Meet the Visionary Behind Symbio Bioculinary
Elliott Notrica is the Founder and CEO of Symbio Bioculinary, a precision fermentation startup based in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Founded in 2022 from a deep passion for microbial fermentation, Symbio deploys on-site biorefinery systems that convert food manufacturing waste into high-value ingredients. At the heart of Symbio’s technology is Aspergillus oryzae, a food-safe fungus with centuries of history in fermentation and an expanding frontier in industrial biotechnology.
Elliott’s background spans both the kitchen and the laboratory. Trained in James Beard Award-winning and Michelin-starred kitchens, he developed a fascination with fermentation long before it became a business – drawn in by the patience the craft demands, and the way living cultures transform humble ingredients into something far greater than their parts. That same philosophy animates Symbio: the belief that what looks like waste is really just potential waiting to be unlocked. Today, Elliott still practices fermentation daily, with a particular love for long-aged misos, soy sauces, and vinegars.
His research interests center on fungal metabolomics of A. oryzae and metagenomic analysis of polymicrobial ferments, work that directly informs Symbio’s technology platform. In Elliott’s own words: “Fermentation and synthetic biology will be the most important catalysts for improving the sustainability of industries in the next decade. Applying this transformative capacity to food waste is a natural first step, and the opportunities are incredibly exciting.”
Elliott is a 2023 Future Founders Fellow and a 2024 Amgen Scholar, two highly competitive programs recognizing exceptional entrepreneurial and scientific promise. This April, he will take the TEDx stage at TEDx Normal to speak on fermentation and food waste, making the case for microbial upcycling as a scalable solution to one of the food industry’s most persistent challenges.
Beyond Symbio, Elliott is a founding member and Treasurer of The Collective, an entrepreneurial organization in Bloomington-Normal dedicated to peer support and building a stronger local startup ecosystem. He is also a member of the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers and the National Food Recovery Association, reflecting a broader commitment to systemic change in how industries approach waste and sustainability.
That commitment has not gone unnoticed. Andrew Lusk, advisor and investor at Symbio, first encountered Elliott through an unexpected introduction and came away with an immediate impression: “This was a person who, at a very young age, had an admirable mission, the niche to make it commercially viable, the technical skill to pull it off – spanning food science, genetic engineering, organic chemistry, biology, and machine learning – the clear-headed decision-making to operationalize it, and the drive and motivation needed for it to succeed.” Lusk has since formally joined the team as both advisor and investor.