Culinary Institute Of America Hosts reThink Food Conference

Food industry professionals, tech entrepreneurs, doctors, designers, and academics all converged November 4-6 in St. Helena for the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone’s re Think Food Annual Leadership Conference, now in its third year. 

The three-day program offered over 20 sessions designed to explore the intersection of food, tech, behavior and design. An impressive roster of speakers made up of professors, tech entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and innovators tackled such questions as: How do we help consumers and businesses keep up with the pace of innovation in food? Are high tech fixes the best option for current food systems challenges? How do the tensions of fast versus slow affect our food values and experiences, and can we build a new “culinary literacy?

The first day offered a fascinating peek into the future of tech-assisted cooking and robots in the kitchen. Chef Philip Tessier, Silver Bocuse winner at the Bocuse d’Or has created an app with 100 Thomas Keller recipes that is part of his Hestan Cue Guided Cooking System. A sensor-enabled induction burner, sauté pan and chef’s pot connects to any smart device via Bluetooth and allows the user to prepare meals with instruction, videos, and step by step assistance via the app. “We want to walk people through the process—we think this is a way to get people cooking at home again,” says the enthusiastic chef.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Specialty Food Association