January 26, 2023

The term Smart Kitchen or Smart technology makes most of us think of kitchens in 2050 and a perception of something in our future. However, particularly in 2022/2023, the industry is seeing exponential growth in AI, whether it’s voice-enabled lights or intelligent locks AI adaptation is designed to make our lives easier. How does this link to the commercial kitchen? Let’s explore.

What is a Smart Kitchen

A smart kitchen has appliances that should make life easier and quicker. They are usually remotely controlled with apps and voice commands and have the benefit of reducing energy bills. AI kitchens automate tasks for end users. To run a smart kitchen you need an internet connection, wifi or Bluetooth. Think Alexa and Google Assistant.

This all stretches further than smart appliances, the future of smart kitchens rotates around Robotics. Leading-edge technology companies are growing ideas around robots that control cooking and cleaning. This will eliminate tedious tasks and reduce spending on salaries in a commercial kitchen, improving productivity.

Food AI

We have all had the same scenario when we get home from work, what are we going to eat? Do I have all the ingredients? Are they even still in date? Can I even find the ingredients? Welcome, Smart Fridges. These fridges find out what you have in your refrigerator and help plan dinner or recipes on what’s on offer. Samsung is leading in the refrigerator market. It uses a camera to look for ingredients inside and then locates a suitable recipe for you thus reducing food waste. The AI learns about your dietary requirements, likes, and dislikes seasonal ingredients and delivers a recipe.

Imagine how much time this would save in a commercial kitchen if your refrigerator knew what stock you had left and what needed to be used up. It could compose seasonal recipe ideas that you could then add to your “specials board” using up all your unused produce and giving you the satisfaction of almost zero food waste.

Robots that Cook

The most labour-intensive task is the prepping and cooking part. For £300,000 you can have two robotic arms connected to the ceiling that can reach the oven and hobs. They come pre-taught to carry out over 5,000 recipes. You select the recipe from the screen, add the ingredients to the specialised containers and let the device perform for you. Therefore, you remove the need and cost implication for even having a chef!

Cleaning Robots

Over the last 5-10 years, we have seen a rise in domestic AI cleaning devices. Most notably the AI robot vacuum, allows you to save time on the labour-intensive task of dragging out a hoover and manually vacuuming your space. Also, a very useful tool in the commercial kitchen – the hoover can be programmed to come on when everyone has left for the day thus giving it the free floor space to carry out the task ready for the morning.

The Robot Arms as discussed above were primarily focused on mimicking Chef’s movements, however, the design and capabilities of this robot mean that cleaning and cleaning up after itself, would be within its realms. No more cleaning bills or employing cleaners daily.

It doesn’t matter if you are thinking of a commercial kitchen or a domestic kitchen, AI intelligent kitchens simplify tedious tasks. Is this really the future of our restaurant and how will it affect the design of your commercial kitchen?