Editorial 2/21/11

As part of Social Media Week 2011, 4food hosted an event organized by Food + Tech Connect, Mouth of the Border, and the Noble Rot to promote the convergence of food and technology in the form of awesomely groundbreaking mobile applications. The event, Eats + Apps, showcased the apps and websites of Foodspotting, Gourmet Live, Bread Baking Basics, Snooth, Dinevore and Gojee and how they are revolutionizing the way we interact with, and consume food. 

Though the demand to attend the event was beyond our expectations, we were able to host 150 people throughout the evening. Guests were able to learn about new technologies, network with other like-minded food/techies, and sample the array of the 4food menu served tapas style. TechFoodies snacked on Chipotle Hominy Bruschetta, Veggie Sushi, Lamb Skewer Pops with Sweet Chili Sauce and Mac & Cheese. 
In addition to our passed fare, each application created it's own (W)holeburger build, which was displayed on our menu board in addition to being advertised on our media wall.. The most popular build at the end of the night? The Gourmet Live Rewarding Burger! Our guests couldn't resist the delicious combination including:


Brioche Bun
Beef Patty
Mushroom and Onion Scoop
Fresh Avocado Slice
Tickler Cheddar Cheese
Organic Ketchup
Dijon Mustard
NY Pickle

We had such a great time hosting Eats + Apps at 4food, and look forward to hosting more events in the future!


If you're interesting in hosting your own event at 4food, shoot us an e-mail:events@4food.com. We'll help you customize your own menu and experience. 

Editorial 2/14/11

The 4food we launched on September 7^th last year was experimental and we have been testing our systems ever since to create operating efficiencies and to understand how to deliver the best possible de-junked product at a reasonable price.

Over the past few months we have integrated many of these improvements into our operations and added delivery.  There are other enhancements such as:

• Improved bread choices
• Group ordering [“Feasting”]
• Faster rotating/more seasonal/local menu
• Improved menu-board design
• Easier ordering process

These enhancements are best introduced together as the features are inter-related/interdependent. That day is now set - April 10^th 2011 will be the first annual De-junking Day [“D-Day”] and will mark the launch of 4food 2.0.

Watch this space for more details as D-Day get closer.

Buildboard Chartbeat:

Last week the Caliburger and Cali4nication were tied in sales, with Cali4nication winning the tie-break as the highest grossing burger of the week. This week Aharris’s Brioche-Beef-Avocado & Chili Mango-Avocado-Manchego-Dijon Mustard-Lettuce-Tomato Caliburger monster hit takes back the top spot with an astounding 43% jump in sales, and Cali4nication drops below Rodgermg’s MGR Lamb Burger to #3. It remains to be seen whether Cali4nication has the legs to make another run at the top spot, or whether the Caliburger is back for another extended run at #1. Not all of the excitement has been at the peaks. Ginger Flash's Meaty Mouthful, a Brioche-Lamb-Mushroom & Onion-Pancetta-Cheddar-Sweet Chili-Lettuce-Tomato by Ginger Flash, munches its way into the chart at #10 - it’s got a great name that shouts out what it is (which is essential to Buildboard charting progress).

Ginger Flash's Meaty Mouthful will be the first burger I order when I get home. 

Editorial 2/8/11

Hello 4foodies,

Part of the dream behind 4food is to continuously cultivate new applications of technology to further engage people with the nutrition that fuels their lives and the social aspects involving a quality meal. This is why 4food has on staff a small team of dedicated software developers whose responsibility is to try out new ideas, most of which, have never been built into a restaurant software platform before.

For example, in the next few weeks we will be introducing Feast, a completely new concept in organizing and ordering a meal with your friends and colleagues online. We are also working to give you more power over your nutrition by adding capability to our recommendation engine that will enable us to suggest menus for you based on your perfect carb, fat, and protein ratio splits. To complement our improved nutrition tracking, we are working on a flavor profiling system to help you discover the most delicious combination of tastes in a burger or skewer meal. It's like an online dating website, but we're matching you with the perfect burger – given time this feature may prove powerful enough to topple the Caliburger from its position at the top of the Buildboard chart.

Not only do we De-junk Fast Food ™ at 4food, we keep our software de-junked too! We build all of our technology on top of open source, free software platforms. As we develop more specialized software for 4food we look forward to contributing back to the open source software projects that we have enjoyed using so much, such as Django and Redis.

If you can think of any exciting features that you would like to see at 4food both in the restaurant or on the website, please shoot me an email at scottm@4food.com.