Scott Heimendinger works at the intersection of food and technology, applying insights from culinary science and engineering to create kitchen tools that delight and empower everyday cooks. Scott is currently working as an independent inventor on an innovative new product still in stealth mode.
Previously, Scott was the Chief Innovation Officer for Anova (subsidiary of Electrolux), and helped the company develop and market the Anova Precision Oven, the world’s first combi-oven accessible to home cooks. Scott also served as the Director of Applied Research and Technical Director at Modernist Cuisine, a culinary research lab and publisher of the world’s most acclaimed books on the science of cooking. In those roles, his job was to create technology that didn’t yet exist to support a wide variety of scientific experiments and creative arts. His work involved food science analytical methods, photography, microscopy, 3D scanning, software, CAD, mechanical engineering, FEA simulation, robotics, and motion control systems.
Prior, Scott co-founded Sansaire, a company that has disrupted the sous vide cooking market to make the technique accessible to all home cooks. Sansaire launched on Kickstarter in 2013, raising over $823,000 to become the #1 most-funded food and beverage campaign at the time. Scott led the product launch, marketing, ecommerce, and sales into retail including Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, Amazon, Best Buy, and others.
Scott has been a sous vide devotee since his first bite of a 65°C egg back in 2009. Shortly thereafter, Scott reverse-engineered his own immersion circulator and posted the instructions for a $75 DIY Sous Vide Machine right here, on this very blog.
In 2012, Scott was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Food & Wine category. In 2021, he was inducted into the International Sous Vide Association Hall of Fame. Prior to his work in culinary innovation, Scott worked at IBM and Microsoft, focused on business intelligence. He’s also passionate about recreational lasers, robots, and ideas that make you laugh and then make you think.
ACCOLADES
- International Sous Vide Association Hall of Fame, 2021
- Forbes “30 Under 30” in Food & Wine, 2012
- Kickstarter #1 Most-Funded Project, Food & Drink Category, for Sansaire in 2013
- Webby Award for MDRN KTCHN produced by Chow, 2013
- Best Short Video Series nomination by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, 2013
- Saveur Best Food Blog Awards Finalist, 2012
- Winner of Best Food Blog, Western Washington, King 5 Evening Magazine 2010
- Check out a talk I gave for Chicago Ideas Week, 2015