Smart Kitchen Show

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike welcomes Shiru CEO Jasmin Hume to the podcast to catch up on where things sit within the AI and food space in the context of Shiru's own evolution over the past couple of years. The highlights include: Talking about how VCs and entrepreneurs talk differently about how AI is being embraced in food Who will own the foundation models for food in the future How Jasmin and Shiru have evolved their company and how they talk with food brands about integrating AI How Jasmin would advise young food scientists to move forward in an era of AI It's a fun and interesting conversation, so take a listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike talks with Steve Statler, CEO and co-founder of AMB.AI, about the rise of ambient AI and energy-harvesting Bluetooth beacons could transform the supply chain. Steve shares his journey from pioneering Bluetooth beacons at Qualcomm to envisioning a future where everyday items like food, medicine, and clothing are connected and continuously monitored for location, temperature, and even freshness. The conversation explores the potential for reducing food waste, enabling dynamic expiry dates, and creating “demand chains” that respond in real time, while also tackling the privacy challenges and brand impacts of AI-driven purchasing. Steve balances excitement about the technology’s climate and efficiency benefits with caution about its role in feeding increasingly powerful AI systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Michael Wolf sits down with Mark Cuban for a wide-ranging conversation recorded live at the SKS 2025. Mark and Mike discuss the transformative power of AI, exploring why Cuban believes it's more disruptive than the internet, mobile, or streaming, and how it's already reshaping education, jobs, and entrepreneurship. Cuban shares his views on the broken U.S. healthcare system, his motivations behind launching Cost Plus Drugs, and how GLP-1s might reshape food and wellness. They dive into the changing innovation landscape, the future of hardware and robotics, and why Cuban stepped away from Shark Tank and sold majority control of the Mavericks. You won't want to miss it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Mike catches up with Babette Pepaj, founder of Bakespace and the new AI-powered platform BakeBot. Babette shares her journey from reality TV producer to social media pioneer, launching one of the first food-focused social networks in 2006. She reflects on the rise of food bloggers, the shifting digital landscape, and how she’s using AI to create more responsive, accessible, and personalized cooking tools for home cooks. Babette will be at Smart Kitchen Summit. Head over to smartkitchensummit.com and use code PODCAST for 15% off your tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's guest is Zach Rash, the co-founder and CEO of Coco Robotics. Mike talks to Zach about his journey from aspiring professional surfer to becoming of a robot delivery company backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman. Zach shares how he and his co-founder started building robots out of their UCLA dorm room during the pandemic, why they focused on human-piloted delivery over full autonomy, and how Coco has grown into a multi-city operation. Zach will speak at Smart Kitchen Summit. You can get your ticket for SKS at www.smartkitchensummit.com. Use discount code PODCAST for 15% off tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Spoon podcast, catches up with with longtime food tech innovator and friend of The Spoon Scott Heimendinger about the hidden challenges of U.S. manufacturing, the future of kitchen robotics, and why tooling expertise has all but disappeared in America. Scott shares insights from his stealth startup Seattle Ultrasonics and his experience navigating domestic vs. overseas prototyping. The two also explore whether a new wave of robot-ready kitchen appliances is coming, what makes Thermomix a surprise hardware juggernaut, and how AI is powering everything from sous vide to smart food storage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Michael Wolf chats with Zevia CEO Amy Taylor about her journey from helping to shape Red Bull into a cultural force to leading Zevia, a mission-driven brand making zero-sugar, clean-label sodas. They explore Zevia's evolution as one of the better-for-you sodas, its strategy for staying relevant in a competitive beverage market, and its commitment to affordability and authenticity. Amy also shares insights on emerging health trends, ingredient transparency, and how Zevia leverages AI and innovation to build trust and scale impact. Amy will be at our virtual event Smart Kitchen Summit in July. Make sure to get a ticket at www.smartkitchensummit.com and use the discount code PODCAST for 15% off tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were live this week at ReFED's Food Waste Solutions Summit in Seattle. We had an interview stage on the show floor, where we caught up with a number of great folks to hear their thoughts on innovation in food waste and beyond. This conversation is with Andrew Shakman, the CEO of Leanpath. You can read my article about this conversation at The Spoon. You'll also want to check out Eva Goulbourne's conversations with folks from the ReFED conference over on her podcast, Everything But The Carbon Sink. Finally, make sure to check out The Smart Kitchen Summit, our virtulal event in July where we'll talk to leaders across the food system about the state of food tech and much more! Use discount code PODCAST for 15% off tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we sit down with Mesh Gelman, the founder and CEO of Cumulus Coffee, to talk about reinventing the cold brew experience. A former Starbucks innovation executive, Gelman shares how his journey from coffee burnout to cold brew evangelist led him to build a sleek countertop system that delivers barista-quality nitro cold brew and cold espresso in under 60 seconds, without the need for nitrogen tanks. The two dive into the challenges of building a hardware startup, the evolution of consumer coffee habits, why cold is the future, and how Cumulus is positioning itself as both a coffee company and a tech innovator. Check out our upcoming virtual event, Smart Kitchen Summit 2025 at www.smartkitchensummit.com. Podcast listeners can use the discount SPOONPOD for 20% off of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's guest is Brian Canlis, a third-generation co-owner of the famed Canlis restaurant in Seattle. Brian's last day at Canlis was last week as he looks to launch a new adventure with his college roommate Will Guidara, owner of Eleven Madison Park and author of Unreasonable Hospitality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, host Michael Wolf sits down with Carl-Emil Grøn, CEO and co-founder of Reshape Biotech, a Copenhagen-based company transforming the world of biotech research. While much of the tech industry has embraced automation and AI, Carl-Emil realized that biotech labs were still operating like it was the 1990s. Reshape is changing that by bringing robotics, machine learning, and a vast proprietary dataset to the lab bench—helping major companies like Unilever and Nestlé run millions of experiments and drastically accelerate the development of safe, natural ingredients. This conversation explores how AI is being used to reengineer food, personal care, and health products—and what it means for the future of the global food system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's guest is Eva Goulbourne, founder of Littlefoot Ventures and one of the most insightful voices at the intersection of food, climate, and finance. Eva’s career has taken her from the halls of the World Economic Forum to the launch of ReFED, where she helped build one of the most influential organizations in food waste reduction. Through her work at Littlefoot, she advises brands, foundations, and startups on how to drive meaningful change across our global food system. She’s also the host of the new podcast Everything but the Carbon Sink, where she dives deep into the tough, often-overlooked challenges facing the future of food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We catch up with Andrew Simmons to chat about his new pizza subscription platform and to hear what his thoughts are after a year of change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Spoon Podcast, host Michael Wolf sits down with food futurist and innovator Mike Lee to talk about the launch of The Tomorrow Today Show, his new long-form podcast exploring the future of food. The two Mikes trace Lee’s journey from corporate innovation at American Express to building immersive concept experiences like The Future Market and launching the storytelling-driven magazine Mise. Mike shares how improv, design, and dinner parties shaped his unique lens on the food system, and why he believes corporate boardrooms need more narrative thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Mike chats with George Peppou, founder and CEO of Vow, the Australian startup pushing the boundaries of cultured meat. George shares how his background in science, food, and invention led to building a company that creates entirely new types of meat, like quail foie gras and even a woolly mammoth meatball. George dives into Vow’s bold approach to scaling production, including the in-house design of the world’s largest food-grade bioreactor, and how they’re defying industry trends by continuously selling cultivated meat in Singapore. George also discusses regulatory progress in Australia and New Zealand, what it takes to bring cultured meat to grocery shelves, and why others are now approaching Vow in the space for manufacturing support. Check out our big virtual event in July, the Smart Kitchen Summit! www.smartkitchensummit.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Mike talks with Cole Ashman, founder and CEO of Pila Energy, about how his company is rethinking home energy with a distributed, plug-and-play battery system. Instead of a single powerwall in the garage, Pila’s mesh battery network allows users to place smaller batteries throughout the home, appliance by appliance, to back up critical devices like refrigerators and sump pumps. Cole shares how his experience with Tesla and Span shaped the vision for Pila, explains why whole-home battery backups are out of reach for most people, and explores how Pila is making backup power more affordable and flexible. They also dive into how upcoming policy changes—like Utah’s new legislation supporting plug-in solar and storage—could open up a new era of DIY, portable energy for renters and homeowners alike. Cole will be joining us at the Smart Kitchen Summit, so make sure to get your ticket today at www.smartkitchensummit.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest for this episode of The Spoon Podcast is Dana McCauley, CEO of the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN). Dana joins Mike to discuss the impact of recent US trade policies under the Trump administration on the Canadian food industry, highlighting the challenges and uncertainties faced by Canadian food businesses. McCauley also describes CFIN's role in supporting Canadian food companies through innovation and collaboration, and touches upon the strengths and emerging trends within Canada's food tech sector. The Spoon is bringing back the Smart Kitchen Summit this year July 21-31st. Make sure to check out our website and get your ticket ASAP! https://www.smartkitchensummit.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's guest is Dan Gertsacov, CEO of Big Green Egg, who shares his journey of transitioning from leading digital strategies at global giants like Google and McDonald's to steering an iconic, community-driven cooking brand. Dan talks about his approach to taking over a brand that's only had two CEOs before him (and working with the company's founder, Ed Fisher), and how he envisions taking the company into the future (hint: it doesn't include AI-powered grills). If you haven't checked out our growing family of podcasts, head over to The Spoon's podcast page and check them out and give them a listen! https://thespoon.tech/podcasts/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike sits down with Eric Schulze, scientist, former regulator, startup veteran, and now the host of Food Truths, a new show on The Spoon Podcast Network. Eric and Mike discuss the vision behind Food Truths and Eric's mission to cut through the misinformation swirling around food, nutrition, and policy. They also dive into the current turbulence in the U.S. food system, the shifting political landscape around food additives and cultivated meat, and the regulatory headwinds facing food innovation. With his experience spanning government, academia, and industry, Eric brings a unique and pragmatic perspective to complex issues, aiming to make science accessible without the usual hype or partisanship. During the pod, Eric also reflects on his journey—from working at the FDA to joining Upside Foods as one of its first senior hires—and how he honed his ability to communicate science clearly. Whether you’re a food industry professional, a science enthusiast, or just someone who w

Bill Oakley, a writer and producer for shows like The Simpsons, discusses his unexpected career shift into becoming a food influencer and reviewer. He recounts his childhood fascination with fast food, which led to a lifelong fascination with the latest offerings at the drive-thru and grocery store. Mike and Bill discuss trends in the fast-food industry, Bill's shift towards reviewing a broader range of American foods and packaged goods, and his excitement for innovative condiments. They also talk about Bill's move into hosting ticketed dinners featuring regional cuisine, and how he beat Disney to the punch in trademarking the name "Steamed Hams" (his membership club is the Steamed Ham Society), a long-time Internet meme that originated from a script he wrote for the Simpsons. You can find more about Bill at his website, billoakley.com and on Instagram at ThatBillOakley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices