Announcing the Future of Dining Online Conversation

Eating is complex and rife for disruption. From employee turnover, slim margins and limited availability of affordable, sustainable ingredients to food safety compliance and customer engagement, restaurants and foodservice operators have no shortage of challenges. And lacking the time, knowledge or access to ingredients to cook, eaters’ health and wellbeing are suffering.

At Food+Tech Connect, we think technology and design can help improve the impact food production, distribution and consumption have on our health, economy and environment. So we’re asking our favorite food and tech innovators “How might we use technology and design to hack a better future for dining?” We’ll be sharing their ideas as part of our “Hacking Dining” editorial series from June 2-30.

And we want to hear your ideas, too, so we hope you will join the conversation! Tell us what you think in the comments below, on your own blog (send a link to nina[at]foodtechconnect.com), on Twitter (#hackdining),  Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Tumblr.

Then, from June 27-29, we’re partnering with Applegate, Google, Chipotle, Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group and Studio Industries to bring food, tech and design rabble-rousers together to prototype technology solutions to industry-wide challenges at Hack//Dining NYC. Spaces are limited and ticket sales end June 13, so snag your spot today here.

Posted Submissions:

• Mario Batali – Chef/Restauranteur, Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group – Mario Batali on Hacking a Better Future For Dining
• Joanne Wilson – Angel Investor, Blogger, Co-Founder Womens Entrepreneur Festival, Gotham Gal Ventures – Joanne Wilson on The Evolution of Dining & Technology
• Justin Massa – Founder & CEO, Food Genius – Why We Need to Centralize the Online Food Industry
• Jennifer Goggin – Co-founder & CEO, FarmersWeb – Making “Farm to Table” the Norm by Increasing Food Chain Transparency
• Alex Lorton – Co-founder, Cater2.me – Improving the Dining Experience Through Preference Algorithms
• Mark Egerman – Co-founder, Cover – The Future of Dining: Less Transactional & More Personal
• Matt Rothe – Co-founder, FEED Collaborative – Why We Need to Hack the Farm Bill
• Michiel Bakker – Director, Global Food Services, Google – Google Food Service’s Big Vision for Hacking A Better Future of Dining
• Matt Rothe – Co-founder, FEED Collaborative – Why We Need to Hack the Farm Bill
• Krysia Zajonc – Co-founder, Local Food Lab – Hacking Dining Means Giving Restaurant Workers A Raise
• Benzi Ronen – Founder & CEO, Farmigo – Putting Community at the Center of Local Food Distribution
• Matt Oley – VP of Sales, Swipely – How Tech is Changing the Way Restaurants Manage the Dining Experience
• Sidsel Robards – Director of Program Development and Events, New York Sun Works – Teaching Kids to Hack Dining Through STEM Education
• Brian Halweil – Editor, Edible East End – Brian Halweil on 3 Ways We Should Hack Dining to Improve Sustainability
• Bonnie Powell – Director of Communications, Bon Appetit Management Company – Why We Need a Precise Handheld Food Allergen Detector
• Gina Asoudegan -Director of Communications, Applegate –Applegate on Using Tech & Hackathons to Transform Foodservice
• William Rosenzweig, Managing Partner of Physic Ventures & Chairman, Vitality Commission – William Rosenzweig on 4 Ways to Hack Workplace Dining
• Adam Salomone – Associate Publisher, The Harvard Common Press & The Food Loft – Hacking Inventory Management, Data Tracking & BOH Operations
• Sarah Smith – Research+Design Manager, Institute for the Future – Global Food Outlook Map: How Tech is Remaking the Future of Food
• Kristen Hawley – Founder, Chefs+Tech – 4 Ways Technology Improves The Dining Out Experience
• Mitchell Davis – Executive Vice President, The James Beard Foundation – Mitchell Davis Calls for a Sustainability-driven Yelp
• Ware Sykes – CEO, NoWait – Why Casual-dining Restaurants Should Embrace Mobile Tech
• Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs – Co-founders, Food52 – Github for Home Cooking: Food52′s Vision For Hacking Dining
• David Bloom – CEO, Ordr.in – Unlocking Data to Create a Better Customer Dining Experience
• Zach Buckner – CEO & Co-founder,  Relay Foods – Bringing Back the Family Dinner with Online Local Grocery
• Haven Bourque – Principal, haven b media – Haven Bourque Chats Tech & Sustainable Seafood with Siren Fish Co.
• David Feller – Founder & CEO, Yummly – Yummly on Hacking Taste with Food Data
• Mary Beth Albright – Food Attorney and Food Writer – Why We Need a Food Tech Revolution
• Dan Susman – Director, Growing Cities – Bolstering Food System Game-changers Through Storytelling
• Darren Wan – Co-founder, Easy Pairings – Using Tech to Drive Restaurant Growth
• Nicolette Hahn Niman – Attorney, Writer, Livestock Rancher BN Ranch – The Future of Food Depends on Grass
• Peretz Patetzky – Co-founder, Sourcery – Why We Need Open & Collaborative Food Sourcing
• Erika Block, Founder & CEO, Local Orbit & Nina Misuraca Ignaczak, Writer and Editor –Relocalizing Food Supply Chains Through Tech & the Power of Story
• Alex Yancher – Co-founder, Pantry – Yelp, Munchery & Goji Pave the Way for Food Innovation
• Taryn Fixel and Eris Stassi – Co-Founders, Ingredient1 – How Food Data is Personalizing the Feedback Loop
• Santiago Merea – CEO & Founder, The Orange Chef Co. – The Orange Chef Co. on Using Tech to Streamline Home Cooking
• Brooke Singer and Stefani Bardin – Founders, La Casita Verde – Using Tech to Cultivate Community & Improve Environmental Health
• Massimiliano Del Vita – Co-founder, Klappo – Harnessing Big Data to Build Better Food & Wellness Apps
• Julie Ann Fineman – Founder, FoodShed Exchange – Bridging the Gap Between Chefs & Sustainable Producers
• Michael Dimin – Founding Director, Sea to Table – How Sea to Table Is Using Tech to Grow the Sustainable Seafood Movement
• Jake Terrell – Vineyard Manager, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards – Sustainable Wine Making & Technology: The Perfect Pairing
• Lev Berlin – Founder, ReciPal – Jetsons-esque Products like Soylent are the Food of the Future
• Chef Hollie Greene – Co-founder, JoyFoodly –Making Healthy Home-Cooking Easy, Affordable & Accessible
• Yael Raviv – VP Content Partners, Kinetic Art– Designing Our Way to a Community of Smart, Linked Cooking Apps
• Niko Hrdy – President, Valley Oak Investments – Entrepreneurs & Educated Consumers Will Disrupt The Future of Eating & Farming
• Rebecca Chesney – Communications and Research Manager, Institute for the Future – 4 Projects Building an Open Source Food Web
• Emilie Baltz –  Founder, Baltz Works – Performance Dining: Where Food, Tech & Design Converge
• Saul Colt – Principal – Kinetic Startup Innovations, Kinetic Cafe – What an Edible Garden at a Baseball Stadium Means for Our Food Future
• Arlin Wasserman, – Founder and Partner, Changing Tastes – Let’s Hack Taste Profiles to Personalize Dining
• Josh Tetrick – Founder, Hampton Creek – Hampton Creek Scrambles Big Data + Food Science to Change the Way We Eat
• Alice Cheng –  Founder and CEO, Culinary Agents – 4 Ways Tech Can Support the 13.5M U.S. Restaurant Employees
• Mike Lee and Meredith Micale – Studio Industries – Hack Stories, Not Technology: Why Food Needs Design

Hungry for more? Get a taste of last year’s editorial series “Hacking Meat” here.