No, not reliably. "Gently cooked", "lightly cooked" and "sous vide" are not defined or policed terms in pet food labelling. Sous vide at least names a real method: sealed food cooked in a controlled water bath. The other two are marketing adjectives. Judge the process by what a brand states in writing.
Two of these are adjectives and one is a method
Start by separating them, because they are not the same kind of word.
Sous vide names a real technique. Food is sealed, then cooked in water held at a set temperature for a set time. Because the water cannot go above the target temperature, the food cannot overshoot it. That gives tight control over the finished temperature and, in a kitchen, is the reason a sous vide steak is evenly cooked from edge to edge.
"Gently cooked" and "lightly cooked" name nothing. They are impressions. A brand using either is saying that it cooks at lower temperatures or for shorter times than the extrusion process used for dry food, which is generally true of all fresh cooked pet food, but neither phrase commits to a temperature, a duration or a method.
That does not make the phrases dishonest. It makes them uninformative. Treat them as a category signal, meaning "this is fresh cooked rather than extruded or raw", and then go looking for the actual detail.
What the labelling rules do and do not cover
Pet food labelling rules are detailed about some things and silent about others. Product name, ingredient list, guaranteed analysis, net weight, manufacturer details and the nutritional adequacy statement are all governed. Descriptive cooking language on the front of the pack largely is not.
The consequence is that two products can both say "gently cooked" while one is steamed in batches at a modest temperature and the other is cooked considerably hotter. Nothing in the label forces the difference into the open. The AAFCO guide to understanding pet food is a useful reference for which claims are regulated and which are free text, and it is worth ten minutes before your first fresh food purchase.
There is one regulated term people often lump in with these: "human grade". That one has a specific meaning, requiring that every ingredient is edible for people and that the food is made in a facility licensed to produce human food. It is a facility and sourcing claim, not a cooking claim, and it is the only one of these four phrases you can hold a brand to.
Why the cooking method matters at all
It is reasonable to ask whether any of this changes the food in the bowl. It does, in three ways worth caring about.
Heat affects some nutrients. Certain vitamins degrade with temperature and time, which is one reason complete recipes add a vitamin and mineral premix rather than relying on ingredients alone. A lower temperature process loses less, but a well formulated hotter process that compensates in the premix arrives at the same place. The finished nutrient profile is what matters, not the loss along the way.
Heat also affects texture and aroma, which affects whether your dog eats. Gently cooked foods generally smell more like food to a dog than dry kibble does, and for a fussy eater or an older dog with a weaker sense of smell, that is often the whole reason the switch works.
Finally, cooking is the food safety step. Any cooked product needs a validated process that reliably reduces pathogens. A brand that cannot describe its process in concrete terms, with temperatures, is not giving you enough to judge that.
What to ask, and what a good answer sounds like
Send one email with four questions. What is the cooking method? What peak temperature does the food reach, and for how long? Is the process validated for pathogen reduction, and by whom? Is the food cooked in the pack or cooked and then packed?
A brand that knows its process will answer in specifics. A brand that answers with the same adjectives that were on the pack has told you something useful too.
You can also read the ingredient panel and the product page for signals that the recipe was designed as a complete diet rather than assembled and described afterwards. The Chicken Blend page, for instance, sets out the protein and the carbohydrate base clearly, which is the part of the decision most owners actually act on. For the cooking detail itself, the printed pack, the Nutrition Facts Sheet PDF and a written reply from the brand are the places to go, because My Perfect Pet does not publish process temperatures on its product pages.
Frequently asked questions
Is "gently cooked" a legally defined term for dog food?
No. It is a descriptive marketing phrase with no regulatory definition, no required temperature and no enforcement behind it. It reliably tells you only that the food is cooked rather than raw or extruded. Any more detail has to come from the brand directly.
Is sous vide dog food better than gently cooked dog food?
Not automatically. Sous vide describes a specific, well controlled method, which is more informative than a vague adjective, but a controlled method does not guarantee a better recipe. The formulation, the nutritional adequacy statement and the ingredient quality matter more than the cooking technique.
Does cooking destroy the nutrients in fresh dog food?
Cooking reduces some heat sensitive nutrients, which is exactly why complete recipes include an added vitamin and mineral premix. A properly formulated cooked diet accounts for those losses and still meets the full nutrient profile for the stated life stage. Judge the finished food, not the process in isolation.
What is the difference between "human grade" and "gently cooked"?
"Human grade" is a regulated claim about ingredients and the facility: every ingredient must be edible for people and the food must be made in a plant licensed for human food. "Gently cooked" is an unregulated description of the cooking process. Only the first is something a brand can be held to.
How do I find out the actual cooking temperature of a fresh dog food?
Ask in writing. Request the method, the peak temperature, the hold time and whether the process is validated for pathogen reduction. A brand with a controlled process will answer specifically; one that repeats the front of pack adjective has answered your question in a different way.
Related reading: Marketing Words on Fresh Dog Food Packs and What Each One Legally Means, and How to Judge a Fresh Dog Food Brand's Transparency in Ten Minutes.