Will cooking robots, which are starting to enter the domestic catering circle, replace chefs?
At the Chengdu Food and Beverage Industry Technology and Intelligence Summit in July, several cooking robots composed of mechanical arms, seasoning boxes, and small woks made a stunning appearance. They waved their mechanical arms precisely, adding seasonings and stir - frying ingredients according to pre - set programs. The whole process was smooth and fluent, prompting the on - site audience to raise their cameras one after another.
Conceptual schematic diagram, not an actual robot
In fact, various forms of artificial intelligence, including robots, have penetrated deeply into our lives. In the field of chain catering, it is not uncommon to use AI for ordering, meal preparation, accounting, and even restaurant operation. In the household consumer market, cooking robots are also beginning to stand out. Many products designed for household use have emerged on the market, with retail prices ranging from entry - level products costing a few thousand yuan to high - end customized models costing hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Currently, many catering enterprises have keenly perceived the huge potential behind AI and have increased their R & D investment in its algorithms and temperature control technology. However, with the application of AI in the catering field, a series of questions have also arisen: Can current products like cooking robots significantly reduce the costs of the catering industry? Why did McDonald's and Starbucks, which enjoy high reputations in the global chain catering industry, successively take their AI ordering systems offline? For the catering industry, will artificial intelligence like cooking robots really replace chefs in the future?
Chinese Cuisine Chains Rush to Purchase Intelligent Cooking Robots
From the dancing robots of Unitree Technology to the robot traffic police on the Bund, the application of robots in various fields has become quite common. During the peak dining hours on Guijie Street in Beijing, a robotic dog shuttles through the queue, distributing snacks to waiting customers. The intelligent inspection system jointly developed by Cha Baidao and DeepSeek uses AI technology to conduct all - round inspections of store hygiene, supplies, etc., increasing the inspection efficiency by 30%. Among these numerous AI applications, the ones that can truly directly change the core processes of catering are the robots that can be integrated into the food production process, and cooking robots are a typical example.
In the past, Chinese cuisine was considered a category difficult to scale up due to its low standardization level and inconsistent flavors. However, in the field of freshly stir - fried Chinese fast food, Bawan, a Hunan - based chain catering enterprise, achieved a breakthrough with its self - developed intelligent cooking robots. According to media reports, Bawan's self - developed intelligent cooking robots have gone through three generations of technological iterations and now have a mature and stable intelligent cooking system. The number of its stores has expanded to more than 550.
The third - generation cooking robot of Bawan. Image source: Bawan's official website
Video footage from a food blogger shows that this third - generation cooking robot can not only precisely stir - fry various dishes but also integrate an automatic pot - washing function, achieving full - process automation from cooking to cleaning. The cooking time for a single dish by the robot is only 2 - 4 minutes. Even during the peak hours from 11:30 am to 1 pm, it can ensure a quick response to orders.
In addition, in a Bawan store of about 80 square meters, only 3 kitchen staff are needed to operate 4 devices simultaneously. Compared with traditional restaurants, this significantly reduces the dependence on chefs and effectively alleviates the pressure on restaurants caused by rising labor costs. Empowered by robots, the average customer spending per order in the store can be maintained at around 20 yuan, forming a relatively affordable price positioning.
Schematic diagram of Bawan's chain stores. Image source: Official website
Nowadays, the demand for cooking robots from Chinese cuisine chain enterprises has increased sharply. Compared with the decline of unmanned restaurants that completely relied on technology and robot equipment around 2019, more and more enterprises are now choosing to use robots to assist in the development of the catering industry. Well - known brands such as Xiaocaiyuan and Laoxiangji have announced plans to purchase intelligent robots this year. However, while Chinese cooking robots are making great progress and being highly sought after in the catering market, the catering market in the United States across the ocean presents a different picture.
Starbucks' Setback in AI Ordering: Catering Can't Achieve "Full - Process Automation"
In July 2023, the US Starbucks app suffered a serious system failure, sending incorrect notifications of "orders ready" to a large number of users. This left many coffee lovers confused, and they checked their order records, suspecting that they had accidentally placed an order. A similar case also occurred at McDonald's. A customer ordered water and ice cream through AI ordering but received ketchup and butter packets instead. In April 2024, Brian Niccol, the new CEO of Starbucks, announced during an earnings conference call that the Siren automation system launched in 2022 would be withdrawn, and the number of store employees would be increased.
Domino's delivery robot
Similar to Chinese cooking robots, there are many successful cases of the application of AI in the food production field by US chain catering enterprises. For example, Domino's uses an AI robot to handle online orders. Through intelligent algorithms, it quickly sorts and distributes orders, and then the robot delivers the food, increasing the response speed during peak hours by 40%. The AI pizza inspection system used by Pizza Hut in the United States can detect the integrity of pizza toppings before they come out of the oven through image recognition technology, identify problems in a timely manner and make adjustments, effectively ensuring the quality of pizzas and reducing the error rate by 20%.
In contrast, most of these successful cases focus on standardized processes, such as order processing and quality inspection. These processes are relatively simple and repetitive, making them suitable for AI technology to exert its advantages of precision and efficiency. The setbacks of Starbucks and McDonald's expose the shortcomings of AI in complex service scenarios - catering ordering is not simply "process automation" but a comprehensive service that integrates factors such as demand prediction, emotional interaction, and market adaptability, and requires flexible adjustments according to different customer needs and market changes. This still poses certain challenges to current AI technology.
By delving into Starbucks' setback, it is not difficult to find the core limitations of current AI technology in the catering ordering scenario.
Firstly, there is insufficient data training for complex scenarios. Catering ordering involves a large number of dynamic demands, such as different customers' taste preferences and demand fluctuations at different times, as well as many non - standardized interactions, such as personalized recommendations and temporary demand adjustments. All these require a large amount of detailed scenario data as support, which is fundamentally different from simple food preparation. At present, the training data of most catering AI still has difficulty covering such complex service details, resulting in the phenomenon of "efficient ineffectiveness".
Secondly, the emotional experience is irreplaceable. For many people, catering consumption is not just a simple "product acquisition" but also includes emotional interaction needs. Starbucks' internal data shows that stores that can provide emotional experiences, such as baristas' hand - brewing demonstrations and personalized recommendations to customers, have an average customer spending 18% - 25% higher than ordinary stores, and the conversion rate is also increased by 37%. The mechanical response of the AI system, such as a simple and cold "Your order is ready", cannot provide customers with emotional care and interaction, resulting in a sharp decline in user experience satisfaction.
However, Starbucks has not completely abandoned AI technology. Various forms of artificial intelligence are still assisting in the meal - serving process during peak hours at Starbucks. However, its focus has shifted to "serving experience upgrading", using the humanized service of employees to make up for the lack of emotional interaction in the AI system. This transformation also reveals a truth: the application of technology in the catering ordering field ultimately needs to find a balance between efficiency and warmth.
Humans Design, Machines Execute: This Is the Visible Future
The emergence and application of artificial intelligence technologies such as cooking robots and AI ordering in the catering industry have made some practitioners worried about the future, fearing that they will be replaced by these new technologies.
For catering operators, especially large - scale chain catering enterprises, the application of robots in the cooking process does bring many significant advantages: they are not affected by mood swings, can stably execute operating standards, and ensure consistent quality of each dish; they can avoid human - made shortcuts, ensuring the stability of food quality from the source; at the same time, enterprises don't need to worry too much about human resource management or incentives, which helps to reduce management complexity and operational risks and improve the overall operational efficiency of the restaurant.
This concern is not unfounded. The application of robots in the catering field will replace some human labor, but not all. Those with special skills or core competencies will remain, while some other workers will need to transform.
How will the transformation occur in the future?
Liu Yiwei, a food host, shared on social media that he participated in a robot cooking large - model experiment at a certain university in 2024 and deeply felt the advancement of robot cooking. If the skills of master chefs are converted into precise parameters and input into the system, the execution effect of the robot can reach 80% - 90%, and 100 robots operating according to the same standard can produce dishes with exactly the same flavor.
However, Liu Yiwei admitted that although robots can accurately reproduce dishes and complete the cooking process according to pre - set programs, they cannot independently complete tasks that require creativity and inspiration, such as recipe development, flavor innovation, and ingredient combination design. In the future, chefs can be liberated from traditional hands - on operations and transform into "dish designers", devoting more energy to creative work such as developing new recipes and optimizing cooking logic, endowing robots with more "creativity" and focusing on higher - level value creation themselves.
In fact, for the catering industry, whether it is the core value of chefs and waiters in providing humanized service and perceiving customers' potential needs, it is still difficult for current AI to replace. Whether it is dish designers, excellent service staff, or niche and special private restaurants, they still have scarce value, and such people and restaurants will exist in the market for a long time.
Of course, robots can assist in completing basic process - oriented work, while humans are responsible for creative design and emotional communication. In the future, human - machine collaboration can improve food safety and meet diverse catering experience needs. The integration of humans and machines is the new trend in the catering industry.
References
1. When the trend of robots "blows into" the kitchen, can cooking robots really replace master chefs? National Business Daily
2. AI "workers" interact at the door, and the inspection system introduces DeepSeek. Artificial intelligence 3.0 on the tip of the tongue. Beijing Business Daily
3. McDonald's AI waiters are laid off. Is AI in catering a false proposition? Lei Technology
This article is from the WeChat official account "Chief Business Review" (ID: CHReview), author: Xingying, published by 36Kr with authorization.