A useful tool for the traveling chef who must reduce his tool kit to a minimum or for any cook who appreciates the importance of careful temperature monitoring, Range transforms an iPhone or iPad into a thermometer. A silicone cable connects the probe to the audio port of your device and a free app makes all of the data visible and accessible on its screen.
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Technology for Foodies: Smartphone to Thermometer
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The Digital Chef
At left: Control panel of the Naboo oven by Lainox
Digital culture has changed the way we work, communicate and spend our leisure time and it has done so in ways that were not remotely imaginable ten years ago. Every new wave of innovation has brought profound mutations, even to areas that may at first have seemed immune to such “contaminations”. Keyboards have insinuated their way into the professional kitchen: ovens are commanded by touch pads, recipes are stored in data bases and provisions are ordered via e-mail. Even the most technology-resistant subjects have had to capitulate to the tyranny of the microchip because analog versions of many instruments, from thermometers to scales, have given way to their digital counterparts. The much-maligned printed instruction manual, that once accompanied more complex equipment, is now more likely to be consultable via CD or on-line.
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Dinner Lab – Big Data and the Future of Fine Dining
A recent article in the New York Times* describes a new restaurant model where customer feedback determines not only if a dish remains on the menu, but also the fate of the chef. Created two years ago by Brian Bordainick, Dinner Lab is financed by a group of twenty-five investors who have wagered $2.1 million on the idea that big data represents the future of haute cuisine.