This sponsored post is produced by Panasonic Lab 1.0.
Noah Karesh and his girlfriend were traveling in Guatemala, longing for authentic Guatemalan cuisine — and couldn't find a place that served it. In a last ditch effort, they asked an avocado seller, "Do you know where we can find real Guatemalan food?" Smiling broadly, he responded, "At my Mom's house!" They followed him back to his mother's house, "and there she was, preparing this epic meal,” and when the smells hit my nose I said, 'Wow, this is magic!'" Karesh relates.
That was the genesis of what Feastly has become: a platform where chefs can prepare and serve meals all over the world, regardless of their culinary cred. Feastly is bringing the authenticity and adventure home.
Quantum shifts in far-flung kitchens -- or your own backyard
The Feastly model allows any chef to offer meals as pop-up events that may take place in supper clubs, underutilized restaurant space, or in the chef's own home, thus reimagining the whole concept of what it means to dine out. "Whether you're in Boston or Bangkok or Bangalore, anyone can visit Feastly and find interesting, dynamic meals happening," says Karesh, co-founder of the company.
Feastly is part of a movement that's redefining how food is consumed -- and the industry is morphing to adapt. Technology is a game changer for grocery delivery, he notes. Ease of consumption and the expansion of meaningful food experiences will be paramount.
Join Feastly founder Noah Karesh along with food author Eve Turow and Alex Yancher from Pantry for Grocery-a-Go-Go – a spirited live discussion about the ways grocery innovation is changing our relationship with food. Part of Panasonic’s Lab 1.0, the event takes place Thursday, November 12th from 6 to 8 p.m. in San Francisco. Register now to secure your spot.
"People are purchasing items that might not be at the grocery store, such as Feastly meals, or healthy meal replacements such as Soylent. Services like direct delivery, or Instacart and Whole Foods, speak to the convenience people want now. I personally love going to the supermarket, but a lot of people trust that those who are doing the shopping and delivery are going to be able to bring them what they want, specifically around produce and other perishables.
"We're going to see a lot of restaurants turning into more of a delivery system than sit-down dining, and I think we're going to see services like Feastly almost replacing the traditional restaurant experience."
Paradoxically, technology also heralds a back-to-the-future focus. "We're going to start growing more food through systems that make it easy to do that without having to put too much work into it," forecasts Karesh. "Perhaps grocery stores will begin carrying a line of smart planters, where people can just grow their own food and the grocery store is helping to supply some of those elements, whether it's the seeds, or for the harvesting.
"Buying and selling produce will start to change, too, with more barter happening, because, for example, you grow tomatoes and I grow peppers, and we can trade. The technology is there to allow the change to be simple."
Once the realm of science fiction, like the Star Trek replicator, 3D- printed food and food pills that serve as meal replacements are now reality -- and completely shift how and when we can access food. The ability to pack nutrients into a dense, easily deliverable, bioavailable form also signals a sea change for emergency situations, such as natural disasters or mass malnutrition. Additionally, meal pills can be used for specific body areas needing attunement, such as building muscle or better brain capacity.
Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
What do these evolving food delivery systems say about changing consumer attitudes? Karesh sees a braid of factors in play:
- Disconnection from our food
- Lack of food knowledge: how or where it was produced
- Disinterest in the spiritual dimension of food
The new trends are bucking these old beliefs. The notion of connection is the biggest one. "We want to know where our food's coming from, who's making it. Millennials are driving the trend, with all these chefs who are becoming rock stars, because we want to know the story behind our food. It's another reason you see services outside the traditional bricks-and-mortar dining establishments becoming very popular, whether that's food trucks or pop-ups," says Karesh.
Connection also means having someone to enjoy your meals with. Citing our technological propensity to have "Friends" we don't really know, he adds, "Someone can have 5,000 Facebook friends but they're still eating alone — how rich of a life are they living? People are gravitating to dining events because we're the sum of our experiences, and Feastly is bridging this gap between the online and offline experience. We're bringing people back to the original social network, which is across the dining room table. The table is a gathering spot for family, friends, community."
And Karesh is happily operating the "fork lift" designed to nourish both body and soul.
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