An increasing number of restaurants are turning to automation as a solution to handle the surge in demand for dining services. As COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted across the country, Li Xianghui, who owns four restaurants in Wuhan, Hubei province, is well aware of the challenges that traditional restaurants face in handling the rising number of diners. However, his Automation in the Catering Industry: The Future of Dining restaurants are equipped with an array of cooking machines that operate tirelessly day and night.
All dishes in Li’s restaurants are semi-finished and packed in kits, which can be served within minutes after being put into the machines. Li believes that automation is the future of the catering industry, as it can help restaurants avoid the pressure of high labor costs and increase efficiency.
Furthermore, Li claims that the standardized process employed by the machines can guarantee consistency in the taste of each order. The cooking machine can make about 2,000 recipes, making it a versatile tool for restaurants to provide a diverse range of menu items.
To order food in Li’s restaurants, diners scan a QR code and use an app to make their meal selection and pay. The only waiter on staff then puts the semi-finished food kit into the machine, and the meal is served within minutes.
The benefits of automation in the catering industry extend beyond increased efficiency and lower labor costs. Automation also reduces the risk of human error, improves hygiene and food safety, and enhances the overall dining experience. For example, automation allows for more accurate food portioning and temperature control, resulting in consistent and high-quality meals.
Automation also benefits employees in the catering industry, as it reduces the physical demands of cooking and dishwashing, making the work less strenuous and more manageable.
Despite the many advantages of automation, there are still concerns about its impact on employment in the catering industry. Critics argue that automation will lead to job losses and exacerbate income inequality, as the owners of automated restaurants may become even wealthier while their employees are left without work.
However, proponents of automation argue that it can create new job opportunities in the field of technology, as well as in the maintenance and repair of the machines. Automation can also free up employees from performing repetitive and labor-intensive tasks, allowing them to focus on providing high-quality customer service.
The catering industry is undergoing a significant transformation as more and more restaurants turn to automation. The use of cooking machines, like the ones employed by Li Xianghui, offers several benefits, including increased efficiency, lower labor costs, improved food safety and hygiene, and enhanced dining experiences. While there are valid concerns about the impact of automation on employment in the catering industry, it is clear that automation is here to stay, and those who embrace it will be best positioned for success in the years to come.
As the pandemic restrictions begin to lift, the increasing number of diners presents a challenge for traditional restaurants. However, the restaurant industry in China has found a solution in the form of service robots. From catering to retail, logistics distribution, and medical rehabilitation, service robots are transforming the social services sector in China.
Li Xianghui, who owns four eateries in Wuhan, Hubei province, has found a way to keep up with the increasing demand for food. His restaurants use an array of cooking machines, which can operate tirelessly day and night. All dishes are semi-finished and can be served within minutes after they are put into the machines. The cooking machine can make about 2,000 recipes, and diners scan a QR code and use an app to make their meal selection and pay. With the only waiter putting the semi-finished food kit into the machine, the meal will be served in minutes.
According to Li, “Automation is the future for the catering industry. It can avoid pressure from labor costs in running a traditional restaurant and increase efficiency.” He also points out that there is a standardized process by the machines, which can guarantee consistency in the taste of each order. This has been a hit with customers, who appreciate the quick service and the quality of the food. “The taste is good, and the price is not expensive,” says a regular customer, surnamed Xu.
The use of robots in the restaurant industry is not a new concept. In 2018, popular hotpot brand Haidilao opened its first “smart” restaurant, equipped with two rows of robotic arms that can automatically collect pre-packaged dishes from cold storage. This was followed by the “smart” restaurant for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, where robots took charge of everything. With no human chefs and waiters, this restaurant may indicate what the future of the food service industry looks like.
Behind the scenes is the country’s growing service robotics industry, which, as of 2021, had a market value of more than 58 billion yuan ($8.3 billion), according to the Statista database portal. The industry is projected to reach a value of 291 billion yuan by 2027. “Service robots are constantly improving the level of social services in catering, retail, logistics distribution, medical rehabilitation, and other fields,” says Wang Hong, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
For Li, it is only a matter of time before such machinery becomes a common sight in kitchens. “The labor shortage caused by the pandemic is accelerating this process,” he says. In fact, according to an annual report on the country’s restaurant industry released by China Hospitality Association, a shortage of labor is a challenge faced by many business operators.
The use of service robots in the restaurant industry is gaining momentum in China. With the benefits of increasing efficiency, reducing labor costs, and improving consistency in food quality, it is no wonder that this trend is catching on quickly. As the country’s service robotics industry continues to grow, it will be interesting to see what other ways it will transform the social services sector.
In recent years, the use of service robotics in the food industry has been on the rise, with robot “chefs” taking over cooking in restaurants and advancing technology taking them a step further. As the demand for automation in the food industry continues to grow, domestic robot manufacturers such as Siasun, Uditech, and Keenon have been increasing their research and development in the area of service robotics to capitalize on this business opportunity.
In China, the shortage of staff in restaurants caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the need for automation in the food industry. On Dec 12, the Xidan Mingzhu Market in Beijing announced that it was forced to shorten its operating hours due to a shortage of staff, highlighting the pressing need for automation in the sector.
In response to this growing demand, researchers from the University of Cambridge have collaborated with domestic appliances manufacturer Beko to train their robot “chef” to assess the saltiness of a dish at different stages of the chewing process. The study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI, imitates the process in humans and could help robots to learn what tastes good and what doesn’t, making them better “cooks”.
According to Grzegorz Sochacki from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, the paper’s first author, “Most home cooks will be familiar with the concept of tasting as you go – tasting a dish throughout the cooking process to check whether the balance of flavors is right. If robots are to be used for certain aspects of food preparation, it’s important that they are able to ‘taste’ what they’re cooking.”
The food service industry in China has been exploring ways to incorporate automation into their businesses, with robot “chefs” becoming a common sight in many restaurants. For instance, Li Xianghui, who owns four eateries in Wuhan, Hubei province, has employed an array of cooking machines that can operate tirelessly day and night. Packed in kits, all dishes are semi-finished and can be served within minutes after they are put into the machines. Li believes that automation is the future for the catering industry as it can avoid pressure from labor costs in running a traditional restaurant and increase efficiency.
Similarly, popular hotpot brand Haidilao opened its first “smart” restaurant in 2018. The kitchen is equipped with two rows of robotic arms that can automatically collect prepackaged dishes from cold storage. The “smart” restaurant for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games may also indicate what the future of the food service industry looks like, with robots taking charge of everything.
According to an annual report on the country’s restaurant industry released by China Hospitality Association, a shortage of labor is a challenge faced by many business operators. The growing service robotics industry, which had a market value of over 58 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) as of 2021, according to the Statista database portal, is projected to reach a value of 291 billion yuan by 2027.
Wang Hong, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that “service robots are constantly improving the level of social services in catering, retail, logistics distribution, medical rehabilitation, and other fields.” With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the pressure on the food industry to provide fast and efficient services, the integration of robots in the food service industry seems inevitable.