Keynoter Calls for Purpose-Driven Innovation

Monday morning keynoter Michiel Bakker, president of the Culinary Institute of America and former director of Google’s Food at Work program, got IFT FIRST®: Annual Event and Expo off to an inspirational start with a passionate call to action for members of the food system community—and an emphatic reminder of the role of the individual in effecting food system change.

“You influence more lives, more often, than you probably realize,” Bakker, president of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), told the audience. “You change how the world eats even if most people never know your name.”

Food system change is necessary, Bakker emphasized, asking rhetorically: “How much longer [will it be] before consumers will say, ‘we deserve better’”?

“We need to embrace a broader, more connected way of thinking,” Bakker continued. “We need to step up. Our old ways of operating and thinking are no longer fit for purpose.” The food system needs products that offer more than the traditionally prioritized elements of convenience, affordability, and taste, he said, calling for an expanded emphasis on personal, public, and planetary health.

To help reframe the way the food community thinks about food, Bakker recommended three concepts that have guided his approach.

1) Food Experience Design. Product developers must expand their formulation goals to reimagine food, recognizing the many factors that affect an individual’s experience of a food product.

“What story does your product tell? What senses does it engage? Does it support or strain health and sustainability?” Product developers must work cross-functionally and consider questions like the preceding, he said.

2) Vital Gastronomy. What this requires, Bakker said, is a recognition that “joy and function are not mutually exclusive” when it comes to product development. “They must both be part of the equation.”

He brought the concept to life by asking the audience to think about the ingredients traditionally used in formulating pizza and then to reimagine a formulation with unexpected elements like crust made from sourdough using natural fermentation or regeneratively grown tomatoes.

3) Conscious Food and Beverage Leadership. “In this era, we need food leaders who create with purpose,” Bakker said. Conscious leadership means showing up with awareness, responsibility, and intentionality, he said.

Finally, Bakker reminded the audience of the power of the individual to bring about change. “Each of us—regardless of role or rank—has the power and responsibility to effect change,” he said. “You don’t have to change the entire system,” he said. “But you do have to take responsibility for your part of it.

“You are in the driver’s seat,” Bakker said. “Your decisions, day in and day out, have a ripple effect across health outcomes and have an impact on environmental sustainability and consumer trust—whether you intend that or not. You’re not just making food products or supplying ingredients for products. You’re helping shape and influence how people live, how they feel, and what they believe about food, whether you’re developing flavor systems, optimizing for stability, extending shelf life, or designing plant-based protein matrices. Every decision you make helps define what is possible and what is accepted.”

Individual impact matters, Bakker emphasized. “It may be tempting to think that someone else is better positioned to lead,” he said, “but here’s the reality: you have influence.”

It’s important to imagine what is possible, to believe in one’s ability to drive change, and—above all—to take action. Every action doesn’t have to have a perfect outcome, Bakker stressed, but it’s essential to act.

“Identify one decision you’re going to make daily, weekly, quarterly,” he urged. “And bring intention to that decision.”ft