White Castle will be the first fast food chain to install a robotic cook
Grilled human chefs had a good streak, but the age of the burger robot may be on the horizon. White Castle announced plans to test a robotic chef named Flippy in the kitchen of at least one restaurant this September, Business Insider reports. The robot, made by Miso Robotics, has already been frying food and cooking burgers at places like Dodger Stadium. White Castle will be the first fast food chain to pilot a cooking robot in the kitchen.
Flippy, who can learn and improve his performance through AI, will start at the fry station before potentially expanding his range on the grill. White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson tells Business Insider that the robot will not replace human jobs, but will allow meat and bone workers to focus on other tasks, such as ensuring order accuracy or fulfilling orders. delivery. This move toward automation had already been planned before the pandemic, but the COVID-era demand for cooking with less contact, plus a delivery boom, has accelerated the shift.
Through the Robot Report, here’s a video demo of Flippy making White Castle fries:
And an earlier TechCrunch video showing Flippy flipping burgers:
And in other news …
- Speaking of robots, Tyson Foods is accelerating the move to automatic butchers at meat-packing plants, fueled in part by outbreaks of coronavirus among workers. [WSJ]
- There is a huge NUT GLUT in the US, with so much surplus that walnut tree branches are breaking from heavy crops. [Bloomberg]
- Burger King is unveiling a new Whopper featuring beef patties made from cows whose diets produce 33 percent less methane emissions. [Business Insider]
- Chipotle is testing cauliflower rice as a new, healthier menu option. Rice is available at select Denver and Wisconsin restaurants for a limited time. [CNN]
- Johnnie Walker will be sold in paper bottles in early 2021, with PepsiCo and Unilever to follow, in an effort to reduce plastic use and waste. [Food Dive]
- Oat milk is apparently a lot of money: Oatly got a $ 200 million investment from a group led by Blackstone. [Bloomberg]
- Chef Tom Kerridge, owner of several Michelin-starred pubs, surprised guests who didn’t show up in an Instagram post: “You all ‘don’t show up’ in every restaurant in the country are escalating the problems you already face. .. You are the worst kind of guest, and that is ‘selfish’ ”. [Yahoo News]
- Reading Anthony Bourdain Confidential kitchen after 20 years [The Ringer]
• All Intel AM coverage [E]
