Our high-tech business of eating

The age-old ordeal of hunting and gathering in the wild has morphed into just a few simple pushes of a button. Poke, poke … and voila! – breakfast, lunch, dinner or maybe a midnight snack magically appears. Computers and smart devices have replaced much of the drudgery that used to be part of grabbing a bite to eat.

A couple of years ago I wrote about a company called Toast. These people and other forward-thinking entrepreneurs have come up with systems that not only save dining room personnel multitudes of steps, but also improve service. It’s not unusual to take your seat in an eatery and have your order taken by a server wielding what could very well be a TV remote. But it’s not: It’s a wireless communicator transmitting your gastronomic requirements (e.g., mayo, no mayo, well done, Pittsburgh, onions, no onions, extra pickles – you know the drill) to the inner sanctum of the kitchen.

Your server is free to move smoothly from table to table, never once having to scamper into a dark corner to enter orders into a computer terminal where, occasionally, any similarity between what you ordered and what gets entered is purely coincidental. The time and effort these devices save can be enormous.

I still smile when I call for pizza delivery and the person on the other end of the line immediately knows my address, what (and when) I last ordered, and maybe even my credit card number, next of kin and hat size. It’s like “1984” but with pepperoni.

Our kitchens – both commercial and at home – are also keeping pace with technology. One example is the now ubiquitous induction cooktops where the cooking surface remains mysteriously cool as food happily bubbles in pots, pans and skillets. The magic is magnets – no longer just for your refrigerator door. A few years ago, Gary Chorman at Millman’s Appliances in Lewes showed me a cooktop with an integral screen on which the home cook can display cooking lessons with a real chef. I wonder if it can show old “Galloping Gourmet” episodes?

Technologies such as caller ID, online shopping cart systems and customer preference tracking have merged with modern software to allow restaurants to blend the ordering process with cellphones, landlines, texts and even faxes (remember them?). In fact, recent trends have given rise to order kiosks and table-mounted iPads that eliminate the order taker entirely. Not sure how I feel about that, but ya gotta admit it’s pretty cool.

Nowadays it’s not unusual to kibitz with the disembodied electronic voices of carryout and delivery systems. Many of these innovations recognize you, know how close you are, and even send you texts or emails that track your delivery person. The same can be said for online reservations systems. Services like Open Table and Rezy not only know where you ate previously, but are capable of nagging you as your reserved date approaches. It might be a bit of overkill, but from the restaurant’s point of view, it helps keep tables full and customers happy.

Even the ancient art of brewing hasn’t escaped high-tech tracking devices. Several years ago, Adam Newman at Rehoboth Ale House introduced me to online software that keeps beer aficionados informed about what’s available – and what’s not – at any given moment, and displays it in real time on your phone, computer or a big screen in the restaurant. The system tracks each beer sale and extrapolates that information to the quantity remaining in each keg. Then, it converts that information into a graphic interface that shows little multicolored kegs in various stages of emptiness. Extra features of some systems can even promote new additions to the lineup and allow users to post their favorites.

Having been in the electronic media business in my former life, I love well-designed systems that actually make life easier. So whether it’s keeping track of the liquid/fume ratio in your favorite keg, knowing where to dispatch your pizza, heating pots and pans with magnets, cooking with virtual chefs or tracking gift cards for frequent diners, technology continues to make this business of eating more efficient – and fun – than it already is.