Skilled in the preparation of everything from fresh sourdough pizza to gourmet burgers, robotic chefs could be the hot new recruit in restaurant kitchens of the future. Samuel Ballard reports
In the age of pandemic, technology is proving to be a saviour. In recent weeks, Globetrender has looked at how it is helping us in myriad ways – from cleaning hotel rooms to creating virtual reality workouts in Machu Picchu. Now we are looking at how robotic chefs are helping restaurants minimise human involvement in the cooking process.
French company Pazzi claims to have invented the world’s first pizza-making robot. The technology, which took seven years to develop, is now housed in the company’s first “Pazziria”, close to Disneyland Paris.
How does it work? Diners pick their favourite ingredients on self-service consoles (or on their phone) and can then watch the robots making their pizza in a matter of minutes. The robotic arm will not only spread on the sauce and put it in the oven, but slice and box it.
What’s more, the dough is prepared in the company’s workshop from flour by Thierry Graffagnino, a world-renowned pizza consultant, so the quality is top-notch.
Meanwhile, Creator, in San Francisco, claims to have put “a healthy amount of obsession, experimentation and love into creating a whole new kind of hamburger, one that’s never existed before”.
Burgers on the menu include the Presidio (horseradish, parsley and tarragon salsa verde aioli, Persian lime pepper, habanero salt, pickles and tomato) and the Mission Street Food Burger by Chef Anthony Myint (charred scallion garum, scallion mayo, dehydrated beef, pepitas, fried shallots, black sesame seeds and pickles).
The unit comes as a sealed off area where you can watch a pair of robotic arms cook your favourite dishes or mimic those of actual chefs. After it’s finished preparing your meal, the arms will do the washing up too. Patents for the technology were first filed in 2014 and pre-sales for the product launch began this year.
Robotic chefs replacing their human counterparts en masse is unlikely any time soon. However, if these early adopters manage to nail it, you might be having your dinner cooked by a robot sooner than you think.
Equally, robotic bartenders could become a more common sight in years to come. The Makr Shakr cocktail-making robot already been installed in the ICE+FRIES bar in Reyjavik, Iceland, in partnership with high-end Nordic beverage company GlacierFire.
“As safety becomes the priority for all of us, robotic bartenders can play a substantial role in helping the food and beverage industry getting back on its feet as soon as possible, says Makr Shakr’s CEO Emanuele Rossetti. “A robot like Toni offers a win-win solution for businesses, as it entertains patrons within health and safety standards.”