How AI could save Christmas leftovers getting dumped in the bin

If AI had existed in the 1990s, Bridget Jones might never have met Mark Darcy at the turkey curry buffet.

As the novel goes, Una and Geoffrey Alconbury had hosted their feast of leftovers every New Year’s Day since Bridget was in nappies.  

But maybe they would have found an alternative to curry for the extra portions, if they’d had an LLM to suggest turkey fajitas, turkey shepherd’s pie, turkey Tetrazzini or any of the other infinite ideas for turkey that could conceivably be imagined.

Google wants to save people from endless cold meat sandwiches this year by using its large language model Gemini, which was released to the public last December. 

They invited Metro to a feast of traditional festive fare, with a twist: it was designed by AI. What Gemini dreamed up, rapper and chef Big Zuu brought to reality, and the result had me wondering if a bread pudding/Christmas pudding mashup shouldn’t be on our tables more often. 

Although most of us know about AI by now and have most likely typed some lines to ChatGPT, it’s still seen as futuristic by most, rather than integrated into daily life.

Creators want us to start using AI every day, though so it becomes as standard as opening maps to navigate or a search engine to find information.

To create the menu, Zuu dictated prompts to the Gemini chatbot (which can be downloaded as a separate app) about what he still had in the fridge having cooked up a traditional Christmas roast.

He also gave some context for what kind of cuisine he wanted to try, saying he loved Mexican food, and also wanted to reflect his heritage from Lebanon, Sierra Leone, and the UK.

‘I’m interested in stuff that I would have never thought of,’ he told Metro, saying he uses AI every day to bounce ideas off.

‘I love having random sides, and sometimes like you get a bit stuck on sides. Croquettes, Brussel sprouts, coleslaw, spuds, carrots, parsnips, gravy…’

I’m not a sprout hater, but they wouldn’t usually be on my shopping list outside of Christmas week. Mexican style roasted Brussels sprout elote though, with chilli powder, lime, sour cream and cotija cheese, was delicious, and elevated the veg far above a tick box for the festive table.

I wouldn’t discredit Big Zuu by saying he just followed a recipe list that Gemini dictated, like the rat chef under his hat. He characterised the app as a personal assistant, suggesting options as inspiration that he might not have thought of bfore.

Another highlight was the Lebanese-style fatayer pastry,made with extra mashed potato rather than the traditional meat, cheese and spinach.

There was a spontaneous surprise course too, incorporating roast turkey, the most famous of leftovers.

There was an awkward pause when Gemini suggest we make a ‘sandwich’ (thanks, but not generally a showstopper), as well as a soup or salad, which weren’t what we hoped for given that a wok was already smoking on the stove.

But it came through with one out of four: Turkey and veg stir fry was a convincingly novel disguise for the bird we eat around 10 million of as a country each year, mostly on December 25.

The meal made me think about using AI more in my daily life. 

Google isn’t the only company with their eye on using AI to reduce waste.

London-based start-up Remy is also preparing to launch a kitchen management app which will not only suggest a meal planner with recipes from photos of your receipts or groceries, but keep track of when your food will go off, to remind you to use it up in time. It can even order your online shopping for you. Hellman’s ‘Meal Reveal’, launched in March, lets you snap a photo of your fridge and it will analyse the contents to suggest recipes.

I’ve refused to buy a smart speaker as I don’t want a machine listening to me in my own home, but given I have a smartphone maybe that’s a futile distinction.

Warnings about AI first taking our jobs and then taking over the world are obviously a concern, as well the massive amount of energy it uses for processing.

But would it be so bad if I used AI to help with meal planning, given there’s not yet an AGI with the nuclear codes?

I went home, downloaded Gemini on iOS and noticed there were a lot of oranges and satsumas in my fridge at risk of going off…

Sure, I could have just googled ‘recipes with oranges’ and worked out for myself that I could make marmalade or orange juice, but it was so easy to get a bullet point list in seconds of drizzle cake, curd, sorbet, and infused water, all of which sounded like great projects for my glut of citrus.

The oranges are all still sitting there, but the real-life applications of AI are so much more than help writing emails or editing photos.

Here’s what we ate, and the prompts that inspired the menu.

Leftover Christmas Amuse Bouche:

‘I’m hosting a Friendsmas party and want to use up all my leftovers from Christmas Day. I have a mix of food items left, including turkey, potatoes, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, and cheese, and would love to create some refined amuse bouches. Can you help with suggestions?’

Turkey and Stuffing Pinwheels: Spread stuffing on turkey slices, roll them up, and secure with toothpicks.

Leftover Christmas Recipes with a Mexican Twist

‘I’m looking for fun recipe ideas using Christmas leftovers in my fridge to enjoy between Christmas and New Year. I have brussels sprouts, potatoes and stuffing. I love Mexican style food. Can you help with fun small plate recipe suggestions?’

Brussels Sprouts Elote:

• Roast your brussels sprouts with a sprinkle of chili powder, cumin, and a squeeze of lime.
• Top with a dollop of crema (or sour cream), crumbled cotija cheese, and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Fusion Recipes with Leftovers

‘I’m hosting a Friendsmas dinner, and I want to feature my Sierra Leonean, Lebanese and British heritage. Can I have some fun fusion recipe ideas for small plates making use of my leftover cheese and potatoes from Christmas?’

Lebanese-inspired: Potato and Cheese Fatayer: Fill filo pastry with mashed potatoes, cheese, and spices. Bake until golden brown.

Leftover Christmas Dessert Ideas

‘I am craving something sweet and I have so many leftovers from Christmas dinner I need to use up. Can I have some ideas on how to transform these leftovers into a yummy dessert? I have cranberry sauce, chocolate and Christmas pudding.’

Christmas Pudding Bread Pudding: Cut the Christmas pudding into cubes. Combine the cubes with bread, milk, eggs, sugar, and spices. Bake the mixture in a baking dish until golden brown. Cranberry Sauce Ice Cream: Blend the cranberry sauce with heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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