Season Three of The Future of Food examined how restaurants can survive during pandemic times. We looked for answers in many ways. Lee Schneider interviewed Sean Lynch, who set up a listing service for restaurants that were doing takeout and deliver. He spoke with Grace Guber about her experiences as a server and with Lex Gopnix-Lewinski about what it was like to own a restaurant in the last year. Creg Fielding, CEO of Fusionware, threw some light on how the supply chain works and how it failed during the pandemic.  Brian Wang brought his perspective as a science writer and Atul Sood discussed how ghost kitchens may be the future of some restaurant experiences. 

Ghost kitchens have been helping out many a restaurant during the pandemic. These are kitchens — often without a storefront or public face — that make the food you’re taking out from your favorite restaurant.  

Atul Sood is the Chief Business Officer at Kitchen United, a venture-backed startup that is deploying “ghost kitchens” to help restaurant brands serve their customers without necessarily having a storefront or physical restaurant. He knows his way around food delivery partnerships: He was the Director of Business Development for McDonald’s Global Digital organization.

Some ghost kitchens have names you know — they’re the outsourced takeout division of your neighborhood place. Others exist only as ghost kitchens — they are not attached to a physical restaurant at all.

Ghost kitchens were around before the pandemic and they will be around afterward. Just as chefs used to try out their ideas in food trucks that went from neighborhood to neighborhood, restauranteurs with experience and those new to the game are using ghost kitchens to test their culinary ideas on the public.  It could be that your favorite restaurant of the future may not have a physical location that you can visit. It will be an entirely take-out experience. 

Brian Wang joins Lee Schneider on the show today. Brian is a Co-Founder, futurist thought leader and a popular science blogger with one million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. 

How old is that potato? It's a question every restaurant has to answer. And when you shop for groceries, have you ever wondered if what you put in your cart is really fresh? These are supply chain questions that Creg Fielding can answer. He’s the founder and owner of Fusionware, a platform designed manage supply chains for food growers, packers, and shippers. 

For the next few episodes, we're going to get into  tech solutions for the crisis facing restaurants during pandemic times. Restaurants are more than a place to eat. They become cultural institutions, enhancing the value of the neighborhood. They will have to adapt to the changes the pandemic brings.  Today's guests are a deli owner and a tech guy who loves restaurants. 

Augie's Authentic Montreal Deli

Numa

Restaurants are the soul of a neighborhood.  That makes the news hard to hear that this week we've had another order to close restaurants here in Los Angeles.  Some owners decided that it’s just not worth it. They shut their doors. Maybe for good. 

Our guest for this episode is Grace Guber, host and producer of The Family Meal podcast, She shares per perspective about working in the restaurant business during the pandemic and suggests some ideas about what the future of restaurants might be.  

Sean Lynch is a co-creator of Dining at a Distance, a platform that helps you find a restaurant you can order out from or contact online for pickup. It started in Chicago and spread quickly worldwide in response to the need for a simple, integrated hub listing restaurants that can feed you during the pandemic crisis. 

Future of Food Season 3 is looking at the challenges faced by restaurants in pandemic times. We'll be speaking with chefs, entrepreneurs, and foodies who are seeking the way forward in the restaurant business. Hosted and produced by Lee Schneider. Future of Food is part of the FutureX Network.

Show notes and more at futurex.fm.  Visit our website at futurefood.fm. 

Learn more about Dining at a Distance at diningatadistance.com.

Rebecca Webster is a member of the Oneida Nation. Along with her husband and two teenaged daughters, she farms 10 acres of land and has helped members of her tribal community reconnect with their past. The philosophy behind her work is that every time an indigenous person plants a seed, it is an act of resistance and an assertion of sovereignty.