Culinology - June 2020 - 39

Education with an eye on the future
RCA Powered Up sessions focused on trends, technology, wellness and more, while others asked the
question, "Where do we go from here?"

"Necessity is definitely the
mother of invention, and we've
seen that in full force since
[the coronavirus pandemic]
hit," said Maeve Webster,
president of Menu Matters, who
led Operation Innovation: Post
COVID-19, sponsored by Sadler's
Smokehouse. Ms. Webster walked through new
options conceived at the height of the crisis - from
for-profit operational shifts to new service models.

Keeping a pulse on datadriven trends, Datassential
Trendologist Mike Kostyo
presented 2020 Vision:
The Trends to Know. While
the future feels uncertain,
Mr. Kostyo found silver linings.
"If anything, consumers ... are
becoming more tech-savvy at home, so we'll see
even more people sharing what they're eating,
connecting with food brands and learning about
new options," he said.

Those eager to harness artificial
intelligence and machine
learning got a taste of what
the technology offers in Dr.
A.K. Pradeep's session,
Brain Food: How Advanced
Neuroscience and Artificial
Intelligence Combine to Drive Food
Industry Innovation. Mr. Pradeep explained, "These
technologies, when combined and applied [with
advanced neuro knowledge], can isolate, identify and
quantify emerging consumer trends."

The five-week event also included the Culinology
Education Foundation (CEF) Silent Auction,
where several unique items were bid on with all
proceeds benefitting students pursuing higher
education.
The tradition of the Evolution of Food Waste
Product Development Student Presentations,
sponsored by Griffith Foods/Terova, carried on
virtually, too. The competition challenged student
teams to formulate commercialized products,
increase nutrition content and troubleshoot cost
reduction strategies through repurposing byproduct
ingredients.
To RCA Powered Up speakers, attendees and
sponsors: thank you for taking this journey with
us. We could not have "powered up" without you.

Synergy Performance's Joseph
O'Connor, CRC, and Ania
Grimone, MS, LAc, CPCC,
brought to light the symbiotic
relationship between mental
health and food in Mood and
Food: Up Your Own Game and
Attract Loyal Customers. "If we
can teach the community how to use
food to improve or even optimize
brain health, there will be less
depression, less anxiety and
hopefully less of the resulting
behaviors that can have more
negative consequences," Mr.
O'Connor said.

Revisit RCA Powered Up Online
Visit culinology.org/learninglibrary to access session
recordings post-event. Plus, follow RCA on Facebook
and Twitter, and search the hashtag #RCAPoweredUp
to catch event recaps, photos and more.

Culinary/
Baking
Skills and
Applications

Nutrition

Product
Development/
Marketing
Strategies/
Business

Food Science/
Chemistry

Food Safety

JUNE 2020 | Culinology |

http://www.culinology.org/learninglibrary

Culinology - June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Culinology - June 2020