Vera, Brisk It revealed its new, more affordable grill at CES, the Zelos 450, which will hit the market next month for $399. If you already have the pro models, the Origin 940 ($849) and Origin 580 ($699), you will still be able to backwards upgrade the software to power it with Vera. Those models are larger, have an LED screen, and are easier to clean ash out of.
“It can be as passive or as active as you want it to be,” Christopher Huang, Brisk It founder and CEO, tells me. Experienced cooks don’t need to use the AI capabilities if they prefer not to, but still have a high-performance grill at their fingertips. “The automation software doesn’t take all control away, in the same way Tesla self-driving autopilot doesn’t completely take control away from you,” Huang says. “But our connectivity rate for our purchasers is 94%,” indicating that most customers do integrate the Vera component. The wood pellet smoker and grill can get as low at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, good for smoking, and as high as 500 degrees Fahrenheit, good for searing. It also detects unexpected scenarios, like forgetting to flip your food, and recognizes those errors to adapt the cook to make sure the food still comes out well.
Huang’s goal with Brisk It is to create “one-click barbecue,” from shopping through clean up. While there’s still more than just one click necessary, Huang believes he is well on his way to making that happen through Brisk It. Brisket is the “holy grail” of barbecue and can be challenging to cook, inspiring the name Brisk It.
Dreo ChefMaker
Most known for its portable space heaters and fans, Dreo is beginning to make a dent in the kitchen appliance market. Its flagship kitchen product, the ChefMaker Combi Fryer, takes the concept of sous vide with the functionality of an air fryer basket. The sleek interface has endless amounts of proteins to cook, along with personal preferences. The company has a patent on its water mist feature, which mimics a sous vide water bath. The steam cooks the meat at a low temperature and retains its moisture. It also sears the food once the steaming mode is complete. The ChefMaker also has an attached probe to monitor the internal temperature of the meat. A chef demonstrated cooking a steak filet, which took about 55 minutes before it was ready to eat (with some dry rub seasoning, it was simple and delicious). Depending on the water temperature plus searing it afterwards, a typical sous vide can take hours.
At CES, Dreo is introducing its ChefMaker 2, which is integrated with AI. While the product is more compact than the original ChefMaker ($359), the basket is bigger so it can cook more food at once. The original ChefMaker will upgrade with the AI integration once the product rolls out.
Agari Kitchen
This kitchen appliance looks like a mini vault sitting on your countertop. What makes the Agari stand out from any other kitchen appliance is that it combines steam, pressure and artificial intelligence to create a professional-quality dish. Agari has a patent pending on a 3D scanning technology, where an infrared temperature sensor and two cameras, which live inside the appliance, scan the raw food right when you place it inside. The touchscreen on top displays the food that it has identified inside, along with the food’s size and shape to determine the type of cook and amount of time to cook it for. It essentially uses the AI component to recognize the food and then the proprietary technology to cook it well with a steam generator and pressure.
“You’re not going to get that professional quality in a pressure cooker or an air fryer,” cofounder and CEO David Velan tells me. “It’s hard to get a good chicken breast that’s juicy. In the Agari, you can get a moist chicken breast with a sear in about 20 minutes.” That’s largely because the round shape makes it ideal for high pressure and low temperature cooking. It claims to retain juices better than a pressure cooker, or even an air fryer or classic sous vide for that matter. What also makes it different is the double-wall pressure design, which is also patent pending. It heats up in under a minute and sears both sides of the meat before you’re ready to eat it.
The product launches on Kickstarter in April for $849 and is expected to sell commercially shortly after.
Chef iQ Mini Oven
At CES, Chef iQ debuted its iQ Mini Oven, which is expected to hit the market next month. While there’s no superfluous AI integrated, the smart oven connects to an app that guides the oven how to cook specific recipes. With many settings from air fry, broil, toast and reheat, the iQ Mini Oven is an ergonomic and aesthetic appliance that could easily become your go-to in the kitchen. While it provides guidance if you want it, you aren’t going to be overwhelmed if you just want to throw in a piece of bread and toast it. In fact, the app has a neat sliding scale for how golden you want your toast or bagel to turn out.
The edge-to-edge glass door makes the iQ Mini Oven seem larger than it really is. The inside turns a bright white light, and through the glass door, you can clearly see how your food is looking mid-cook, much better than a conventional oven. There are also small lights on the inside of the door that direct you where to place the metal tray for the type of cook you’re aiming for.
The iQ Sense probes are sold separately, but are necessary to get the full function out of the mini oven. They come in different lengths for different protein thicknesses and pair with the recipe that you’re cooking in the mini oven. The charging case is also a speaker, so it rings out to you when you’ve reached your desired internal cooking temperature.
