I met Dan through Brian Chau, you might recognize him in episode 3. In the past couple of years, Dan has been slowly building this incredible, much-needed space within the Bay Area.
Dan thought of Tinker Kitchen when he was in college. One of his class had a “Learn-by-Doing” workshop that he loved. Combined with his fascination with cooking, this dream was decades in the making.
Having the chance to explore the space, you have food service equipment, so much table space, and any machine you can think of. From freeze dryers to centrifuges.
We go into great detail on building this space, such as the challenges in construction, and the rewarding feeling of completing a dream.
Tinker Kitchen is now open for business and the price you pay to play there is phenomenal. Check out their website at Tinkerkitchen.org and I hope to see you at Tinker Kitchen some day.
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Show Notes
Tinker Kitchen
Brian Chau
Phil Saneski
How did you get into the food industry?: I came to the US to work for Mozilla Firefox in 2006, worked 12 years and then decided to open this kitchen
How big is Tinker Kitchen?: 17,000 square feet.
Tinker Kitchen is a makers space for food and cooking
What got you the idea?: I took a class in biology and this professor had this class where we made biology models. it was a Learn by Doing process. I cooked as a hobby, at first I never knew how to cook so I had to call my mom when I had food
Commissary Kitchens
Part R+D member and part
How did you find this space?: We looked around for a year
What were the troubles of preparing the space?: Water, gas, city permits, and bad contractors which had to be replaced
Fume Hood
Advice for building a kitchen space: Spend more time in the planning stage and spend more on the planning space. Make sure you understand what needs to be upgraded
The meta-advice is to find someone who’s done it before and ask for advice
Learn from the Shoulders of Giants
Wok
Centrifuge
McCormick Innovation Center
3D Printing
Induction heating
How did you know about this kitchen equipment?: Just asking around, going to blogs, and asking how things are made
We have a freeze dryer
A batch freezer
A pacojet
Eventually a Frozen Nitrogen document to add in frozen nitrogen
Beyond Sausage
Combi Oven
Gastronomy
Modernist Cuisine
Reverse Spherification
Sous vide
What are the challenges the food industry has to face?: Creating a community around food and cooking
The better food in a community aspect, the more tightknit the community is
Outsourcing grocery stores
What is something you’ve noticed between tech people and food people?: Food people are more diverse. Food people also have a different outlook. Tech people look for solutions, food people looking for community
Fancy Food Show
Expo West
Expo East
IFT Expo
Taste is King
Venezuela Hallaca – The Venezuelan Tamale
Any advice for anyone about the food industry?: Think a few years ahead and go talk to people who have been there. The more you find out, the better.
Rohini Dey – Vermillion
Apprentice is a good step
Where can we find you for advice?: Thinkerkitchen.org. Contact Dan at Dan@tinkerkitchen.org
3233 Mission St. 22nd Street and Mission