In today’s omnichannel restaurant world, kitchen staff are constantly getting pulled in too many directions to follow every manual operating procedure like food temp logging, ensuring that equipment is functioning properly. When things go awry, this leads to spoilage, failed audits, and store downtime that could have been easily avoided with technology. Five years ago, former Deloitte consultant Jake Simon identified a technology gap between his work leading “Internet of Things” (IoT) solutions for Fortune 100 manufacturers and the broader food industry. Whereas traditional manufacturers can afford expensive consultants, only so many restaurants can. This opportunity led to the creation of ConnectedFresh, a smart monitoring and logging startup purpose built for the foodservice industry now used by brands like Chick-Fil-A, El Pollo Loco, and Levy Restaurants. HNGRY recently sat down with Simon to discuss the current state of the smart kitchen and his recent partnership with Amazon Web Services.