The robot utilises a specially crafted frying pan with high-powered induction to spin around the pre-cooked noodles after they are boiled and then adds the sauce and seasoning.
Just picture this. You're at an Italian restaurant and you have just ordered a plate of pasta. Now, imagine getting it served on the table even before you can spell out s-p-a-g-h-e-t-t-i.
At Tokyo's E Vino Spaghetti Restaurant, pasta dishes are prepared in a mere 45 seconds, all thanks to an automated pasta chef called P-Robo. The robot utilises a specially crafted frying pan with high-powered induction to spin around the pre-cooked noodles after they are boiled and then adds the sauce and seasoning. A kitchen staffer then plates the pasta and adds on the finishing touches before it is served to the guest. Jointly developed by Japanese cafe operator Pronto Corporation and Tokyo-based robotics firm TechMagic, the automated pasta chef is unleashing its magic in the kitchen.
P-Robo is not alone. The 'world's first fully robotic kitchen' by Moley Robotics, UK, takes 100% charge of the cooking process. Not only does the robot cook complete meals, it tells you when ingredients need replacing, suggests dishes based on the items you have in stock, and learns what you like.
At The Yellow House: Robot Restaurant in Jaipur, robots Ruby and Diva serve food flawlessly on the diners' table. The robotic servers are powered by artificial intelligence (AI), with data from each table seamlessly integrated into their operations.
After opening the first outlet of The Yellow House in Jaipur in 2018, along with his mother, Harshit Surana, founder of LTC Hospitality, has 11 outlets today. In every outlet, the order is taken by a staff member, but the food is served by a robot. Developed locally, Surana has 24 robots in all, which he uses only in his outlets.
Striking a balance
Awareness of robots and AI is growing rapidly and its applications are expanding across various industries. Yet, adoption in the hospitality sector, particularly in kitchens, has been slower.
Anmol Ahluwalia, area director, operations, Goa, at The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), admits, "AI has the potential to revolutionise hotel kitchens in several ways, from making chefs' lives easier to creating a more sustainable and guest-centric experience. With elements like enhanced kitchen operations, smarter inventory management, personalised menus and recommendations, recipe innovation and development, we are here to welcome AI. While AI is still at a nascent stage, kitchens are where it is poised to make a big impact."
Managing food waste is an area where AI has been put into use. Kate Chesshyre, area director, communications, UK, Ireland & Nordics, Marriott International, adds, "The Winnow AI food waste monitoring platform has been installed and onboarded across all food outlets in our 52 managed Marriott hotels across the UK and Ireland. This large-scale deployment is a first for Winnow, and the technology enables us to reduce food waste and be nimbler across our kitchens in terms of ordering and planning."
Even though AI is being integrated into hotel kitchens, they are not being used for cooking as of now. James Hacon, managing partner, Think Hospitality, a global food and beverage consultancy, UK, adds, "Chefs are starting to use ChatGPT to support ideation, track trends and refine menu descriptions. More impactful innovations are emerging from technology providers, who are embedding AI into task management systems, that organise workflows in the kitchen ensuring efficiency and reducing errors."
However, even though technology is disrupting the food industry, not all chefs are comfortable working alongside robots. The idea doesn't augur well with diners either. After all, personalised touch and expertise of human chefs are important.
Chef Vikas Seth, Sanchez Bengaluru, elaborates, "Chefs are not replaceable. They play a crucial role in creating innovative dishes, experimenting with flavours, curating unique culinary experiences -- a human touch to food preparation that technology cannot replicate."
Surana concurs, "A single product line may be achievable with robots, but Indian cuisine with its diversities and individual preferences might prove to be a challenging task without human chefs."
AI can assist chefs but not do away with them. Ahluwalia acknowledges that AI's ability to analyse culinary data can assist chefs and suggest unique flavour combinations, inspire new recipe creations, enabling them to stay ahead of trends and offer exciting new dishes.
Striking a balance between technology and traditional culinary skills is what Seth recommends. "The integration of AI and robots in restaurant and hotel kitchens can enhance efficiency, improve consistency in food preparation and streamline operations."
AI in home kitchens
While Hotels are still debating about AI, home kitchens have willingly embraced it for cooking. Nosh, an advanced, autonomous cooking robot, is gaining in popularity.
Yatin Varachhia, co-founder, Nosh Robotics, explains, "AI robots can precisely tailor meals to your taste preferences, effectively reducing food wastage. They help reduce your dependence on online food orders and improve the quality control of your meals."
By using the Nosh robot app on one's phone, one can choose a dish or select the dish menu on screen in the machine and load the ingredients required to cook a specific dish onto the machine and command it to cook. Once the machine begins to cook, the person need not be around to monitor. There is ample storage of water, oil and spices, which need to be refilled once a week or so, and the machine uses as much as is needs for a particular recipe. Nosh can be ordered online from their website and in almost 50 cities in India there is a free installation available. The price ranges between '60,000 and '65,000.
Echoing his sentiment, Mahek Mody, founder of Upliance, an AI cooking assistant, says: "Indian homes are exposed to new cuisines, people are travelling more, watching a lot of global content and ordering new types of food from delivery apps. AI can make cooking, as simple as, following instructions and pressing buttons, while culinary exploration can happen with the health, customisation and comfort of cooking at home."
Indeed, Upliance is a straightforward appliance with Wi-Fi and an 8-inch touchscreen. Plug in the device, sign up for an account, log in and one is all set to cook. The user interface of the tablet lists over 500 recipes on the screen, from which one can select. The appliance can heat, saute, blend, knead, rinse, chop and the cooking takes place in the jar. Additional accessories also come along. One can weigh the ingredients, follow the recipe on the screen and press the start button for each step. An AI enabled chatbot answers queries too. Priced at '24,000 approximately, it can be ordered from their website or from Amazon.
Clearly, the consumer has options galore. Wonderchef, an industry leader in premium kitchen appliances, have unveiled, 'Chef Magic' an innovative, all-in-one kitchen robot designed to transform the home cooking experience with fully automated cooking processes. The device has over 200 preloaded recipes crafted by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, across cuisines. One can select a recipe from the touchscreen and then be guided about which ingredient to add. Chef Magic weighs the ingredients, and performs all cooking functions like mixing, chopping, steaming, sauteing, blending, frying, stirring and kneading. Priced at '49,999, it can be purchased from Wonderchef's website and across all major retail outlets.
For those not seeking an automated cooking experience with expensive appliances and machines, there is ChefGPT, an AI-powered platform which can be downloaded as an app, designed to assist users in their culinary journey, from planning and finding recipes to cooking and exploring new ingredients. This AI tool generates recipes based on the ingredients one already has, helping one meet their macronutrient goals. The features include PantryChef which generates recipes based on the ingredients one has, MasterChef which helps one find, modify, or generate new recipes based on one's dietary requirements, MacrosChef, which customises recipes to meet one's specific macronutrient goals, MealPlanChef, which allows one to build meal plans that fit one's fitness and dietary goals and PairPerfect, which provides expert pairing suggestions for food and drinks.
ChefGPT offers two main pricing plans -- the basic plan which is free forever, includes five monthly generated recipes and PantryChef mode. The Pro Plan costs $2.99 per month, and includes unlimited generated recipes, all modes and an ad-free experience.
Online food delivery
With the online food delivery market growing rapidly, several cloud kitchens have adopted AI and invested in state-of-the-art equipment that can automate many of the food preparation processes. Yatin quips, "While Nosh is designed for home kitchens, its versatility extends to cloud kitchens and restaurants as well."
With its varied offerings, Mukunda Foods has also come to the rescue of cloud kitchens. Eshwar K Vikas, co-founder & CEO, Mukunda Foods, explains, "As a kitchen-tech company, we provide automation solutions for cloud kitchens and QSR brands. So far, we have automated over 14 processes with the intent to ensure food taste consistency, most of which are cuisine-specific and problem-solving in nature. Our Wokie, an automatic wok, can cook any toss-based recipes like Chinese food and Indian gravies, according to standard SOPs. Similarly, we have solutions for dosa, frying, biryani, Continental and Asian cuisines. F&B brands across India that use our technology in their kitchens include ITC, Haldiram's, Wow! Momo, Samosa Party, Chaayos and Good Flippin' Burgers."
