Who it is for
Lazy Cook is made for people who know how to cook but who, some evenings, cannot get started, and end up ordering in when there was plenty to work with. The block is almost never skill or appetite: it is getting started. Open the fridge, see six unrelated ingredients, not know where to begin, close the fridge.
The app takes that step for you. It tells you what you have, then what you can make of it without effort. It is drawn from that experience: making you want to cook rather than telling you to, and never holding against you the evenings when it did not happen.
What it does
- Stock of what you have. What is in the fridge and the cupboards, visible at a glance, with no exhaustive inventory to keep up to date.
- A simple recipe to make with it. What you can cook tonight with what is already there, with no extra shopping.
- Short, cheap recipes. Few ingredients, few steps. Vegetarian by default, because that is what costs the least, and it can be changed.
- Your own recipes. The ones you already make can be added to the app and join the suggestions.
- A shopping list. What is missing adds itself, and the list opens elsewhere if you need it.
- Fully offline. Including in a shop with no signal.
What it does not do
- No delivery, no ordering. The app sells nothing and links to no delivery service. That is the very opposite of what it is trying to do.
- No calorie counting, no nutrition tracking. It is not a diet tool, and it never comments on what you eat.
- No coach, no programme, no goal. No challenge to take up, no streak to keep, no reproach on the evenings without cooking.
- No account, no syncing. Everything lives on the phone.
- No iPhone version. Android only.
- No advertising, ever.
What it looks like
Screenshots will come with the first published version.
What it costs
Lazy Cook is paid for, through a yearly, not monthly subscription. The price and the length of the free trial are on its Play Store listing, which is the only place kept up to date. The subscription is handled by Google Play: it renews from one year to the next, it can be cancelled at any time, and the app warns you before it renews so that nobody is charged by surprise.
When the trial ends, the app stops writing but it still reads and exports for life. Your lists and your recipes stay readable, whether you subscribe or not. The subscription unlocks writing.
What it knows about you
Nothing. There is no account, no server, no tracker, no ad network. Your ingredients and your lists are stored on the phone and only leave it if you export them yourself. The details are in the privacy policy, which is in French for now.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to keep a full inventory of my fridge?
No. You note what you remember, and that is plenty to get a recipe idea.
Are all the recipes vegetarian?
That is the default setting, chosen because it is simple and cheap. It can be changed.
Does the app order food or groceries?
No, never. It makes the list, you do the shopping. It links to no delivery service.
Does it work without internet?
Yes, entirely, including in a shop with no signal.
Is there an iPhone version?
No, Lazy Cook only exists on Android.
The studio's other apps
Lazy Cook is part of a small suite of apps that share the same way of doing things: one thing done well, no account, no tracking. See also Lazy Note and Lazy Rhythm, or all the Lazy Mind apps.