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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Podcasts

The Spoon Discusses The Current State of AI Workflows With AI for Humans’ Gavin Purcell

In this latest edition of the Spoon Full of AI Podcast – the podcast where I talk to leaders who are using AI to transform their business (in food and beyond), I catch up with AI for Humans host Gavin Purcell to discuss the rapid advancements and complexities emerging in artificial intelligence. We talk about Google’s new Studio AI platform and its potential as an all-in-one solution for content creation, and we both have reservations about Google’s use of an older image generation model (Gemini 2), highlighting its limitations compared to newer versions like Gemini 3.

AI Studios? with Gavin Purcell

Gavin talked about the transformative shift from traditional file-based computing to generative AI, as noted in Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s recent keynote. He make a great point talking about how this will be difficult for mainstream adoption, where users expect simplicity akin to social media sharing, yet AI tools remain complex and imperfect.

We both talk about our frustrations with current AI workflows, where we compared the cumbersome nature of local models like Comfy UI to more streamlined platforms such as Ideogram and MiniMax. In the end, we both want a unified, user-friendly AI platform but recognize that technical and creative challenges remain significant hurdles.

We also discuss who we predict will be winners in the AI platform space (no spoilers!), so make sure you listen to see who we pick!

You can watch the full video above or click play below, or find this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts.

The 5 Questions Big Green Egg’s New CEO Asked 86 Employees When He Took The Job

How does an outsider step into leading a company that has only had two previous CEOs over its half-century existence?

For Dan Gertsacov, who became CEO of Big Green Egg last summer—the barbecue company renowned for its devoted following and signature green ceramic kamado-style grills—the answer is straightforward: “Seek first to understand, then be understood.”

Gertsacov adopted this mantra from author Stephen Covey, spending his initial months speaking extensively with people across the company, asking them the same five questions to gain deep insights about the business and shape its future direction.

“I interviewed eighty-six individuals and asked every one of those people the same five questions over a four-month period,” Gertsacov explained.

He borrowed these questions from his former Harvard business professor, Michael D. Watkins, who published them in his influential book, “The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter.” Those questions are:

  1. “What is the company’s biggest challenge?”
  2. “Why is that the biggest challenge?”
  3. “What are the untapped opportunities for our company?”
  4. “How would you approach those opportunities?”
  5. “If we were to switch places—if you were in my shoes—what would you focus on?”

After conducting his extensive interviews, Gertsacov distilled his findings into a concise one-pager, summarizing key insights and charting the strategic direction under his leadership. His primary message emphasized growth, cultivating a mission-driven team, and continual innovation.

This innovation intrigued me, especially since Gertsacov previously built his career at tech giants like Google and assisted global brands like McDonald’s with digital transformation. Now, he leads a company distinctly known for its traditional, low-tech ceramic grills—products that, apart from their iconic green color, would fit comfortably into culinary history a century or more ago.

Yet, according to Gertsacov, innovation at Big Green Egg must respect and leverage its greatest strength: the passionate and loyal community of users that has driven the company’s success for decades.

“Big Green Egg has grown through word of mouth and the community,” said Gertsacov. “Preserve the core and stimulate progress.”

So, what does meaningful innovation look like for a company whose products have remained relatively unchanged since founder Ed Fisher began selling them in the early ’70s to supplement his pachinko import business? Gertsacov believes innovation lies in solving practical consumer problems—specifically, making food preparation easier—without unnecessary complications like digital connectivity.

“Rather than adding digital connectivity for its own sake, [we’re] focused on customer experience enhancements—such as enabling the grills to reach cooking temperatures more quickly—without compromising the integrity of the grilling experience,” he explained.

Improving how quickly the grills heat up directly benefits users by fitting the Big Green Egg seamlessly into more everyday cooking occasions. Gertsacov believes that simplifying the user experience will sustain and amplify the powerful word-of-mouth marketing that has always propelled Big Green Egg’s growth.

“We need to make it less intimidating and lower the barriers so it feels more accessible,” Gertsacov said. “We need to make the tent of Big Green Egg bigger to fit more folks, all while preserving the core beliefs of the community already inside.”

You can listen to our full conversation below or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Trump, RFK Jr., and the FDA Overhaul: A Food Truths Deep Dive with Helena Bottemiller Evich

In a recent episode of the Food Truths podcast, host Eric Schulze sat down with Helena Bottemiller Evich, longtime food policy and food system journalist, to discuss the changes taking place at the FDA under the new administration and the just-appointed head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Evich, the founder and editor-in-chief of Food Fix, has spent over 15 years tracking the intricacies of food regulation, giving her unique insight to decipher the early signals that come from the agency responsible for overseeing 80% of the U.S. food supply.

According to Evich, the FDA (which is under the department of HHS) is undergoing one of the most significant shakeups in its history, marked by mass layoffs, regulatory uncertainty, and a leadership philosophy that prioritizes aggressive restructuring over continuity. Evich says the administration has adopted an approach akin to “creative destruction,” implementing indiscriminate firings and buyouts that have disproportionately affected the agency’s food regulatory functions.

“If there is a strategy to how they are firing people at FDA, and what the like long-term plan is, I have not seen it,” said Evich.

Mixed Signals for MAHA

One of the casualties of these cuts that concerns Evich the most is within the FDA’s Post-Market Assessment Office, which was responsible for reviewing food chemicals already on the market. Many of the employees in this department were newer hires, making them particularly vulnerable to mass layoffs. This move, she argued, could significantly slow down efforts to strengthen oversight of food additives—a key issue that has been gaining bipartisan attention.

While the indiscriminate firings, such as those in the office that review food chemicals additives, may align with the shock and awe approach being deployed across government agencies by the Trump administration, it also runs at cross purposes with one of the key Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) policy goals of RFK Jr., which has oversight of the FDA, CDC, and NIH in his new role.

While contradictory and self-defeating political maneuvers are nothing new to Trump’s chaotic style of governance, Evich thinks Trump is likely to back RFK Jr. to enforce some of these efforts despite the cutbacks. Kennedy’s push to reduce chemical additives and support for other traditionally more progressive concerns led to Trump adopting some of these issues, which Evich believes helped him at the ballot box.

“I think even President Trump’s most ardent critics would acknowledge that one thing he’s really good at is detecting where there’s energy,” said Evich. “And MAHA has shown itself to be like an animating force. And there are some people who think that the RFK endorsement of Trump and the adoption of MAHA as part of the Trump platform helped get Trump over the finish line in November.”

Impact on the Future of Food Landscape

Schulze and Evich also discussed how the administration’s priorities might affect food innovation, particularly in areas like cultivated meat and precision fermentation. Given the administration’s apparent preference for a “back-to-nature” approach to food, Evich expressed skepticism about whether emerging food technologies would receive strong support.

“There seems to be a real strain of naturalism in this administration,” she said. “If you’re championing raw milk and calling for the removal of synthetic food additives, it’s hard to see how that aligns with embracing new food technologies.”

She also noted that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s recent ban on cultivated meat could indicate how other conservative-led states might approach food innovation under this administration.

The Road Ahead for the FDA

Looking forward, Evich emphasized that much remains uncertain. The confirmation of Dr. Marty Makary as FDA Commissioner will be a key development to watch, as he has expressed concerns about antibiotic resistance, the microbiome, and ultra-processed foods. Meanwhile, the newly formed MAHA Commission, tasked with examining the drivers of chronic disease, could shape the administration’s long-term food policy.

“I’m going to be watching really closely for what Marty Makary says in his confirmation hearing,” said Evich. “He’s the FDA commissioner pick, and he has said a lot about food—easily, he has more of a food record than any modern FDA commissioner. He has lots of food mentions in his book. He’s really concerned about antibiotic resistance, the microbiome, ultra-processed foods, and food allergies. Watching Marty Makary, what he says, and watching this MAHA commission—who’s on it, what they’re looking at—is key. This is supposed to be in the first 100 days, and I believe they have to issue recommendations within 180 days.”​

“The big question,” Evich said, “is whether this administration will actually implement stronger food regulations or whether this will just be rhetoric that ultimately leads to little action.”

It was a really good conversation with lots of insights about potential directions for the future of the FDA and other key departments overseeing food and health, so take a listen! You can subscribe to the Food Truths podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What The Heck is RFK Jr. Doing at the FDA?

Jack Bobo: Don’t Let Your Ideology Muddle The Message About Your Food Product

In the second episode of Food Truths on our newly announced Spoon Podcast Network, Eric Schulze sits down with Jack Bobo, Executive Director of the Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies at UCLA, to dive into the complexities of food production, consumer psychology, and the evolving alternative protein market. But my biggest takeaway? The food industry needs to do a much better job of communicating with consumers—and that means factoring in consumer psychology from the very beginning, not as an afterthought.

As Bobo said on LinkedIn about the episode: “How we communicate innovation can mean the difference between acceptance or rejection, progress or pushback.”

A Career Rooted in Food and Policy

The conversation starts with a look back at Jack’s career trajectory, which started on a self-sustaining farm in Indiana. He initially pursued environmental science and law in school, but his career trajectory eventually landed him at the U.S. State Department, where he discovered that agriculture was at the root of significant environmental challenges like deforestation and water consumption. This realization that sustainable food production could be a solution rather than a problem set him on a path to influence global food policy.

After a decade at the State Department working on agricultural biotechnology, sustainability, and food security, Bobo moved into the private sector, focusing on innovative food technologies. Now, as the head of UCLA’s Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies, he’s not just analyzing market forces—he’s navigating the competing narratives in food and ag tech, working to bridge divides through science and psychology to reshape how food, innovation, and sustainability are discussed.

Consumer Psychology and Food Communication

One of Bobo’s biggest takeaways from his time at the State Department was how psychology shapes public perceptions of food. He found that leading conversations with science and technology would often alienate consumers instead of persuading them. Instead, he turned to behavioral science, cognitive psychology, and marketing strategies to better understand how people make food choices.

“Science at the beginning of the conversation just polarizes the audience,” Bobo said. “Those who agree with you, agree more. But those who don’t actually push further against you. The key is to frame messages in ways that connect emotionally and align with people’s existing values.”

Bobo argues that many alternative protein companies fail because they focus too much on their mission and not enough on the sensory experience of their products. Consumers buy food for taste, convenience, and price—not for environmental impact or technological novelty. The key to winning them over is to offer indulgent, satisfying products and market them in a way that aligns with existing consumer food preferences rather than trying to convert them through ideology.

While the alternative protein industry has made strides, Bobo believes many companies have miscalculated their approach.

“Most people won’t buy your product because they believe what you believe,” he said. “They will buy it in spite of it. You need to get your personal beliefs out of the way and let them enjoy your product without feeling like they have to adopt a new ideology.”

He also discussed unnecessary conflicts with the traditional meat and dairy industries. The biggest competitor to dairy, Bobo argues, isn’t plant-based milk—it’s bottled water. Similarly, alternative proteins should focus less on replacing meat and more on coexisting within a diverse food system.

At UCLA, Bobo aims to tackle the growing tensions in food debates by applying behavioral science to communication strategies. He hopes to foster collaboration across the food industry and reduce the polarization that often slows progress. By better understanding consumer psychology, he believes companies can introduce sustainable and nutritious food innovations more effectively—without alienating the very consumers they’re trying to reach.

You can listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch the full conversation below. If you like this, make sure to subscribe to Eric’s new podcast and leave a review!

Can We Actually Feed the World?

How Working the Land (and with Steve Jobs and Michael Dell) Led Tim Bucher to Build a Farming Automation Company

While many tech entrepreneurs dream of retiring as a gentleman farmer, Tim Bucher’s journey took the opposite trajectory. It was only after he bought and started working on his own farm at age 16 that a young Bucher discovered his love for software programming in college. That realization embarked him on a career that would eventually see him working alongside Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, and other Silicon Valley legends.

Yet, despite all his success in tech, Bucher never left the farm behind. In fact, for most of his life, he has straddled the high-tech world of innovation in Silicon Valley and the vineyards of California’s wine country. Now, as the founder and CEO of Agtonomy, Bucher is merging his two lifelong passions—technology and agriculture—to address one of the farming industry’s biggest challenges: labor shortages and operational inefficiencies.

On a recent episode of The Spoon Podcast, Bucher reflected on his early efforts to use innovation to tackle real-world farming challenges. His farm, Trattori Farms, produces grapes and olives—high-value crops that require precise, labor-intensive care. Over the years, he automated irrigation and winemaking processes, but one critical challenge remained: mechanized labor in the fields.

“The gap between rising costs and revenue was closing,” Bucher explained. “I kept automating everything I could, but I couldn’t automate the skilled labor that was needed out in the vineyards and orchards.”

It wasn’t until Bucher watched a documentary about NASA’s Mars rover that he began thinking about how automation could be applied to farming in a way that made sense for both longtime farmers like himself and the manufacturers of the equipment they trust.

“If we can have self-driving vehicles on Mars, why can’t we have them in our orchards and vineyards?” Bucher said. “There’s no traffic on Mars—just like in agriculture.”

This realization led him to found Agtonomy, a company that transforms traditional tractors into autonomous farming machines. But rather than disrupt the farm equipment industry, Agtonomy’s approach is to partner with manufacturers—helping them integrate drive-by-wire and AI technology into their existing models.

“Farmers trust their brands,” Bucher said. “They need the dealer networks, the parts, the service. Buying farm equipment from a startup isn’t realistic. That’s why Agtonomy is helping manufacturers digitally transform, rather than disrupt.”

As AI continues to evolve, Bucher envisions a future where farmers manage their fields remotely—relying on AI agents to analyze data, recommend actions, and deploy autonomous tractors at optimal times.

“Imagine sitting in a command center where AI tells you, ‘Given the soil, weather, and crop conditions, you should send your autonomous tractors out at 9:12 AM on Wednesday,’” he said. “And you just hit ‘Go.’”

While Bucher sees the potential of automated farming, he doesn’t believe technology will replace human farmers—instead, he sees it as a tool to make them more efficient.

“People fear AI taking jobs, but in farming, we don’t have enough labor. This technology doesn’t replace people—it enables them to do more with less.”

For Bucher, Agtonomy was the logical next step, given his lifelong love for both technology and farming. But beyond personal passion, he believes automation is necessary for the survival of modern agriculture.

“Agriculture has to evolve,” he said. “If we don’t automate, we won’t survive.”

You can listen to the full podcast below, or find it on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Meet The Spoon Podcast Network

Here at The Spoon, we—like you—are big fans of podcasts.

What’s not to love? Whether we’re diving deep into a topic we’re passionate about, researching a story, or exploring new interests just beginning to take root, podcasts have become an indispensable resource for us. And we know many of our readers feel the same way.

Personally, I’ve been podcasting and using podcasts as part of my process of discovering and writing about food tech innovators for most of the past decade. As a journalist, podcasts play a crucial role in my reporting process. They’ve allowed me to open-source my discovery journey, bringing The Spoon community along as I learn from subject matter experts about how the world is changing and the industries they’ve mastered.

As both a consumer and a creator of media, I’ve found podcasts to be more essential than ever—especially in an era of AI-generated content. With so much AI-generated media flooding our feeds, it’s becoming harder to discern what’s authentic—whether in written, audio, or video form. That’s why embracing trusted, verifiable voices is more important than ever. Podcasts provide a space for genuine conversations with real people, and that’s something worth amplifying.

Podcasts were also at the forefront of the great decentralization of media. This technology, which started over two decades ago, gave independent voices a platform—no massive media infrastructure required. At The Spoon, we believe strongly in independent media, and we want to leverage our own platform to bring new voices to our community and beyond.

All of this brings us to an exciting announcement: We’re launching our own podcast network!

The idea for The Spoon Podcast Network (TSPN) came to life last year as we engaged with insightful voices across the food tech and future-of-food community. We realized there were so many stories to tell and perspectives to share. While we could certainly invite some of these great minds onto The Spoon Podcast, we started to wonder: What if we could do more? What if we could tap into these experts and leverage The Spoon (and our and their collective networks) to extend their insights, conversations, and discoveries to a broader audience?

In other words, could we open-source the explorations of smart people across food, nutrition, and modern life—so that more of us can learn, engage, and join the conversation?

So that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re launching a great slate of new podcast hosts, and we’re already in talks with more creators to grow the network. Here’s our debut lineup of new podcasts launching with our partners:

Food Truths

On Food Truths, Food scientist Eric Schulze—former head of Global Regulatory at UPSIDE Foods and a former FDA regulator—will bring on smart minds from the food world and beyond to bust myths, uncover surprising truths, and dive deep into the science of food. (Apple Podcasts, Spotify).

Watch What You Eat With Carolyn O’Neil

As CNN’s original health and nutrition contributor, Carolyn O’Neil has spent decades covering how technology and innovative changemakers are reshaping nutrition. On Watch What You Eat, she’ll explore the worlds of food, nutrition, and cuisine, tracking new trends and helping listeners embark on new culinary adventures.

My Food Job Rocks

We’re not just creating new shows—we’re also bringing on seasoned hosts with podcasts we’ve long admired. Adam Yee, one of the original food-industry and food-innovation podcasters, launched My Food Job Rocks nearly a decade ago. We’ve been fans of Adam’s insightful and fun conversations with industry leaders, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the network as he re-launches his iconic show.

Maybe Food, Maybe Tech

In addition to relaunching My Food Job Rocks, Adam Yee is launching a brand-new show with co-host Kai-Hsin Wang. On Maybe Food, Maybe Tech, they’ll break down current events, explore innovative companies at the intersection of food and technology, and share personal insights on life and industry trends.

The Tomorrow Today Show

Mike Lee, author of MISE and a longtime food futurist, has a talent for deciphering early signals and identifying what’s around the corner. On The Tomorrow Today Show, he’ll tackle big questions about sustainability, technology, pleasure, and connection—viewed through the lens of food.

Women Innovators in Food and Farming

Award-winning journalist Amy Wu hosts Women Innovators in Food and Farming, where she interviews women entrepreneurs driving change in agri-food tech. From advancements in seed breeding and soil innovation to cutting-edge robotics and automation, Amy explores the stories and insights shaping the future of food and farming.

Everything But The Carbon Sink

Hosted by Eva Goulbourne—an experienced strategist in food systems transformation and climate philanthropy—Everything But the Carbon Sink examines how agriculture, food waste, and land use impact the climate crisis. Each episode highlights forward-thinking solutions, financing strategies, and the key players driving change at the intersection of food and climate.

Soul to Table

Join Chef Ryan Lacy on the Soul to Table podcast. he goes on a journey to explore our food systems from seed to table through the eyes of our guests, chefs, ranchers, food scientists, farmers & many more.

Spoon Full of AI

In this show, The Spoon’s own Carlos Rodela dives into the cutting-edge world of artificial intelligence. We go face-to-face with industry innovators who share firsthand how AI is transforming their industry and how they are meeting the challenge by utilizing AI in their business. In each episode, we’ll also explore the latest AI tools powering big change, complete with suggestions for leveraging them in your business.

The Reimagining Restaurants Podcast

In this podcast, I talk to entrepreneurs, chefs, and industry leaders who are redefining what it means to run a modern restaurant—leveraging robotics, AI, automation, and sustainable practices to enhance customer service, optimize operations, and drive profitability.

And, of course, we’ll continue to feature The Spoon Podcast, our flagship show covering innovators across the food system. Over the next couple of months, we’ll spotlight conversations on The Spoon Podcast with all of our new hosts so you can get to know them better and hear from them about why their podcasts are must-listens.

You can check out all of our shows on The Spoon Podcast Network page, where you’ll also find links to the podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and their RSS feeds. Please subscribe!

And if you’d like to support our podcasts and independent media through sponsorship, drop us a line—we’d love to have that conversation.

Finally, a big shoutout to our hosts who believed in this vision, and to The Spoon team, including Carlos Rodela (our producer) and Tiffany McClurg, our head of operations (and new warm-read specialist!).

We can’t wait to bring these conversations to you. Stay tuned!

Lee Kindell on His Journey from Hostel Operator to Building a Fast-Growing Robot-Powered Pizza Chain

Lee Kindell, founder of MOTO Pizza, Seattle’s fastest-growing restaurant chain, never intended to be a restaurateur. In fact, starting a small local pizza joint was more of a retirement plan for when he eventually retired from running a hostel, where he’d cultivated a community atmosphere by taking guests on foraging trips, introducing them to local food, and hosting communal dinners.

According to Kindell, it was during one of these gatherings that someone suggested making pizza, and before long, he became fascinated with the craft of dough preparation. Over time, he learned the nuances of sourdough and grew to love the tactile joy of working with dough, and he would talk to his wife, Nancy, about an eventual far-away plan to retire and run a small pizza restaurant.

But like millions of Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed him into a pivot faster than he anticipated when his hostels closed, and his far-away plan soon became the next thing up. He poured his savings into a 500-square-foot space in Seattle’s West Seattle neighborhood—which they affectionately call “The Up House.” With less than $60,000, Kindell bought used equipment and salvaged furniture from the side of the road, and soon, he soft-launched his little pizza shop. But, in a shock to both Kindell and his wife, a soft launch quickly turned into a viral sensation as bored home-bound customers in the midst of a pandemic lined up around the block after learning about MOTO on social media and from an article in Seattle Eater.

“We went viral on day one,” Kindell said.

From there, MOTO’s reputation grew as Kindell dedicated himself to bettering his craft. He became a hands-on pizzaiolo, mixing dough by hand until an arm injury pushed him to adopt a mixer—a pivotal moment that reshaped his views on scaling. Kindell realized that the mixer didn’t compromise the dough’s quality, and soon, he began exploring other tools, such as conveyor ovens and robotics, to do what he called “scaling craft.”

Moto’s expansion soon took an unexpected turn, landing a coveted spot at the Seattle Mariners Stadium after one day talking to a customer who worked for the team. Kindell pitched his idea to make stadium-friendly, hand-held pizzas, and it wasn’t long MOTO was serving up to 1,400 pizzas per game. Success at T-Mobile Park led to additional opportunities, including the Paribas Tennis Open in Palm Springs, where MOTO served 3,000 pizzas a day during the tournament. “It’s a logistical nightmare,” Kindell said, but he is confident in scaling MOTO nationwide without losing the craft and authenticity that made it special.

Nowadays, MOTO continues to grow (they just opened their first mall location at Bellevue Square) and Kindell has plans to expand nationally and even overseas. There’s no shortage of investor interest, and Kindell and his team plan on taking on more investment next year as they expand their footprint and explore new technology options like drone delivery.

You can watch our full conversation below or listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Taking Chances and Making Pizzas

Meet The Reimagining Restaurants Podcast, and Check Out The First Episode With Wow Bao’s Geoff Alexander

Here at The Spoon, we’ve covered hundreds of restaurant operators over the past half-decade, in part because we love restaurants and restaurant tech, but mostly because restaurant operators are some of the most creative and hard-working entrepreneurs in the food business.

The truth is they have to be. There’s no business changing faster than the world of food service, with the advent of ghost kitchens, digital ordering, automation, and AI, all against a backdrop of high food costs, changing consumer tastes, employee turnover, and more.

All of which is why we’ve decided to start a new podcast focused on entrepreneurs who are finding new ways to run a restaurant in today’s modern world. We wanted to hear their journey into restaurants, hear how they are rethinking how to do business in today’s world, and where they see the restaurant business going in the future.

For our first episode, we knew no one better to discuss approaching the restaurant business in new and innovative ways than Geoff Alexander. The CEO of Wow Bao got his start in hospitality with a college job as a bartender, where he discovered his talent for connecting with people, and he hasn’t looked back.

He joined Lettuce Entertain You shortly after graduation and rose through the ranks over the next three decades, gaining operational expertise and eventually overseeing his own division. In 2009, he took the reins at Wow Bao, where he embraced technology as a way to turn the business around and innovate on new business models. He introduced self-ordering kiosks, mobile ordering, and partnered with third-party delivery platforms early on, which laid the foundation for Wow Bao’s unique model that spans over 500 locations with a mix of virtual kitchens and centralized food production.

Alexander shares insights on Wow Bao’s approach and how a lack of capital fostered a culture of creativity and efficiency. This approach led to successful innovations like centralized production and distribution, which he says has kept cost low while ensuring quality. Alexander also discusses scaling with hot-food vending machines and dipping the company’s toe into the metaverse.

It was a fun episode, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts!

Spoonful of AI Podcast: Raj Singh Talks GPT Food Cam and Building Websites With AI

We caught up with Raj Singh, head of Solo for Mozilla (and maker of the GPT Food Cam app) for an episode of The Spoon’s newest podcast, Spoon Full of AI.

Singh, who we wrote about last month after he launched his calorie-counting app, talked with me about the importance of understanding how AI can be used to focus on more meaningful work.

Below are some of the key themes from this week’s episode:

A key theme is the role of AI as a “co-pilot,” enhancing productivity by automating low-leverage tasks. Singh emphasizes the “95% rule,” highlighting that AI’s current strength lies in augmenting human capabilities rather than achieving perfect automation.

The Evolving Landscape of AI Integration: Singh talks about the rapid evolution of AI integration, from browser-based features like Firefox’s “Orbit” to Adobe’s Firefly, which promises AI-generated video editing enhancements.

AI as a Productivity Tool: Singh illustrates how AI tools like ChatGPT are revolutionizing workflows, citing examples such as generating SQL queries for data analysis and providing UX insights, tasks traditionally requiring specialized roles.

AI’s Disruptive Potential: The discussion touches upon AI’s potential to disrupt existing business models, pointing to his skunkworks project, GPT Food Cam, which is a free, AI-powered food logging app that rivals paid services.

Spoon Full of AI is The Spoon’s new podcast about all things AI. It will include a healthy dose of food-related AI, but it also goes beyond that.

Subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

And oh yeah, you can listen below by hitting play!

When it Comes to Using AI To Shape New Culinary Creations, Ali Bouzari Thinks Food is Mostly ‘All Hands’

In the most recent episode of the Spoon Podcast, I caught up with food scientist Ali Bouzari to discuss his work and get his thoughts on new technologies that are helping to shape the future of food.

I first met Bouzari when he spoke at the Culinary Institute of America a few years ago about how robotics could impact food service and other sectors. At the time, he talked about Creator—a burger restaurant powered by robots—and suggested that food robots could sometimes do things that most food service employees could not replicate. He specifically referred to how Creator’s burger bot could create more intricate structures in the burger patty than possible to enhance mouthfeel.

When I asked him about this on the podcast, he suggested that while yes, there are things technology can do, he was worried about the recent obsession with AI and using it to craft recipes and new culinary creations. He drew a parallel between AI’s notorious difficulty in rendering realistic-looking human hands in artwork and the challenge of using AI in food production.

“You know that recurring motif where somebody will put a seemingly impressive piece of AI-generated imagery up and be like, ‘My God, look at Darth Vader doing this thing in Saturday Night Fever or something.’ And everybody always says, ‘Look at the hands, look at the fingers.’ And there’s always something wrong with the hands. There’s something that is difficult for AI to crack. What I would say it is most of food is hands. Food is basically all hands.”

Bouzari also shared how multiple clients had approached him after playing with generative AI tools to experiment with developing food products. “We have clients being like, ‘Hey, ChatGPT said we should put arrowroot flour in this cookie.’ I think that somebody is feeding all of the AI brains a lot of great information about arrowroot. Because three different people on three different projects have said that AI said, ‘Have you tried arrowroot?’ which is, in a lot of instances, kind of a useless ingredient.

But thinking about things like AI have caught his attention, Bouzari told me the biggest challenge that has his attention nowadays is the impact of climate change and how food brands are facing a reality that their products may not have a future if they continue to do things – and create food products – in the same way as they have in the past.

One example he gave is the global cacao shortage. “Chocolate is in trouble,” Bouzari said. He pointed to how disruptions in cacao production are driving up costs and threatening the availability of what is a beloved staple. This isn’t some distant, theoretical issue Bouzari told me. “It’s already happening.”

And it’s not just chocolate.

“Coffee’s next,” said Bouzari. “Coffee might do a thing where, like grapes, it just creeps higher and higher latitudes as things change.”

And because of this urgency food brands are now faced with that Bouzari gets a little annoyed with how food makers are sometimes distracted with shiny new toys while missing the big picture.

“My thinking with food is it’s a little bit extra irksome, the conversation around AI sometimes, where people say, ‘I’ve spent six months trying to get this generative AI to make me a new pasta recipe,’ when I don’t think we need that. And the water and energy cost of all of that computation is directly contributing to, I think, the actual biggest existential problem we have, which is climate change.”

We also talk about Bouzari’s experience on the Netflix Show Snack vs. Chef, his thoughts on alternative proteins and what gets him excited about the future.

You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by clicking play below.

Podcast: Sam Rose Loves Building Consumer Products

This week’s podcast guest is Sam Rose, who has spent her entire career unraveling the complexities of bringing consumer products—often kitchen-related—to life.

I first met Sam about eight years ago, introduced through our mutual friend, Scott Heimendinger, who was collaborating with Sam on developing a next-generation coffee grinder.

But this wasn’t just any coffee grinder. It was a cutting-edge, tech-forward device that could sense the freshness of the beans, use burr grinders to achieve perfect consistency, and more. In other words, the kind of innovative kitchen gadget that intrigued a kitchen tech nerd like me, especially as someone who organized the Smart Kitchen Summit.

However, Sam’s journey didn’t begin with coffee grinders. Her first product was much simpler—at least from a technology standpoint—and was inspired by a personal frustration. Disgusted with a cheap silicone spatula, Sam thought, “Why don’t I just make my own?”

And that’s exactly what she did. Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Sam has not only mastered the art of creating and selling her own consumer products to hundreds of thousands of customers but has also developed a comprehensive set of business processes and technologies to help others do the same. To top it off, she’s now investing in companies she believes she can help succeed—focusing on physical consumer products, a category that many investors shy away from.

Today, Sam runs Mvnifest, Endless Commerce, and hosts her own podcast, Best Day Ever. Check it out (Including her latest episode with yours truly!), but first listen to our conversation below on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

Podcast: Can You Grow Meat With Light?

Cultivated meat companies have struggled over the past year as they try to figure out how to do something that’s never been done before: grow meat in large quantities in big metal vats.

Part of the challenge is figuring out how to grow the meat cells. The technology to do this has been borrowed from the pharmaceutical industry, where a single dose of a cancer drug can be sold for thousands of dollars. Needless to say, those cost dynamics don’t work when you’re making a chicken sandwich.

Deniz Kent thinks he has the answer. His company, Prolific Machines, is replacing expensive growth media with the cheapest energy input: light.

Listen to this conversation to hear how Deniz learned about how light could be a way to grow cells, why he thinks lights could help save the cultivated meat industry, and where he sees the cultivated meat industry going over the next decade.

You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by clicking play below.