A few weeks back, I was browsing the cookbook section of a bookstore when I overheard a conversation. This woman was talking to her friend, pointing to books by famous chefs and saying, “We work with him, and her, and her. Oh, we’re trying to start working with these guys, too!” So I stopped her and said, “Hi, I’m a food writer. What exactly do you do?” I gave her my card, and just like that, with the magic of the internet, I was interviewing her CEO.
And I’m glad I did. Because Plate IQ, a startup that’s streamlining accounts payable for everyone from high-end restaurateurs like Dominique Crenn, Benu’s Corey Lee, and Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park to big chains like Best Western, might just be the future of restaurants. The hospitality business is one of the most intricate, demanding industries out there. Storage is limited. Eggs break before they make it in the door. Language barriers abound. The list of problems goes on, but suffice to say there’s a reason bars are more profitable. Simplifying even one step can be revolutionary for a food business, no matter what size.
A few weeks back, I was browsing the cookbook section of a bookstore when I overheard a conversation. This woman was talking to her friend, pointing to books by famous chefs and saying, “We work with him, and her, and her. Oh, we’re trying to start working with these guys, too!” So I stopped her and said, “Hi, I’m a food writer. What exactly do you do?” I gave her my card, and just like that, with the magic of the internet, I was interviewing her CEO.
And I’m glad I did. Because Plate IQ, a startup that’s streamlining accounts payable for everyone from high-end restaurateurs like Dominique Crenn, Benu’s Corey Lee, and Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park to big chains like Best Western, might just be the future of restaurants. The hospitality business is one of the most intricate, demanding industries out there. Storage is limited. Eggs break before they make it in the door. Language barriers abound. The list of problems goes on, but suffice to say there’s a reason bars are more profitable. Simplifying even one step can be revolutionary for a food business, no matter what size.
Automation is scary. We’re quickly moving into a world where anything resembling unskilled labor looks like it will be done by machines. If we want everyone to have gainful employment in the future, countries around the world will have to invest in education like never before.
But there are some things about automation that are exciting. As Plate IQ expands and can start working with smaller businesses, it has the potential to revolutionize the restaurant industry. I only worked for a restaurant very briefly, but if my limited experience taught me anything, it’s that restaurants are complicated. And if Plate IQ can make any aspect of that business a little easier, who knows what good could come from it.