Florian Pinel

Florian Pinel was working in the research division at IBM, computing by day and cooking at night and on weekends, when he realized he wanted to take his culinary skills to the next level. Choosing ICE for the quality of its programs and flexible scheduling options, he graduated from the Culinary Arts program in 2005 and completed his externship at David Bouley’s Michelin-starred Danube. Florian continued working part-time at the restaurant for nearly three years, rotating through each stations, while continuing his research at IBM. In 2012, Florian began work on a project that combined both of his professional passions. Collaborating with ICE chefs, that initiative became IBM’s “cognitive cooking” technology. Utilizing the creative computing power of Watson, Florian and ICE delighted food truck visitors with dishes whose flavors were determined by cognitive computing. Somehow, he still finds time to maintain his personal cooking blog, Food Perestroika, which focuses on Florian’s culinary adventures and the cuisine of Eastern Europe. Recently, Florian was asked to give a TED Talk on the Cognitive Cooking project and the future of food.