In Depth: The future of food

LOS ANGELES - Segment One: Guest host Bob DeCastro fills in for Hal Eisner. He is joined by Graham Humphreys, the CEO of the Culinary Edge, a consulting service for the food services.  Humphreys discusses the changes in food service post-pandemic. He says that people have become accustomed to having things instantly, and that applies to everything from ride services to food.  People want convenience, they want contactless delivery, and variety and they want to do it all on their phones.

Humphreys talks about the advent of ghost kitchens and what types of food they are best for.  He says that he thinks the restaurant industry will manage to overcome the inflationary and supply problems because people will always want to go out to eat.

Segment Two: Bob talks to Akshay Prabhu, the founder of Foodnome, which was developed to help home cooks create a business out of their own kitchen. Prabhu says his idea stemmed from a pop-up restaurant he created which got shut down because it wasn’t permitted. He lobbied to change the law to allow home chefs to sell their wares and was successful. Now, several counties in the state allow cooks to sell their wares. Foodnome helps the cooks navigate the permitting process and furnishes insurance and an app that helps clients find the kitchen and the cuisine they want.

Segment Three: Denise Blackmon with Soul Goodness joins Bob to talk about her experience with the Foodnome program.   Blackmon cooks up soul food and other dishes from tacos to spaghetti from her kitchen in Riverside County.

She says the program has been transformative for her. She is a single mother with a son on the spectrum and has had difficulty making ends meet. She tells Bob that not only is she making more money by cooking, but it gives her the flexibility she needs in dealing with her son.

Segment Four: Bob promotes the "What the Hal?" podcast and we close with another recent foodservice innovation: service and delivery robots.