Boston-based Cook’s Compass Announces Patent-Pending Technology

Cook’s Compass’ patent-pending technology will make the site an even better resource for users. Using existing data on local stores, Cook’s Compass will now be able to extrapolate and predict what other ingredients that store is likely to carry as well as the quality of those ingredients. This technology vastly increases the breadth of information Cook’s Compass can provide to users.

Boston, MA (EMWNews) August 18, 2008 — Cook’s Compass announces its patent-pending, exclusive technology that allows the web site to predict the type and quality of ingredients found in stores based on the ratings users give to other products in those stores.

Cook’s Compass

Co-founder Erwin Alemany explains: “A user reports that certain ingredients can be found in a store and comments on the quality of those ingredients. We then take everything we know about those ingredients to create a profile of the store. This allows us to recommend ingredients that have not been directly reported there and give users a more complete picture of the store’s merchandise.”

The use of this technology will help Cook’s Compass broaden its ingredient base with reliable data so that users have an easier time finding the ingredients they want. This patent-pending technology also differentiates Cook’s Compass from similar sites. “We know that most of the ingredients in a store will never be reported,” Alemany says, “so it is important to be able to use the reported data, create more information from them, and returns a more useful set of information back to our users.”

User input is still a key part of the service Cook’s Compass provides. It is what feeds their data base, and what allows their technology to work. However, unlike other pages, users’ input has a greater impact on future searching, giving the user a better more reliable service.

“Essentially, we are trying to apply a higher level of intelligence to recommending stores by not just keeping track of individual items that are recommended, but by building an understanding of what aspects of each store are strong and which are not.”

About Cook’s Compass:

From the exotic to the common, Cook’s Compass is a website where one can find the ingredients needed to make the dishes one love’s, find stores that sell those ingredients and read others’ reviews of those stores. Best of all, Cook’s Compass is a community of food lovers, and the community gets stronger as people submit, review, and comment on their favorite stores, and share their favorite recipes. Still in beta, Cook’s Compass already has a rich database of stores in the Boston area with over 1,000 stores, listing over 2,000 different ingredients. However, continued success will be driven by user contributions. Cooks Compass will provide greater value and a stronger community as passionate food-lovers add content about their favorite stores and ingredients.