There were many 'modern' achievements in food tech in the 1950s. Check out this automated hamburger restaurant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmXLqImT1wE ... which is uncomfortably close to (and far ahead of) http://momentummachines.com/ (7 years in?).
Last month I founded Infinite Food, an automated food preparation and retail service startup (based on actual fresh ingredients and just in time preparation) here in mainland China... currently we have a minimum functional prototype, a mechanical demonstration, a strong business plan and financial projection and are seeking additional seed, see http://8-food.com/
Given how famously fussy the British are about their tea, I'm really quite surprised that the response was 'cool and modern' rather than vulgarities and threats of physical altercation ;)
Of course, today he'd be derided as a patent troll.
Mr. Abplanalp is the opposite of a patent troll.