Smart cooking apparatus

A method of using a cooking apparatus with network communication capability, the method comprising:

• providing a cooking apparatus having a base that includes a plurality of independently controlled food preparation zones;
• inserting a meal kit within the cooking apparatus adjacent to the base, the meal kit containing a plurality of portions of food items for a meal, each portion arranged within the meal kit to respectively align with one of the food preparation zones upon the meal kit being inserted into the cooking apparatus;
• scanning a machine-readable identifier on the meal kit with a scanning device integrated into the cooking apparatus;
• transmitting the machine-readable identifier via a network communication interface to a network accessible cooking instruction repository;
• receiving a set of cooking instructions based on the machine-readable identifier;
• and
• executing the instructions with aid of a processor integrated into the cooking apparatus to separately control a cooking time and temperature for each of the plurality of food preparation zones.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processing device of a cooking apparatus, wherein execution of the instructions causes the processing device to:

• scan a machine-readable identifier on a meal kit with a scanning device integrated into the cooking apparatus;
• transmit the machine-readable identifier via a network communication interface to a network accessible cooking instruction repository;
• receive a set of cooking instructions based on the machine-readable identifier;
• and
• execute the cooking instructions with aid of a processor integrated into the cooking apparatus to separately control a cooking time and temperature for each of a plurality of food preparation zones.