Hackathons are typically events where programmers gather to compete to solve a software challenge. But a food hackathon has just wrapped up in San Francisco, where programmers, designers, and investors spent a couple of days working on ways to improve the food system.
“There is a whole wave of innovation that is going to be happening around different food businesses — both straightforward, as well as crazy,” says Dave McClure, of the venture capital firm 500 Startups who participated as a hackathon judge. Among the things that captured his imagination: Harvesting edible insects, hand-gesture recognition in restaurants, and renting, instead of owning, a garden.
Avant-garde chefs are also part of the movement to bring new high tech thinking to the dining table. Wylie Dufresne, chef and owner of famous New York restaurant WD-50, joins Marketplace Tech host David Brancaccio to discuss his approach to food and cooking.
To learn more about San Francisco’s Food Hackathon, click here.