My wife recently asked me to assist her with designing a cookbook. This book would consist of recipes provided by her co-workers. A few of the recipes were accompanied by a photo. Many were not. This is where I had the opportunity to use Midjourney to create some delicious images.
During the creation process I encountered an interesting feature in Midjourney. I found that I could provide the ingredients alone and Midjourney would combine them into a tasty dish. Note I didn’t give any measurement like ½ cup or 2 tsps. I just listed the type of ingredient.
Here are a few examples.
Prompts: a dessert salad made with Acini di pepe, pineapple chunks, crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges mixed in with a lot of whipped topping, mini marshmallows, flaked coconut on a comfortable home kitchen counter, tight depth of field, high wide angle, food photography, subject positioned on the right side of the image, Canon EOS 90D, f/1.8, 30 mm Sigma lens --ar 16:9 --style raw --s 300
It did a pretty good job right from the start. Only quadrant 3 followed the majority of the instructions given with it moving the dish slightly to the right of the image. None got the pasta exactly right but this is where you continue to tinker with it until you get the result you prefer. Overall it did a great job. This looks like a gourmet plated version of this dessert salad my wife makes from time to time.
Next we’ll take a look a beverage. In this case an Autumn Margarita.
an Autumn Margarita made with tequila, orange liqueur, apple cider, pear juice accented with a lime and two cinnamon sticks on counter top in a modern home kitchen, tight depth of field, high wide angle, food photography, Canon EOS 90D, f/1.8, 30 mm Sigma lens --ar 9:16 --style raw --s 300
The recipe itself didn’t have any measurements. I myself was guessing with how to put this together. Also, some of the ingredients seemed more garnish or flair than an actual component of the drink. For example, the cinnamon sticks it interpreted how I interpreted the ingredients with little indication.
In hearing about this my brother really wanted to see what it could do. Using a similar prompt style he loaded his prompt with random foods not normally paired.
A dish made with jalapeño peppers, jello, ice cream, bacon, candy, mashed potatoes, beans, frosting, and cake, food photography, Canon EOS 90D, f/1.8, 30 mm sigma lens --ar 16:9
Despite the chaotic ingredients Midjourney did a phenomenal job creating an edible looking dish.
He wanted to push it even further with something more disgusting.
A dish made with a whole fish, orange preserves, corn, broccoli, gravy, whip cream, chocolate sauce, food photography, Canon EOS 90D, f/1.8, 30 mm sigma lens --ar 16:9
The ingredients separately wouldn’t be too bad. Even some combined would be okay. All together? Yummy….
Just so we don’t leave a bad taste, here’s a chocolate cake.
a luxurious dark chocolate cake made with chocolate curls, on a modern luxury marble countertop, tight depth of field, wide angle, food photography, Canon EOS 90D, f/1.8, 30 mm Sigma lens --ar 16:9 --style raw --s 300
Try your own recipes and share the results.
Bon Appetite AI Explorers!
Want to see the delicious and disgusting closer? View the gallery below.
From Text to Table: AI-Generated Gourmet Images for Every Recipe