Smart Kitchen Show

While alt-meat and plant-based milks have seen an explosion in great products the past few years, plant-based cheese space hasn't seen the same level of new and exciting products. That might change soon as Ground Foods brings its cauliflower and hemp based cheese products to the masses. We talk with Veronica Fil, the CEO of Grounded Foods, on the story behind their product that has many in the plant-based food world excited about cheese. via Knit

In this episode of The Food Tech Show, the Spoon crew talks about what they saw at CES 2021 and Food Tech Live. Both shows were virtual, but that didn't stop us from seeing and talking to some interesting food tech innovators. As always, you can read about what we saw at The Spoon (www.thespoon.tech). via Knit

In the world of computing, the ability to build new products and scale quickly is something that has come to be expected. Long-established toolsets enable innovators to invent, iterate and scale and get to market much more quickly than in the past. While the world of biomanufacturing has seen rapid advancements in recent years, Will Patrick believed that many of the things he had learned in the world of mechanical engineering could help make things move even faster. The result was Culture Biosciences, a company which makes offers cloud-connected bioreactors as a service to makers building the next generation of food and other bioengineered innovation. via Knit

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the bee is being threatened by a number of factors such as global warming, pesticides and yes, murder hornets. While that presents a challenge to the $7 billion honey industry, the focus on honey production is problematic for the bee ecosystem itself as farmed bees compete with wild bees for food and ultimately can hurt biodiversity. Because of this, Darko Mandich wants to create honey without the honeybee using cutting edge bioengineering techniques through the process of fermentation. His company, MeliBio, has already received commitments from over a dozen companies around the world to use his honey. via Knit

The Spoon team talks about the latest news from the world of food tech. In this episode, we also talk about what we learned at our ghost kitchen event last week. As always, you can find more Spoon podcasts at www.thespoon.tech via Knit

The editor crew gets together to talk about some of this week's biggest food tech stories. -Pink Dot Using Postmates' Serve Robot to Delivery Food in West Hollywood -Eat Just Gets the World's First Regulatory Approval to Sell Cultured Meat -Are Humans the Next Lab-Grown Meat? -The Spoon gift guide recommendations. As always, make sure to check out more podcasts at The Spoon. via Knit

This week the Spoon team discusses the confusion over McDonald's plant-based burger debut, the fast food restaurant's new drive through only restaurant format, the intro of Spyce Kitchen robotic restaurant 2.0 and discuss what a Biden presidency might look like when it comes to food tech policy. via Knit

Will lab grown meat scale like the Internet? We discuss this and other stories on this week's podcast. Other stories include Ordermark's ghost kitchen play, the acquisition of coffee robot startup Briggo, whether we can use the term veggie burger. As always, read more about these stories at The Spoon. via Knit

Before there was Modernist Cuisine and the entire molecular gastronomy movement, there was Harold McGee. McGee changed the culinary landscape and, in particular, science-forward food writing with his book, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen", when it was published in 1984. Since the publication of his seminal book, McGee has influenced a generation of chefs and food writers, as well as creating the original big bang for what would become the molecular gastronomy movement. And now McGee is expanding his examination of how we examine and take in the world around us with his new book, " NOSE DIVE: A Field Guide to the World's Smells." In this episode Mike talks with Harold about his new book, how he views the current state of culinary innovation and asks him about what gets him excited nowadays when it comes to food. via Knit

This week the editor team got together to discuss the following stories: -Anova's new combi oven and whether steam will be the next big thing on the consumer kitchen -The broader trend towards more sustainable packaging -The creep factor of paying with your face -GE's new chef platform As always, find more podcasts at www.thespoon.tech via Knit

The Spoon team have a heavily caffeinated conversation about the layoffs at Cafe-X, Mike's first week with the Spinn and Atomo molecular coffee. We also talk about a new ghost kitchen funding and augmented reality powered restaurant menus. Also, Mike suggests new names for both Chris and Jenn. via Knit

The Spoon editor team got together this week to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the week. Included in this week's wrap up is a discussion about the white hot ghost kitchen market, a big milestone by cultured meat startup Mosa Meat, the acquisition of StoreBound (the company behind the Dash housewares brand) and Mike's disbelief about the $1 Keto cookies. As always, you can find more Food Tech Shows at The Spoon at www.thespoon.tech via Knit

Investing in startups that make products to-consumers can be tough, but it's also exciting. Mike talks with long-time investor Elizabeth Edwards about why she invests exclusively on consumer brands and why food is one of her favorite categories. via Knit

This week Michael Wolf sits down with Riana Lynn to talk about her journey as a black female food tech entrepreneur. From working in the Obama White House to Don Thompson's Cleveland Avenue to starting her latest venture that uses AI to help CPG companies make healthier and more sustainable food products, Riana's had a fascinating journey. Mike talks to her about this journey, how she thinks food tech could help address some of the systemic racial inequities within the broader food system, how food tech could be more welcoming to people of color, and whether she's hopeful about the possibility of positive change resulting from today's current conversation around race in the United States. via Knit

This week the Spoon editors got together to talk about some of the biggest stories of the week, including: -CookMagic, a textbot based recipe assistant -Can Pico-roasting help coffee shops survive the pandemic? -The all-but-certain end of PicoBrew -The Yo-Kai meal kit: Robot maker goes meal kit provider via Knit

With most places still in lockdown, many restaurants are trying to survive by going off-premise through a combination of delivery and takeout. The Spoon's Chris Albrecht caught up with Chowly's Sterling Douglass to talk about what he's seeing out there in what is a rapidly changed restaurant landscape and to discuss strategies for going off-premise. This conversation took place as part of The Spoon's COVID-19 Virtual Strategy Summit. If you missed the summit and would like to see some of what you missed, all the sessions are now available to watch here: https://thespoon.tech/covid-19-strategy-summit-for-food-session-videos/ via Knit

The Spoon editors got together to talk about some of the stories of people and companies stepping up to the plate during a dark time or well positioned to take advantage of rapidly changing consumer behavior. As always, you can find more Spoon podcasts and our stories at www.thespoon.tech via Knit

From his time as director of culinary research for three Michelin star restaurant Alinea to creating video game themed dinner nights at his own Seattle based restaurant "incubator" Addo, Chef Eric Rivera has a reputation for being innovative. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, those innovation skills have become survival skills as Rivera helps his restaurant group traverse our rapidly changing new shared reality. Michael Wolf caught up with Rivera to discuss the ways in which his business is adapting with the mandatory shut down of restaurants in Washington state during COVID-19, including launching his own delivery service, his Addo Pantry and remote cooking classes. You can find Eric on Instagram at www.instagram.com/ericriveracooks via Knit

We're all sheltering in place, locked down and trying to keep on top of the impact of this global contagion on the world of food tech. We talk about mandatory restaurant shut downs, restaurants and food businesses trying to pivot during COVID and the challenges of writing about food tech during a global pandemic. We want to hear your stories. If you have any unique stories from your place in the world that intersects with food tech, food innovation or just something you think should be heard, reach out via tips@thespoon.tech. Stay safe everyone! via Knit

It's a confusing and worrying time, so join some of your friends from the Spoon as we talk food tech for a half an hour. On today's podcast, we talk cover the following stories: -Is coronavirus accelerating adoption of certain food tech sectors? -Amazon is selling its next-gen grocery tech to other companies -Sweetgreen looks to make its to-go bowls fully compostable -There is another pizza vending machine and they've raised an eye-popping $10 million As always, you can find more podcasts at www.thespoon.tech via Knit