Ep. 144 - Building a Culinary Playground in San Francisco with Dan Mills, Founder of Tinker Kitchen

I met Dan through Brian Chau, you might recognize him in episode 3. In the past couple of years, Dan has been slowly building this incredible, much-needed space within the Bay Area.

Dan thought of Tinker Kitchen when he was in college. One of his class had a “Learn-by-Doing” workshop that he loved. Combined with his fascination with cooking, this dream was decades in the making.

Having the chance to explore the space, you have food service equipment, so much table space, and any machine you can think of. From freeze dryers to centrifuges.

We go into great detail on building this space, such as the challenges in construction, and the rewarding feeling of completing a dream.

Tinker Kitchen is now open for business and the price you pay to play there is phenomenal. Check out their website at Tinkerkitchen.org and I hope to see you at Tinker Kitchen some day.

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Show Notes

Tinker Kitchen Brian Chau Phil Saneski How did you get into the food industry?: I came to the US to work for Mozilla Firefox in 2006, worked 12 years and then decided to open this kitchen How big is Tinker Kitchen?: 17,000 square feet. Tinker Kitchen is a makers space for food and cooking What got you the idea?: I took a class in biology and this professor had this class where we made biology models. it was a Learn by Doing process. I cooked as a hobby, at first I never knew how to cook so I had to call my mom when I had food Commissary Kitchens Part R+D member and part How did you find this space?: We looked around for a year What were the troubles of preparing the space?: Water, gas, city permits, and bad contractors which had to be replaced Fume Hood Advice for building a kitchen space: Spend more time in the planning stage and spend more on the planning space. Make sure you understand what needs to be upgraded The meta-advice is to find someone who’s done it before and ask for advice Learn from the Shoulders of Giants Wok Centrifuge McCormick Innovation Center 3D Printing Induction heating How did you know about this kitchen equipment?: Just asking around, going to blogs, and asking how things are made We have a freeze dryer A batch freezer A pacojet Eventually a Frozen Nitrogen document to add in frozen nitrogen Beyond Sausage Combi Oven Gastronomy Modernist Cuisine Reverse Spherification Sous vide What are the challenges the food industry has to face?: Creating a community around food and cooking The better food in a community aspect, the more tightknit the community is Outsourcing grocery stores What is something you’ve noticed between tech people and food people?: Food people are more diverse. Food people also have a different outlook. Tech people look for solutions, food people looking for community Fancy Food Show Expo West Expo East IFT Expo Taste is King Venezuela Hallaca – The Venezuelan Tamale Any advice for anyone about the food industry?: Think a few years ahead and go talk to people who have been there. The more you find out, the better. Rohini Dey - Vermillion Apprentice is a good step Where can we find you for advice?: Thinkerkitchen.org. Contact Dan at Dan@tinkerkitchen.org 3233 Mission St. 22nd Street and Mission

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