America’s Test Kitchen today announced the digital version of its Cook’s Illustrated print magazine, optimized for the new iPad. With guidance from Technology for Publishing (TFP), America’s Test Kitchen was able to create a product unlike any other digital food magazine on the market, by leveraging existing video content developed for its website and merging it with issue-specific editorial content to create a new experience for its readers. The app was released today and is available for purchase through Apple’s iTunes store.

The Cook’s Illustrated app includes several unique interactive features that make it ideal for use in the kitchen by home cooks. Every feature recipe offers a “cooking mode,” which, when activated, walks the user through the recipe via a step-by-step photo slideshow accompanied by preparation instructions. App users can cook directly from the slideshow, without needing to refer to an ingredients list or the master recipe. Users also have the option to watch a video of the recipe being prepared by a test kitchen expert, from start to finish. In addition, the magazine’s popular equipment and ingredient reviews are available in expanded form in the new app.

“We are happy to provide readers with another choice as to how they can access our content,” said David Mack, Vice President of Marketing at America’s Test Kitchen. “With videos, ‘cooking mode,’ and other enhancements only available with the app for iPad, we feel that the magazine is even more useful for helping our readers to get the best results from our recipes.”

Early on in the process, Technology for Publishing assisted America’s Test Kitchen with vetting approaches to creating the app. TFP then guided America’s Test Kitchen in launching its first digital issue by helping the design team learn to use the app development tools effectively and providing technical assistance and support.

“In the early design stages, Technology for Publishing provided useful insight and guidance as we made key usability and feature-set decisions,” said Amy Klee, Design Director at America’s Test Kitchen. “They also supplied technical guidance to our design group and were a reliable resource as we worked through the details to complete and publish our app. With Apple launching the new iPad in the middle of our process of creating our app, TFP was very helpful working with our group to revise our app to take advantage of the higher resolution of the new iPad.”

“America’s Test Kitchen’s content is so compelling and suitable for an interactive iPad magazine,” added Margot Knorr Mancini, president of Technology for Publishing. “It’s rewarding to see such a stellar team put together a product like this, and to be able to support them in that process.”

About America’s Test Kitchen

America’s Test Kitchen is a real 2,500-square-foot test kitchen located just outside of Boston that is home to more than three-dozen full-time cooks and product testers. Their mission is simple: to develop the absolute best recipes for all of your favorite foods. To do this, they test each recipe 30, 40, sometimes as many as 70 times, until they arrive at the combination of ingredients, technique, temperature, cooking time, and equipment that yields the best, most foolproof recipe.

About Technology for Publishing

Technology for Publishing™ LLC is a consulting firm that has been providing process and technical consulting to magazine, book, newspaper, and corporate publishers for more than 20 years. With a notable list of long-standing clientele, TFP is a recognized leader in helping companies transform their content publishing strategies, processes, and systems into fluid, flexible content flows.

Posted by: tfpadmin