When? It really depends on how we want to convey this, which market we want to go after first. I’m thinking the hotel business, as they have a larger expendable income than many of the smaller fast-food chains. So we’re talking with some people at some large hotels. They’re very excited about it.

This [software] takes into account labor, food costs, overhead, taxes, lease, everything. The minute somebody comes in and orders something, you’ll see it.

Even with your focus on processes and technology, you’re still known for making great food. Why is that important? Well, you know, if it’s not sustainable, organic, and natural (And I don’t mean “natural” in the sense of interpretation. I mean natural out of the ground), it’s all a gimmick. And so, it has to be all of those things. It’s got to taste good.

The big picture here is: If we can try and knock down the amount of restaurants that close in the first year then we can see more competitive drive coming from the creative angle of quick-service retail at the mom-and-pop level and on the large-scale fast-food level. We need to eliminate the 8 out of 10 [restaurants] that close in the first year. It’s not a human problem. It’s not a distribution problem. It’s a technological problem.

When you talk about this technological problem to those big quick-service brands that visit you, what kind of response are you getting? They think, “OK, so here’s this guy. He’s just going to slap his name on the Big Mac/Whopper … whatever you want. And he’s going to do a couple of good things for the planet, and then he’s going to move on.”

Well, that’s just not true. Fifty patents pending later, we’re still working on these things. They are going to get to market. This year, you’re going to see edible advertising popping up. You might see the retail product, which will take everything in your kitchen, your home kitchen, and squish it down into a drawer. We have the retail thing working. We have the software thing working with some engineers in Chicago. What we’re trying to do is get people to consume less energy and achieve more.

You’re viewed as an avant garde, high-end chef, but a lot of what you’re advocating has populist applications. Absolutely. All trends start at the high-end level. But it’s got to be something that lasts. When you start telling people that they’re going to make more money then they start listening.