Skype's new Heston Bot can dish out hot cooking tips

A number of interesting chatbots have popped up for Skype since their introduction to the platform last year, but the latest from Microsoft is its first crack at helping you become a better cook. Borrowing its name from Michelin star chef Heston Blumenthal, the Heston Bot was developed to "change the way you think about food."

From Microsoft:

Combing a lifetime of culinary experimentation with the power of conversational computing, the Heston Bot provides users with eye-opening cooking tips, exclusive seasonal menus, and personal anecdotes directly from the master. With Heston, cooking becomes a fun and immersive experience that evolves as your skills do.

The Heston Bot will also serve up new recipes based on themes each month as the seasons change, Microsoft says.

Heston Bot will most certainly only appeal to a niche audience, but it's a neat look at how Skype's bot efforts can be leveraged for new tasks. If you're down for adding a bit of extra tech to your cooking process, you can try out Heston Bot now by searching for it in the Skype Bot Directory and clicking "Add to Contacts."

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl