Introduction

Welcome do Biztronomy, a meeting place for business people who love gastronomy. Gastronomy is a fantastic vector not only to talk about business, but also to understand business. When you think about it, subjects such as innovation, management, intellectual property, manufacturing or marketing can all be illustrated using gastronomy. Take for instance Nicolas Appert who invented airtight food preservation at the beginning of the 19th century. He spent years developing his solution but didn’t patent his discovery. The principle was then patented by someone else. Take Auguste Escoffier, the famous French chef for the Savoy, the Carlton and the Ritz, also known as the King of cooks and the cook of kings. In the 1860s he introduced into kitchens what was going to be called Taylorism by assigning specific tasks to cooks. He would also be a fantastic marketing manager, adapting restaurants to the new feminine clientele and even giving their name to dishes, such Peach Melba for the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. The list goes on of topics we can illustrate and understand : ecosystems, business process reengineering, customer service and so on.

Gastronomy is the intimate combination of mind and matter, just as business is a mix of people and means. In a world which we want sustainable, the spirit takes on more importance, through quality, refinement, exigence as they say in French. And this is where gastronomy leads the way and can serve as a model.

Before getting academic, the articles are intended to be as enjoyable as a dinner conversation, laying out ideas and generating directions to investigate at a later date.

All contributions that allow business and gastronomy to nurture one another are welcome.