Adam Note: I wish I could tell you that I was going to post this conveniently because we have two episodes that are sandwiched with this article, and it would be strategic to do so, but I lied. I usually write every week, but it’s been very hectic. I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Before going into Smart Kitchen Summit (SKS), I thought I knew what the word food tech means. Now I have to differentiate. Technically, Smart Kitchen Summit was all about kitchen tech such as smart refrigerators, smart stovetops, and all that jazz but now they are combining them. Food tech, hmmm, I guess we use technology for food? Something to explore.
Anyways, I really enjoyed my time in SKS, learned about a whole new field in food, and met up with some great friends.
How did I get in?
I was fortunate to meet Michael Wolf about 2 years ago at Fancy Food Show through a fan. We kept in touch. I’d see him post stuff, he’d see me post stuff. So once SKS rolled up, I asked him what I could do to get in. If you follow the podcast, you might have heard a lot about Smart Kitchen Summit through the ads we run. But also I had a blast moderating some interviews. Ideally in the next couple of weeks, I will be launching two interviews. One with Akshita from Inirv and then Joe Heitzenberg from Crowd Cow. These were super fun and I’m happy to have done a live recording with my podcasting gear.
What’s in Smart Kitchen Summit (SKS)?
Like most summits/conferences/whatever, there are lecture halls, a main stage, and a showroom.
There are also two startup alleys. SKS has two competitions with one focused on food and another focused on smart kitchen tech. Being in the food space, I found the food competitors average. However, being just introduced in the smart kitchen space, I was fascinated by almost every competitor because I had no idea these things were happening. Stovetops that have head sensors, mirrors that show video, and tags that tell if food is rotten were all super fascinating and made me realize that even though I cover so many topics on My Food Job Rocks, there are so many other innovations out there in the world.
Some notable devices I found fascinating were things like a stove the size of a toaster oven able to cook a pizza at 800 degrees yet the top is cool to the touch. Or General Electric’s smart stovetop that could analyze a dish’s contents while you cook it. There were so many smart and intuitive devices that maybe someday I could afford.
What I think is a really interesting opportunity for SKS is to be a place where smart kitchens and food tech meet. I think both are going to happen at a faster rate, and it’d be interesting how both can be combined.
The lectures are pretty neat and there is a split between food tech and kitchen tech. I went to both and I knew everything about the food tech, but nothing about the kitchen tech. A lot of the lectures from Microsoft and Amazon’s new tech went over my head but it was still nice to see what was happening in that space. Like apparently, Amazon will be selling a hardware device that will turn any kitchen appliance Alexa compatible. On the food side, I went and listened in to the newest on recombinant and cell-based meat research, and air protein. Even though I’m a bit integrated in the space, I learned a thing or two about what’s coming up next. There’s some fascinating stuff.
Both sides have very fascinating stuff.
Meeting Old and New Friends
Of course, the best part about these types of things is the people you meet. You not only meet old friends but new friends as well.
I was actually surprised by how many people I knew at the conference as there are touchpoints in the industry.
For example, Mark Crowell from CuliNex and I had breakfast at the Starbucks Reserve which by the way is super cool. It’s definitively ten steps up from a regular Starbucks. The drinks are better, the food is better, even the swag is better.
David Kay from Memphis Meats and Daniel Schiff from JUST, friends in the alt-meat industry were there and I had a lot of fun bonding with them.
Not to mention friends from Kitchentown and WeWork Food Labs all saying hi.
But meeting new friends is also super interesting. Alison Montford from Ends+Stem and Zi Xie from FET Kitchen were some of the notables who’ve heard about me, were super cool and now we connect regularily.
I am very fortunate to get the opportunity to travel and meet with people where I’ve only read their work. I think meeting in person is the best way to actually build a presence in this world. You can and should write, podcast, and make videos to build a presence, but there is something about meeting in person, like a validation of your character that confirms everything you stand for.
Most of the growth from My Food Job Rocks came from the fact that I told people about the podcast when I was on stage and meeting them one on one. Showing that presence, that authenticity, gets people on your side and it’s a big reason why I don’t really care about having a big following, but just friends who are doing great things. SKS has a lot of people doing great things so I’m happy to be part of the ecosystem.
