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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

America's Test Kitchen

SKS 2019: The Kitchen Evolution is In a State of “Good Chaos”

What’s next for the smart kitchen? What sort of new appliances will be gracing the countertops of the future, and what sort of technologies will power them? In short: What will it look like to cook at home in the future?

That’s exactly the question one of our panels tackled at SKS 2019. The discussion was led by The Spoon’s Chris Albrecht, who spoke with Lisa McManus of America’s Test Kitchen, Matt Van Horn of June and Steve Svajian of Anova about what’s coming down the pipelines for kitchen tech. The full video is below, but if you want a few quick highlights read on:

The future of the kitchen is software
Svajian argued that the smart kitchen space started out more hardware-driven, but has recently been shifting to focus more on software. Van Horn agreed. He said that in the early days of the company, people used what he called the “primitive” settings of the smart oven: bake, broil, etc. But now they’re using the automatic cook programs more and more. “That said, the hardware [still] has to be great,” added Svajian.

All tech aside, it has to work
McManus drove home the point that high-tech appliance are great, but they have to actually help people cook better — not just look cool. “We look at things that will make [cooking] easier and more accessible to everyone,” she said. “Things that are practical, that are functional.”

The smart kitchen space right now? “Good chaos.”
McManus summed up the evolution of the food tech ecosystem pretty neatly during the panel. “It feels like a really exciting brainstorm,” she said. “It’s good chaos.” Svajian agreed, equating the space to the evolution of the Web in the late 90’s. ‘The law of entropy is real.’

If you want to hear more about where these three insiders see the fast-paced evolution of the kitchen heading, make sure to watch the full video below.

SKS 2019: Kitchen Tech Futures: A Look At What's Next

Lisa McManus Wants To Prevent Buyer’s Remorse In The Smart Kitchen

The Smart Kitchen Summit is the first event to tackle the future of food, cooking and the kitchen with leaders across food, tech, commerce, design, delivery and appliances. This series will highlight panelists and partners for the 2017 event, being held on October 10-11 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. 

America’s Test Kitchen has been helping people learn to cook better food at home long before the word “smart” was attached to the kitchen or home. Originally a TV series started in 2001 by famous chef and editor-in-chief of Cook’s Illustrated Christopher Kimball, the brand has grown to include a digital empire of TV and web shows, online recipe content, cooking classes and kitchen equipment reviews.

Lisa McManus is the executive editor of equipment testing and ingredient tasting and the on-air “gadget guru” for ATK – which means her mission includes testing various types of kitchen tech and determine its worthiness as a tool for the home chef. As gear in the kitchen becomes more high-tech and connected, McManus and her team test “smart” cooking equipment alongside traditional versions. “It adds an extra challenge to assess how the technology enhances – or doesn’t – the experience of using that product,” she says.

McManus herself is a self-proclaimed obsessive researcher and hates the feeling of buyer’s remorse. When she bought her first car, she read exhaustively about the auto industry, studied different models and designs, watched crash-test dummy videos and even joined Zipcar for a year to be able to drive different cars without a salesperson sitting next to her. That dedication to finding the best solution spills over into her job at America’s Test Kitchen every day.

“I try to stand in for the home cook, and prevent other consumers from feeling stuck with sub-par products. I design and conduct tests, and share what I’ve learned, to help people find the most practical, functional gear.”

Interestingly, America’s Test Kitchen, which is owned by Boston Common Press, has built a powerful model for food media without resorting to heavy advertisements. There are no ads in the brand’s magazines and they have over a million paid subscribers between Cook’s Illustrated and Cook Country. McManus says the lack of advertisers allows the company to freely discuss products – the good, bad and the ugly – and be the strongest possible advocates for consumers, only recommending devices and gadgets that will really make cooking easier and food taste better.

As more startups look to capitalize on the digital craze around food videos and recipes, America’s Test Kitchen seems to have built a brand that’s adaptive to changing consumer demands and interests. Turning their eye to how technology is impacting the consumer kitchen is one way to do that.

“I’m really excited about the direction of the smart kitchen; right now I see a lot of creativity and energy in this field as it develops, not all of it practical, but that will happen over time,” McManus adds. “I’m sure tech is going to change how we all use our kitchens and prepare our meals, and what looks very futuristic and exclusive right now will become commonplace.”

The America’s Test Kitchen team might be excited about tech playing a bigger role in the kitchen, but there’s also a healthy dose of skepticism mixed in. McManus says she’s constantly looking how connectivity is going to solve a real problem instead of becoming a useless feature that renders the product more expensive but not more functional. Often, she says, things like the app might have been worked on for a while, but the actual cooking device is sub-par, or the database of recipes is limited and an afterthought. “How long before this product is no longer useful? Has the practical day-to-day usage been fully considered or does it make more work? Bottom line: Is the connectedness offering a real benefit that will become second nature, or is it just frills, bells and whistles?” 

Don’t miss Lisa McManus, executive editor at America’s Test Kitchen at the 2017 Smart Kitchen Summit. Check out the full list of speakers and to register for the Summit, use code ATK to get 25% off ticket prices.

The Smart Kitchen Summit takes place thanks to our sponsors; if you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, reach out to the SKS team to discuss options. 

If you’d like to attend the Smart Kitchen Summit, you can still buy early bird tickets and get an additional 25% off by using the discount code SPOON here. 

Smart Kitchen Summit 2017 Announces First Round Of Speakers

The Smart Kitchen Summit is back for its third – and biggest – year yet. Heading back to Benaroya Hall on October 10 and 11 in Seattle, the Summit will once again bring together the who’s who of the smart kitchen world. A combination of leaders from the worlds of Big Food, tech, commerce, culinary, design, delivery and smart home, SKS speakers, sponsors and attendees represent some of the biggest names in their respective industries.

The 2017 Smart Kitchen Summit agenda will be live in the next few weeks, but the Summit crew has started to announce the first round of speakers for this year and it is filled with rockstar talent. Notable speakers this year include CTO of Barilla, Victoria Spadaro Grant who will speak to the role of technology and innovation in the world of Big Food as well as Neil Grimmer, CEO and founder of personalized meal kit delivery startup Habit.

Because the consumer kitchen and consumer food preferences are constantly being influenced, SKS will welcome Top Chef alum and owner of ink, Chef Michael Voltaggio.

The Summit will explore the how the smart appliance is changing in the face of new interface, delivery, commerce and technology models; appliance leaders Yoon Lee, senior VP of innovation at Samsung along with Ola Nilsson, CEO of Electrolux’s small appliance group will join us for those discussions.

With innovation in food tech and the connected kitchen moving so rapidly, Summit themes around business models and startups will help attendees think about their own product roadmaps and understand where the space is headed.  Evan Dash, CEO of StoreBound will be on hand to discuss how his company is helping to bring to market such products the the PancakeBot and SoBro, through a fully integrated model of a go-to-market pipeline.

The Smart Kitchen Summit has also drawn an elite group of journalists who are covering and looking at how technology is transforming the way we eat, shop for and cook our food. Maura Judkis, food and culture reporter for the Washington Post, Ashlee Clark Thompson, associate editor at CNET, Carley Knobloch from the HGTV Smart Home, Lisa McManus from America’s Test Kitchen, Keith Barry, editor-in-chief of Reviewed.com (owned by USA Today) and Amanda Rottier, Product Director of Cooking at the New York Times, will all help facilitate discussions.

Other 2017 Smart Kitchen Summit speakers include:

For the full list of speakers and 2017 sponsors and partners, visit the SKS website.

No other event brings together the decision makers and disrupters from across the food, cooking, appliance, retail and technology ecosystems like SKS. Join us on October 10 and 11 in Seattle to connect with new people, find partners, see the latest technology and startup demonstrations, hear the leaders of the space and make deals.

Early bird tickets are on sale now through July 31, 2017 and if you use code SPOON, you can get 20% off tickets through the end of this month. So, if you want to grab a front row seat as we map the future of cooking and the kitchen, register now.

America’s Test Kitchen Explores Food Science With New Publication

America’s Test Kitchen, a popular cooking show turned publication house, has launched a new brand called Cook’s Science. Led by food journalist Molly Birnbaum and America’s Test Kitchen host Dan Souza, Cook’s Science will report on stories that delve into the science behind food, experimentations in the kitchen and publish unique recipes for consumers.

Our take: As the food industry diversifies and expands, there are more opportunities for publications to expand their coverage. From consumer-driven content like recipe videos and guided cooking to examining the ways that technology is changing the way we eat, buy and prepare our food (see – The Spoon!), there’s a lot to talk about. And the industries that are involved and interested in these topics span a huge range: food, commerce, technology, AI, Big Data, design, retail and more.

We look forward to reading Cook’s Science take on the science behind the things we eat and getting our food nerd on.

Read the full press release. 

America’s Test Kitchen Wants To Bring Science To Cooking

Launched over two decades ago, America’s Test Kitchen has become the go-to resource for kitchen cooking instruction for home chefs. Now the group is looking to help take cooking to the next level and bring new cooks into the mix, with the launch of the Cook’s Science website. The group recently announced its launch, led by executive editors Molly Birnbaum and Dan Souza and aim to add an element of narrative in order to tell stories about the intersection of science and food.

Our Take: This initiative to look at science and technology and examine how they are changing how we cook is part of a growing trend. With the emergence of Guiding Cooking Systems, meal delivery services, app-based cooking gadgets and hands-off appliance functionality, we continue to see efforts to reinvent the core concepts in cooking and appeal to the next generation of cooks in the kitchen. There is a gap in concentrated reporting around this and other related subjects, including food technology, smart kitchen, the convergence of science and tech with food and more. We hope this and other similar efforts (like The Spoon!) will help tell interesting stories and spark a movement that drives the kitchen of the future.