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This past weekend, the world’s best and brightest culinarians congregated in Silicon Valley, California, for the first-ever Bite SV conference. The inaugural three-day event was devoted to food, tech and the increasingly fruitful union of the two.

The event featured an all-star lineup, including celebrity chefs like José Andrés, Tom Colicchio, Michael Chiarello and Michael Voltaggio.

Even more impressive, however, was the notable inclusion of several plant-based brands and speakers including Josh Tetrick, CEO of of Hampton Creek and Tim Geistlinger, PhD. Vice President of R&D for Beyond Meat. According to the schedule, Tetrick held a midday keynote address on Friday, the first day of the conference.

In addition, the event’s two-day edible spread, The Grand Tasting, allowed participants to sample a whole host of foods and wines, and a multitude of vegan options were on display.

Hampton Creek served individual dollops of Just Cookie dough, plus Just Mayo on crackers; Beyoud Meat served tacos made with Beefy Crumbles along with samples of The Beast Burger; Kite Hill offered its Soft Fresh Original, Soft Fresh Truffle Dill & Chive, Soft Ripened, and Ricotta on rice crackers; Genki-Su had four flavors of Japanese drinking vinegar; and San Francisco’s Seed + Salt served Mini Chickpea Frittatas with Roasted Vegetables and Pimenton Aioli.

Users at the conference shared some photos of the tasty eats, including the Kite Hill cheeses (which Yahoo Food called “pretty delish”); an impressive looking chilled carrot broth with fermented curry and peanut granola from Spoonbar; Beyond Meat’s tacos and more.

Overall, Bite SV focused on various issues facing the food industry including food waste, feeding nine billion people, bringing restaurants to food deserts and more. Clearly, sustainable, plant-based foods and the companies committed to producing them have a major role to play in the alleviation of these issues. The future of food looks bright.

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