My Journey

From searing steaks to searing insights, my journey has been a global culinary adventure with a digital twist. I started in the kitchen, mastering flavors and textures under pressure, then spent thirty years in foodservice — walking kitchens, reading P&Ls, and helping operators make better decisions.

Curiosity led me around the world — exploring markets in Istanbul, perfecting pasta in Tuscany, debating spices in Marrakech, with culinary fieldwork across 13 countries on 4 continents. Every stop added new techniques and a better sense of what travels and what doesn’t.

I’ve always been the first in the room to pick up the next tool — computers in 1998, iPad sales tools in 2010, e-commerce for foodservice in 2014, and AI now. I studied Generative AI for Business Transformation at Cornell Tech, which gave me the vocabulary for something I’d been doing all along: visualize where you want to end up, then work backwards.

Today, Urban Food AI pairs that operator wisdom with AI built for restaurants — a co-intelligent partner that helps operators protect their margin and grow with confidence. Backwards planning is the method. Abundance is the mindset. Service is the output.

Best regards,

Pete Deserto