WAN AICHEF ULTRA Named IDEA Finalist
News related to:WAN AICHEF · 2 min read
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/, WAN AICHEF, a company that specializes in AI cooking systems, has announced that its flagship product, WAN AICHEF ULTRA, has been named a Professional Category Finalist in the 2026 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).
WAN AICHEF ULTRA is designed to simplify the cooking process for everyday users. Unlike traditional cooking appliances, which require users to manually select cooking modes, temperatures, and times, the ULTRA system takes on more of the routine. It uses AI vision to identify the food and recommend a cooking program. Once the user confirms the program, the system monitors the cooking process, adjusting power and timing as needed.
Stanley Huo, the CEO of WAN AICHEF, explained the company's approach: "We began by asking which decisions people repeat every night and which of those the appliance could responsibly take on. The change is not simply what the appliance can do, but what the user no longer has to do. Progress must remain clear, and control must remain with the cook."
The ULTRA system uses a 12-megapixel AI camera and Heimann infrared thermal imaging to gather information, with NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano providing on-device computing. This combination allows the system to guide heat adjustments toward the selected result. In testing, the system achieved temperature-control precision of approximately ±3.2°F under specified conditions, with results varying by food, cookware, and program.
Safety features include dry-burn protection, cookware detection, door-open auto-stop, and a child lock. The system's screen keeps settings and progress visible, ensuring that the user remains informed and in control.
WAN AICHEF has trained ULTRA's AI to recognize and cook a growing range of foods and ready-to-cook products available from Costco, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, and other U.S. retailers, as well as meal-kit services such as HelloFresh. For supported items, users can place the food in compatible cookware inside ULTRA and follow the on-screen cooking recommendations without having to translate package directions into appliance modes, temperatures, and timing.
Personalization is tied to the cooking result. Over time, feedback about texture and doneness can help future cooking recommendations better match each person or household's preferences. This is most noticeable in everyday use. In Atlanta, a mother used ULTRA to cook a whole chicken and said she spent less time checking on the food and more time with her family.
The recognition from the IDEA award underscores the company's commitment to rethinking AI cooking for everyday life. WAN AICHEF ULTRA was designed to make everyday cooking easier to start and manage, with built-in safeguards and less need for continuous attention. More information about WAN AICHEF ULTRA can be found at global.wanaichef.com.