We are pleased to make available these videos from sessions from SKS 2017. For news about future SKS events and stories about the future of food, cooking and the kitchen, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter.
WHAT DO INNOVATORS NEED TO ADDRESS NOW AND HOW?
Appliance makers, food companies and retailers can no longer play by the same old rules. Evan Dash will look at the rules for innovation in the modern kitchen.
Evan Dash, StoreBound
BUILDING A FULL STACK FOOD COMPANY
It used to be very simple. Your company made appliances, food or content, but the lines between these were very defined. Today the lines are blurring and a new breed of company is emerging as new technologies and business model disruption is changing all the rules.
Chris Young, CEO, ChefSteps, Victoria Spadaro Grant, CTO, Barilla, Michael Wolf, The Spoon
I, CHEF-BOT: APPLYING AI TO THE WORLD OF FOOD & COOKING
From voice assistants to machine vision to chatbot recreations of Michelin star chefs, we are only just beginning to see how artificial intelligence will change the way we interact with our food. Join this panel of AI meets food experts to get a better understanding the trajectory of AI within the food, cooking and kitchen landscape.
Erik Andrejko, CTO, Wellio, Nikhil Bhogal, CTO, June, Emma Persky, Team Lead, Google Assistant Recipe & Cooking Experience, Moderator: Stacey Higginbotham, IoT Podcast
ITUNEIZING FOOD: APPLIANCE AS DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR FOOD & DRINK
PicoBrew has created a digital marketplace for independent brewers and beer brewing hobbyists to submit their recipes and earn revenue for their beer intellectual property. What happens to food as recipes becomes software and food creation is increasingly driven by technology and digital markets? In this fireside chat, Bill will discuss digital marketplaces for food and beverage intellectual property and how they will evolve in the future.
Bill Mitchell, PicoBrew, Richard Gunther, Universal Mind
IMAGINING A SMART KITCHEN FUTURE
Digitization of food. New cooking technologies. Decentralized food production. Personalized nutrition. There are so many ways in which our kitchen and what we do within will change in coming years. Institute for the Future's Rebecca Chesney helps us imagine what that future may look like.
Rebecca Chesney, Institute for the Future
TRICKLE DOWN INNOVATION: THE PLACE OF THE PRO KITCHEN IN INNOVATION DIFFUSION (FIRESIDE CHAT)
The diffusion of technological innovations follow standard patterns. One of those patterns is that an innovation will start being used by customers in high-end, demanding commercial environments and then make its way down to consumer products over time. In conversation with long-time food journalist Amanda Gold, Tyler Florence shares with us his approach to using technology in his kitchens, how recipes need to change so that machines can understand them and where he sees the biggest impacts for smart appliances in the domestic kitchen.
Tyler Florence, Food Network, Amanda Gold
BUILDING A MODERN APPLIANCE COMPANY IN THE AGE OF THE CONNECTED KITCHEN (FIRESIDE CHAT)
Brands in the kitchen have a choice to make: just do what's worked in the past or embrace the future. Founded nearly a century ago, Vitamix has established itself as one of the premier brands in the countertop blender market, but faces a rapidly changing marketplace amid shifting consumer diets, technology innovation and a shifting retail environment. Vitamix COO Tony Ciepiel will talk about how Vitamix looks to chart the future while staying true to a brand's core value proposition established over nearly a century.
Tony Ciepiel, Vitamix, Allen Weiner, The Spoon
SCALING VOLTAGGIO: HOW A MICHELIN STAR CHEF USES TECH TO EXPAND REACH WHILE STAYING AUTHENTIC
(FIRESIDE CHAT)
How does one of America's best chefs use technology to reach more people while maintaining authenticity to his vision? That's the question we intend to ask Top Chef Michael Voltaggio.
Chef Michael Voltaggio, Brian Frank, FTW Ventures
REINVENTING WHIRLPOOL FOR THE ERA OF KITCHEN TRANSFORMATION (FIRESIDE CHAT)
Earlier this year, appliance giant Whirlpool acquired Yummly. At the time, Whirlpool's Brett Dibkey said Yummly would provide a foundation for the company's digital offering for the coming era of transformation in the kitchen. In this talk, Dibkey and Yummly CEO Brian Witlin tell us the early days of this effort and what big changes they see coming for cooking and the kitchen.
Brett Dibkey, Whirlpool, Brian Witlin, Yummly, Michael Wolf, The Spoon
Afternoon Sessions, Day One
The Home As Food Factory: Making Local Production Mass Market
Michael Wolfe, CEO Aerogrow; Gabriel Blanchet, CEO, Grove; Andrew Deitz, Verdical; Allen Weiner, The Spoon
Building Services For The Connected Kitchen
Lisa Fetterman, CEO, Nomiku; Mike Wallace, CEO, Perfect Company; Tony Ciepiel, COO, Vitamix; Moderator: Brita Rosenheim, The Mixing Bowl
Tech Please: How Restaurants Can Leverage Technology In Front & Back Of House
David Zito, CEO, Miso Robotics; Steve Fredettez , CEO, Toast; Andrew Dietz from Verdical; Merril Gilbert
Artisan Food And Creation in the Age of AI
Kurt Beecher Dammeier, Founder, Beecher Cheese; Joe Behm, CEO, Behmor Coffee; Michael Wolf, The Spoon
From Cloud To Cart: The Future of Grocery
Joshua Sigel, COO, Innit; Erik Wallin, Northfork; Mike Lee, Future Market; Brian Frank, FTW Ventures
Considering Taste In Design In The Age of Tech
Rupali Steinmeyer, Managing Director, MetaDesign; John Winkelman, Interviewer: Ashley Daigneault, The Spoon
Startup Showcase Pitch Session Videos
Ava - Smart Garden System
Chefling - Kitchen Assistant/AI
Chime - Chai maker
Bubble Labs/Drip - Robotic pour over coffee maker
Gammachef - Cooking robot
HOPii - Beer appliance
IXL e-Cooker B.V. - Cooking technology
Loki - Wi-Fi Meat Thermometer
Morirobo - Robotic Crepe Maker
Pixsweet - Cloud-powered 3D Printed Popsicles
Stagg EKG+ - Electric Pour-Over Kettle
The PantryChic - Smart Pantry and Storage System
Verdical - Smart Garden System
Day Two Morning Sessions
SOLVING BIG PROBLEMS IN THE FOOD SYSTEM BY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
Google's mission is to index the worlds information and make it accessible. That includes recipes and food data. Michiel Bakker is responsible for feeding Google staff around the world but his mission does not stop there. In this talk we learn about his vision about solving problems with our global food system and his work in leading the inspiring efforts from the Google Food Lab.
Michiel Bakker, Director, Google Food Program, Maura Judkis, Reporter, Washington Post
REINVENTING THE HOME & COMMUNITY IN ERA OF DECENTRALIZED FOOD PRODUCTION
Over the past century, the main focus of food technologists was creating processes and technologies that enabled better and more efficient centralized production of food to feed a rapidly growing population. However, we are now at a tipping point where technology has enabled a great transition towards more decentralized production, where cities, neighborhoods and even our homes will eventually become points of production for a significant amount of our daily food intake.
James Ehrlich, CEO, ReGen Villages
THE CONSUMER KITCHEN IN THE ERA OF PERSONALIZED FOOD
While we are all used to picking food off of a menu or buying prepared meals in a grocery store, we know it's almost always an exercise of picking one-sized fits all food that has nothing to do with our own personalized taste and nutritional requirements. But due to rapid advancement in the ability to not only understand our specific dietary profile, but to also create specialized meals in almost realtime tailored towards our specific tastes and needs. Longtime food industry innovator and a leading voice in the personalized food movement Neil Grimmer will take a look at what the consumer kitchen could look like in the era of personalized food.
Neil Grimmer, CEO, Habit
THE SENSING KITCHEN: DIGITIZING THE SENSES
What happens when we can detect and understand food in our kitchen through technology? Those days are coming closer and new technology is digitizing our five senses, allowing us to instantly understand nutrient and molecular make up of our food through digital eyes, noses and more.
Shireen Yates, CEO, Nima, Dror Sharon, CEO, Consumer Physics, Tristan Rouselle, CEO, Aryballe, Moderator: Wilson Rothman, Wall Street Journal
THE HOME COOKING ROBOT: RECORDING AND RECREATING FOOD ANYWHERE
What if Gordon Ramsey or Michael Voltaggio could cook for you tonight with the same consistency and authenticity that they do in their famed establishments? What if there was a “netflix” for food where you can try out a version of mac and cheese as cooked by an artisanal cook in Nebraska? A chef robot may be the nexus of the convergence of connected data, recipes, food and people, and in this session we look at the current state of the art and we talk to these robotics pioneers about the state of home robotics, culinary robots and the opportunities they see for the industry at large.
Giacomo Marini, CEO, Neato Robotics, Drazen Drnas, CEO, GammaChef, Khalid M. Aboujassoum, CEO, Else Labs, oderator: Lisa McManus, America's Test Kitchen
REINVENTING FOOD APPLIANCES FOR THE INTERNET OF EVERYTHING
How does a company reinvent itself in the age of IoT, AI and big data? And more importantly, how does it use those technologies to improve the customer experience? In this fireside chat, we talk to two leaders charged with helping established brands innovate their way into the future about the transformative impact of new technologies and how it will impact the consumer relationship.
Chris McGugan, General Manager, Innovation & Kenmore, Sears, Larry Portaro, Director, GE FirstBuild, Interviewer: Carley Knobloch, HGTV Smart Home Expert
CONTENT AS COOKING FUEL: THE STORY OF TASTY'S ONE TOP
Over the past couple years, Buzzfeed's Tasty helped pioneer a new format for recipes that has catapulted them to the top of the world's leading video publishers. Now, the company is turning those same catchy quick-watch cooking videos watched by billions into software-powered cooking experiences to power their own cooking appliance, the Tasty One Top. In this fireside chat, Michael Wolf discusses the evolution of Tasty from viral recipe content site to a creator of a connected hardware product.
Claire King, Head of Culinary, Tasty, Talia Halperin, GM - Commerce, Tasty, Interviewer: Michael Wolf, The Spoon
Afternoon Sessions, Day Two
Kitchen TV: The Community Screen?
Yoon Lee, Head of Innovation, Samsung; Esme Williams, Allrecipes; Amanda Rottier, NY Times, Moe Lastfogel, Retail Observer
RIP Microwave: Here Comes RF Cooking
Yuval Ben-Haim, President, Goji Solutions; Dan Viza, Marketing Director, RF Heating, NXP; Klaus Werner, RF Energy Alliance; Michael Wolf, The Spoon
Cooking Appliances 2025: A Look Into The Future
Michael Natkin, CTO, ChefSteps; Kevin Brown, CEO, Innit; David Rabie, CEO, Tovala; Keith Barry, Reviewed.com
Shared Plate: How The Sharing Economy Impacts Food & Cooking
David McIntyre, Global Head of Food, Airbnb; Chetan Narain, Product Manager, UberEats; Interviewer: Brian Frank, FTW
Joe Britt, CEO, Afero; Cristian Ionescu, Renesas; Chris McGugan, Head of Innovation & Kenmore, Sears; Jonathan Cobb, COO, Ayla Networks; Moderator: Richard Gunther, Universal Mind & Home:On Podcast
Dr. Matthew Lange, UC Berkeley, IC-Foods
Exploring The Intersection of Virtual Reality & Food
Jinsoo An, Project Nourished; Basheer Tome, Hardware Interface Designer, Google VR; John du Pre Gauntt, The Augmented City; Moderator, Ashley Daigneault, The Spoon
The Precision Revolution: Beyond Sous Vide
Bill Mitchell, CEO, PicoBrew; Joe Behm, CEO, Behmor; Eric Norman, CEO, Cinder; Moderator: Sharon Franke
THE FINAL FIVE
The Final Five are five individual, visionary talks about the future. They are meant to inspire and inform attendees so they can go home and catalyze action for their startup, big company or individual careers.
Reinventing Retail
Josh Shabtai, Director, Labs Productions & Operations, Lowe's Innovation Labs
Gamifying Food: Applying Video Game Concepts To Cooking As a Recipe For Monetization
Kevin Yu, CEO, SideChef
Imagining A Printed Food Future
Vaiva Kalnikaitė, CEO, Dovetailed
You are Eating Software
Jon Jenkins, Director of Engineering, Hestan Smart Labs