The Boston Restaurant Where Robots Have Replaced the Chefs (washingtonpost.com)

Started by a group of 20-something robotics engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology who partnered with Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, Spyce in downtown Boston is founded on the idea that a fulfilling meal can be more science than spontaneity [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. From a report: The restaurant's founders have replaced human chefs with seven automated cooking pots that simultaneously whip up meals in three minutes or less. A brief description of meal preparation -- courtesy of 26-year-old co-founder, Michael Farid -- can sound more like laboratory instructions than conventional cooking. "Once you place your order, we have an ingredient delivery system that collects them from the fridge," Farid said.

"The ingredients are portioned into the correct sizes and then delivered to a robotic wok, where they are tumbled at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The ingredients are cooked and seared. And once the process is complete, the woks tilt downward and put food into a bowl. And then they're ready to be garnished and served." Spyce bills itself as "the world's first restaurant featuring a robotic kitchen that cooks complex meals," a distinction that appears to reference burger-flipping robots like "Flippy," who plied his trade in a California fast food kitchen before being temporary suspended -- because he wasn't working fast enough.

Comments

Complex?

[jbmartin6]

I'm not sure I agree that stir-fry qualifies as a "complex meal."

Re:Complex?

[iggymanz]

I cook.

It's not complex cooking at all. Quite frankly I'd like to see them make a robot that could cook steak, potatoes, side veggies meal....because I'm quite certain they couldn't. Even a quality hamburger would confound a robot.

This already has a name.

[Type44Q]

This already has a name; it's called a factory. In other news, when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Re:Health insurance and vacation time

[Anonymous Coward]

Worked on machine controls for over thirty years, and the machines get great health insurance. As soon as they get sick, a human is dispatched to help and we have parts on site to fix the most common health problems. As for vacation time, they get all of the time they need off for maintenance.

As for myself, I haven't had a real vacation in over twenty-five years and haven't been to a doctor since I was 13, which was a little over forty years ago.

Sounds like canned or frozen food to me

[Rick Schumann]

If I want some slop out of a bag or box in the freezer or from a can I'll go to the grocery store and buy that for I'm sure a fraction of what these jokers are charging for a 'restaurant' 'meal'. Do not want, would not pay for it. If I'm eating out I want a human chef making me something special and nice not some shitty 'robot' making the equivalent of frozen food made in a factory somewhere. And of course what's already been in the works is firing all the waitstaff so all you do is deal with machines the entire time you're at their 'restaurant'. Screw that. There's nothing special about it, there's nothing value-added about it, why would I even bother going out to eat if that's all I'm going to get? May as well stay home and make my own food for the cost of ingredients and watch TV just like always.

Most restaurant meals aren't complex

[rsilvergun]

a lot of thought and effort goes into making them as quick and dirty as possible so you can "plate" them quickly and make the most profit. That's why most restaurants are built around meat. It freezes well and any idiot can cook it without ruining it.