My Compliments to the Chef: Researcher Studies Robots in the Kitchen

Jeffrey Pittman II, instructional assistant professor in nutrition and hospitality management, is researching the potential benefits – and numerous doubts – that surround robots invading the kitchen.

"We have to look at this from the standpoint of, 'What benefits can these robots offer if they are implemented?'" he said. "What benefit can they have not just to the restaurant owner, but to the other employees and even to the customer?"

Restaurants across the globe have embraced automated cooks, and multiple restaurants in Mississippi have integrated robotic servers. That's because the benefits are clear, Pittman said.

Robotic chefs and servers are never late, adhere to food safety protocols and rarely require maintenance. For the hospitality industry – which the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports has an annual turnover rate of more than 70% – robot chefs could be an answer to the labor shortage problem, Pittman said.

"The restaurant industry has had labor issues for about a decade," said James Taylor, associate professor of nutrition and hospitality management. "With COVID, things got worse, and since COVID, things have not recovered.

"We're seeing automation in the industry already. You see kiosks at fast-food restaurants where you can order, drive-thru windows have systems that can take your order. To move it into the kitchen is the next logical step."

Despite the potential benefits, however, many people do not trust a robot to do the work of a chef.

"The current perception of robot chefs is that they're never going to provide the human touch, they're never going to be able to cook better than a human, and that they are nothing but a scheme by restaurant managers to get rid of jobs that good, hardworking people need to save money," he said.

"My research is really aimed at showing that robot chefs aren't necessarily designed to work by themselves in a kitchen environment. They're supposed to serve as a supportive mechanism."

Robots such as Flippy, a robot that flips burgers or works on frying stations, leave other kitchen workers in charge of plating and assembling the meal. By moving chefs into a supervisory role, restaurants could also work to solve a deeper problem, the Ole Miss professor said.

The restaurant industry's struggle with hiring and sustaining long-time employees is tied to the low-pay and labor-intensive nature of the work, he said.

"There are a lot of restaurants that are understaffed, and the issue is not that managers don't want to hire people," Pittman said. "People aren't applying for these jobs because nobody wants to work in a high-volume restaurant environment where you hardly have any days off, make minimum wage and don't get to have a work-life balance, right?

"So, I'm asking, 'How can a restaurant implement robot chefs to help provide that supportive labor while making sure that they remain profitable?'"

With the increased push to move from minimum wage to a living wage, fewer people are drawn to the low incomes of restaurant labor, Taylor said.

"I don't think that anybody who wants a job is not going to be able to get one because of automation," he said. "They're not applying for them now – that's why we have that shortage.

"The restaurant used to be entry-level point for workers, but we're really not seeing that anymore."

If a robot reduces labor costs, however, restaurants could afford to pay chefs more while increasing the quality of life for restaurant workers by removing some of the menial labor, Pittman said. With the rise of robot chefs, the industry would also need more robot technicians, opening the door for new jobs.

A restaurant owner can spend approximately $50,000 on a robot chef or rent one for $3,000 a month, which seems like a large investment, Pittman said. But owners must also account for the potential cost of employee turnover.

"On average, you're going to be spending $5,000 to hire someone," Pittman said. "That's filing paperwork, paying for background checks, health insurance, drug tests and training. In addition to that, you have a salary.

"And if that person quits in four, five, even six months, that money is gone."

Many kitchen robots don't need maintenance for at least four years, Pittman said.

"That's $50,000 for four years of work, and even when they need maintenance, the cost to repair them is relatively low," he said.

Solving the public's perception of robot chefs, however, is more difficult, Pittman said. Financial and employee benefits aside, customers are just not as likely to trust a robot in the kitchen – or so Pittman thought.

In his ongoing study, Pittman surveyed potential restaurant customers to gauge their trust in three kitchen setups: fully human staff, a mix of humans and robots, and a fully automated kitchen.

"I was not shocked when the results said people were really unlikely to be satisfied with the service from a fully automatic restaurant," he said. "But what shocked me was this: People were actually just as willing to trust a kitchen that utilizes both robot chefs and human chefs in comparison to one that utilizes human chefs alone."

These findings highlight a growing acceptance of robots in service positions, suggesting that widespread use of robot chefs could soon become a reality.

Top: Robot chefs could help solve many of the challenges facing the restaurant industry, but automated cooks face questions about customer satisfaction, according to research conducted by a UM nutrition and hospitality management professor. Graphic by Stefanie Goodwiller/University Marketing and Communications