Four recent engineering graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have opened a restaurant that contains what they describe as the world’s first “robotic kitchen”.
Originally conceived in their fraternity basement, Spyce in Boston now has seven robot chefs that prepare food in woks to create a selection of “bowls” in three minutes or under – and up to 200 per hour.
The engineers say they came up with the idea because they were “being priced out of wholesome and delicious food” and were “tired of spending $10 on take-out lunches and dinners”.
Spyce offers a variety of “bowls” each costing $7.50, which are customisable to be vegetarian or vegan.
The restaurant has not gone completely human-free: it employs four people to operate the machines including a garde manger to check the food before it is served. Ingredients are prepared by a human team off site, and the entrepreneurs also sought advice from French chef Daniel Boulud, who acts as culinary director.
