Technology Is A Major Theme At This Year's National Restaurant Association Show

At this year's National Restaurant Association event, technology is a hot topic of conversation.

With the advent of more advanced robotics, one might believe that machines are set to replace human labor in restaurant kitchens. However, the truth is not quite so simple.

"I got into this industry because I like talking to people…I don't need [cooking] to be automated," Fourtop president Ben Pryor stated. "What I don't want to be doing is counting the chicken in the freezer every night, inventory. Those are the kinds of things we should be automating."

In short, cooks and chefs can breathe easy knowing that they won't walk into the kitchen one day to find robots manning the ranges and ovens. As Pryor suggests, the best use of automation is actually for expediting menial tasks like taking inventory. AI in particular is being explored as a means of collecting and processing customer data, among other background restaurant tasks.

Automation likely won't be dramatically overhauling the back-of-the-house experience—but the front of the house is a different story. The implementation of technology is being highly considered as a means of saving on labor expenses for front-of-the-house operations. Companies like Bite and QSR Automations gave insight to operators about how kiosks and other automated technologies can be used to streamline the service process for customers and cut back on labor expenses. All of this comes as employees have begun asking for more purposeful tasks than just taking customer orders and sending them to the kitchen, as well as asking for more of a positive, distinctive culture from employers. Essentially, the future of front-of-house operations will come down to balancing the needs of employees with the time and cost efficiencies of automated technologies.

While we may never see a restaurant that's fully staffed by computers and machines, technology is very much here to stay---and vendors and restaurant operators alike are continuing to explore the possibilities for technological implementation.

Published by:
Christian Dantes

REWrite Blog