Five Top TED Talks Every Chef and Restauranteur Should Watch
- The Reach Of A Restaurant – Thomas Keller
- How I Built The Number One Restaurant In America – Aaron Silverman
- How A Team Of Chefs Fed Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria – Jose Andres
- Cooking As Alchemy – Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche
- How I Fell In Love With A Fish – Dan Barber
The culinary world is one that is undergoing several changes. While this has been true since the dawn of humanity, the focus now is on sustainability, cooking with technology, and how to use cooking to provide solutions to social or humanitarian issues. Below are five of the best TED talks, provided free online by the nonprofit organization, in the realm of the culinary arts.
Related resource: Top 10 Best Culinary Schools in Florida
The Reach Of A Restaurant – Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller is one of the world’s best-known cooks and cookbook authors. As the owner of eight restaurants and two bakeries along with a series of books in his name, Keller appeared at TED Talks to discuss why his restaurant endeavors are so successful, including his relationships with vendors, sourcing the best ingredients in the country, and the workflows both in his kitchen and in the office. This should be required viewing for any restauranteur who wants to make a difference in the field.
How I Built The Number One Restaurant In America – Aaron Silverman
Aaron Silverman is both a restauranteur and a chef; he is considered a person to watch in the culinary field. He is known for two Michelin-starred restaurants, Rose’s Luxury, and Pineapple and Pearls, both of which are in the Washington, D.C. area. The TED Talk he gave in 2015 focused on how he created Rose’s Luxury and why it was successful from the outset, including how important it is to have a strong service team that backs up the kitchen. In under ten minutes, Silverman gives budding chefs and restaurateurs a masterclass on how to build a business that will last.
How A Team Of Chefs Fed Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria – Jose Andres
James Beard Foundation Award-winning Jose Andres, a native of Spain, is one of the most popular figures in the culinary world. Andres is best known for his work in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, but he has been working to build avenues for restaurants to feed the hungry for over a decade. But in 2018, his TEDx Talk focused on feeding the hungry people of Puerto Rico. This 20-minute conversation focuses on what he and the team of chefs he worked with did upon arriving on the island, but also how others on the island helped with their efforts. It is an incredible story about a group of chefs coming together with a community to help solve a food shortage crisis and should be required viewing for any chef interested in following in Andres’ shoes.
Cooking As Alchemy – Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche
The former heads of Moto, a Chicago-based restaurant, did a TED Talk in 2010 that discussed how their restaurant chose to combine technology and alchemy in their dishes. The focus of this talk is on how new food technology can be used for good, including using the technology for sustainability purposes and in the wake of natural disasters. Sadly, Cantu passed away in 2015 and Moto is now closed, but the lessons in this talk are still important today.
How I Fell In Love With A Fish – Dan Barber
Dan Barber is an internationally-renown chef that has spent the last decade researching and discussing sustainability. As the co-owner of the restaurant Blue Hill and its sister site, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the always charming and hilarious Barber discusses how to keep sustainable fish on the menu at restaurants. In this TED Talk, he discusses how he finally found a sustainable fish that tasted great in Spain. He also discusses the revolutionary farming method that is used by Spanish fish farmers, showcasing how sustainability and food can go together in delicious ways.
Chefs and restaurateurs are always looking for fresh, innovative ideas. The above five TED talks are just a few that can be found on the nonprofit’s site. Since the conference’s commencement in 1990, the media giant has been providing with businesspeople, chefs and other culinary professionals with incredible talks by pioneers and legends in the field. It is encouraged that any professional who watches these TED talks find others on the website to learn more about the field that they love so much.
