Choose and Cook

Article contents

1. Overview
2. Who's it for?
3. What's included?
4. Using choose and Cook
5. Access methods
6. Options menu
7. Printing
8. System requirements
9. Downloads and documentation
10. Useful support articles
11. Troubleshooting

1. Overview

Choose and Cook is an engaging, step-by-step cooking program that teaches independence, sequencing, and choice-making through the fun of preparing real meals.

Learners can follow along to make simple dishes - such as toast, fruit salad, sandwiches, pizza, or cakes - while practising decision-making, listening, attention, and switch access. The software uses clear photos, spoken instructions, and realistic sound effects to make every cooking step accessible and enjoyable.

The program focuses on:

• Food hygiene (washing hands, wearing an apron)
• Ingredients and where food is stored
• Cooking tools and utensils
• Simple meal preparation
• Social aspects of eating together

It’s perfect for schools, life-skills sessions, and therapy environments where the goal is to develop everyday living skills, cause and effect understanding, and language comprehension through active participation.

2. Who's it for?

Choose and Cook is suitable for:

• Learners from Key Stage 1 upwards

• Secondary and post-16 learners who benefit from age-appropriate visuals

• Learners with:

  • Learning difficulties

  • Communication needs

  • Physical access needs

• Switch users (one-switch and two-switch)

• Early mouse and touch-screen users

It works well in:

• Classrooms

• Life-skills rooms

• Food technology lessons

• Preparation for real cooking activities

3. What's included?

• Choose and Cook program (Windows)

Stored in the Inclusive Resources folder on your computer:

• Printable recipe cards

• Ingredient pictures

• Utensil pictures

• Illustrated cooking steps

• Lesson plans

• Food photographs

• Resources for:

  • Matching games

  • Lotto games

  • Food groups and healthy eating
    
    

4. Using Choose and Cook

1. Click Cook meal on the title screen

2. Choose a character:

   • Colin

   • Penny

   • Sue

   • David

3. Choose a meal:

   • Baked potato with beans and cheese

   • Scrambled eggs on toast

   • Leek and potato soup with bread

   • Beef and salad sandwich

Each meal follows a fixed, predictable sequence:

1. Choose a character




2. Choose a meal

3. Gather ingredients from the kitchen

4. Wash hands and put on an apron

5. Make the meal (choose the correct utensils)

6. Invite a friend and serve

7. Choose a drink

8. Enjoy the meal with music

Full sequence takes about 15 minutes, including discussion.

There are options to skip:

• Ingredient gathering

• Cooking steps

A small cookbook icon appears on screen.

• Click it to see the ingredients needed

• Or use the laminated recipe cards provided

5. Access methods

• Click directly on pictures to make choices

• Large, well-spaced buttons support motor difficulties

• Space bar and Enter can be used like switches

Choose and Cook supports one-switch and two-switch scanning.

• Switch acts like the space bar

• Press once to start scanning

• A coloured scan box moves between choices

• Press again to select the highlighted item

Scan moves automatically every 2 seconds (adjustable)

• Left switch = Space bar (move highlight)

• Right switch = Enter (select)

• Press left switch to move between choices

• Press right switch to choose

6. Options menu

Open Options by:

• Clicking Options at startup

• Or pressing Esc during a story

• Skip ingredient gathering

• Skip cooking stages

• Useful when time is limited

• Allows the learner to go back one step

• Can be hidden to prevent changing answers

• Scan Speed – how long each item is highlighted

• Scan Colour – colour of the scan box

• Picture names are spoken when hovered or scanned

• Can be turned off to encourage recognition without prompts

• Helps users with involuntary switch presses

• Example:

  • Set to 0.4 seconds

  • Only presses longer than 0.4 seconds are accepted

7. Printing

• Hold Ctrl + P

• Wait for the print window

You can also print:

• Meals

• Ingredients

• Cookbook pages

8. System requirements

• Compatible with: Windows: 7 / 8 / 10 / 11
• Activation key delivered by email.
• MSI installer is available for site licence customers.
• An active internet connection required for installation/activation.
  
  

9. Downloads and documentation

• Choose and Cook EXE (56.6 MB)
• Choose and Cook Manual (2.4 MB)
• Choose and Cook - Assessment Sheets (12.8 MB)
  
  

10. Useful support articles

• Using switches with Inclusive Technology software
• Deploying Inclusive Technology software using Group Policy
• Potential issues with multi-touch touchscreens on Windows 8 and 10
  
  

11. Troubleshooting

Could not verify serial number

If any part of this article was unclear, or you think there is something missing (extra steps, examples or images etc.), let us know and we'll update the article:
Support article feedback form