During his fireside chat at the 2018 Smart Kitchen Summit, Richard Blais compared the state of food technology to something it has probably never been compared to ever before. “There’s this Biggie/Tupac thing happening in food always,” he said, using the most famous rap rivalry of all time to reflect the current tension in restaurants: old world vs. new, low-tech vs. high-tech, woodfire grills vs. robots.
Despite his culinary pedigree, Blais embraces technology in the kitchen — at least, when it can make things easier for him. At the same time, he doesn’t want robots to take over everything in the kitchen. Repetitive tasks (hello, french fry preparation), sure. Donuts delivered via drone? You betcha. (That’s a real business idea, by the way — and he’s going to call it the Dronut.)
Inviting technology into the kitchen is a delicate balancing act, though. In the end, Blais is open to most things — as long as food tastes awesome. “That’s the ultimate judge,” he said. “Is that thing delicious?”
Watch the full video of Richard Blais’ fireside chat (and find out his dairy-based DJ name) below.
Look out for more videos of the panels, solo talks, and fireside chats from SKS 2018! We’ll be bringing them to you hot and fresh out the (smart) kitchen over the next few weeks.
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