033: From Cooking with FIRE to Embracing TECH w/ Burnt Ends' Dave Pynt

The global pandemic has wreaked havoc on many industries - with the Food & Beverage industry one of the hardest hit. Most countries, at some point, have had to ban dining in - and even once that restriction is lifted, they have limited the restaurant capacity to only 50-70% of the pre-pandemic levels. To survive financially, restaurants have had to pivot their business and operating models online to create new revenue streams.  In this episode, we are going to look at the role tech has played in helping restaurants overcome these unprecedented challenges.  If you live in Asia and like food, you'll know today's guest, Dave Pynt. Dave is  the chef and owner of the one Michelin starred restaurant Burnt Ends - which is currently ranked #14 on Asia's Top 50 Restaurants and #59 globally.  Show Notes: 01:30 Intro to Dave and how a surfer from Western Australia developed into one of Asia's top chefs 08:00 Dave's restaurant portfolio, including 2 x Meatsmiths in Singapore, another Meatsmith in Doha and The Ledge in the Maldives 10:50 How Dave leveraged tech in the pre-Covid world 12:45 How the Burnt Ends Group has used tech to transform their operations 18:30 How does a restaurant with no IT department drive digital transformation? 24:00 What's next for Burnt Ends Group (hint: BE to move from Teck Lim to Dempsey - and a Brew Pub launching in 2023) And more chats about Dave's favourite places to eat, the importance of good ingredients and what it's like to cook a wild boar on a spit on the slopes of Mt. Fuji.