Techniques are described for automated control of portions of a cooking process, such as to control activation and heating for a cooking location having a piece of cooking equipment. Such automated control may include executing an automated control recipe having defined instructions used to automatically control at least some aspects (e.g., surface temperature) of the cooking equipment piece (e.g., a pan on a stove cooking surface) as part of a cooking episode to prepare one or more dishes, and may further include coordinating actions of a human user who is participating in the cooking episode by providing instructions or other information to the user. Related food preparation systems and cookware devices and components are also provided in connection with which the described automated cooking control techniques and methods may be used.