I had my first taste of the excitement inherent in culinary innovation in my years working the back of the house at a Sicilian restaurant during college. In off times, perhaps during early-morning prep work as we mixed dough, chopped vegetables, and simmered sauce for the day’s mise en place, we’d often see the restaurant’s chef-owner in the midst of experimentation.
As an Italian restaurant in a college town, we did a lot of pizza, and those culinary improvisation sessions would frequently result yield interesting—and sometimes eye-opening—results. As I progressed from a line cook to eventually running the back of the house, I grew more involved in these experiments. It was during those sessions that I learned about the amazing powerhouse of umami flavor that anchovies deliver, the luxurious indulgence of a sunny-side egg on a pizza, the vital importance of sensory balance, and so much more. These improvisations fueled my curiosity regarding the nearly infinite possibilities with food, encouraging me down my path in this industry—and continuing to this day as I develop recipes in my home kitchen.
During my career, I’ve visited scores of industry innovation centers and pilot plants that are home to this hard work of culinary experimentation. They’re places ripe with possibility and future potential. And in the right hands, they yield the next rising stars of our industry.
Innovation is the lifeblood of the snack and bakery industry, and every great billion-dollar brand started as a small idea. The level of experimentation and refinement that goes into new product R&D can involve years of hard work refining flavor, texture, and other seemingly minor nuances. But in the end, for those winning ideas, the payoff is immense.
