RocketHub launches its new Food Channel with the Bon Appétit Food Innovator Awards. Bon Appétit Restaurant and Drinks Editor Andrew Knowlton and Lexus Culinary Master Christopher Kostow offered their insights on the most promising ideas in food innovation, featured here. Hungry for more?
Support your favorite food business idea on RocketHub.com by February 6! The contestant with the most support will win a $10,000 grant from Bon Appétit and Lexus to turn their idea into a reality.
LEXUS CULINARY MASTER CHRISTOPHER KOSTOW
Culinary Master Christopher Kostow is the head chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley. Michelin-starred before the age of 30, Chef Kostow shared his thoughts on everything from the Food Innovator Award Finalists to his own remarkable career.
>>Check out Christopher's full interview here!BON APPÉTIT RESTAURANT AND DRINKS EDITOR ANDREW KNOWLTON
A BA staple for his features and columns, Andrew spends the majority of his time on the road, experiencing the most innovative food out there. We sat down with the James Beard Award nominee to hear his stories and get his thoughts on the Food Innovator Award Finalists.
>>Check out Andrew's full interview here!
Mike D and Sam Talbot
Concept Name: Rockaway Plate Lunch Truck
Genre: Service
Essay: As a response to Hurricane Sandy, the Beastie Boys’ Mike Diamond, hotelier Rob McKinley, and chef Sam Talbot created this mobile food relief truck to feed Rockaway community residents. Now they aim to become a sustainable non-profit business to teach, train, and empower locals with a mentoring program element.
Michele Cintas-Todosi
Concept Name: Indiscriminate Dining
Genre: Service
Essay: This high-quality restaurant allows adults to enjoy dinner while their children play in a childcare facility, a separate area that cannot be heard from the adult restaurant. Kids will have food choices, opportunities to help prepare their meals, and entertainment with a licensed caregiver on duty.
Sonya Kharas
Concept Name: SHFT Mobile Kitchen Classroom
Genre: Other
Essay: These mobile teaching kitchens—built into the body of a truck—educate kids on basic cooking skills and how to prepare simple, healthy, and delicious meals. Lessons encourage children to consider how their food choices relate to broader issues of personal, social, and environmental health.
Karen Page
Concept Name: Chop!
Genre: Other
Essay: Chop! is a concept store that makes home cooking easy and efficient. Fresh ingredients for a variety of worldwide cuisines come pre-prepped and complete with recipe and instructions. Once a recipe is chosen, leave with all ingredients chopped, portioned, and measured. So you can go home to cook and eat, plain and simple—no mess or laborious clean up needed.
Kristi Murphy
Concept Name: SaucyKids
Genre: Technology
Essay: In this food journal-game app to help fight childhood obesity, children enter what they've eaten each day and gain points based on how healthy the food is. Certified nutritionists determine points and point milestones win children real prizes. Parents will be able to track their child’s progress, so that they may also offer them rewards and praise.