Off The Menu: Robotics gains foothold in rapid food stuff

It’s now come to be a cliche to label 2020 as a year that “accelerated the foreseeable future,” and in the food items assistance field, as in other portion of the economic system, trends that have been currently manifesting them selves – digital ordering, ghost kitchens, and 3rd-get together supply — came to significantly dominate the way the restaurant business did organization.

However not as significant profile, the roll out of robotics in food company configurations also predated the gatherings of the yr past and, like other, a lot more seen developments, guarantees to have long lasting impacts on the marketplace.

Pasadena-centered Miso Robotics has been at the forefront of foods preparation automation, employing synthetic intelligence and robot know-how to help restaurants raise productivity and make sure superior levels of consistency in food stuff preparing.

Miso lately declared an growth of their joint improvement exertion with White Castle Systems, an operator of a lot more than 365 fast meals burger dining places. In July 2020 Miso Robotics mounted its freshly developed kitchen assistant, Flippy, in a White Castle take a look at area, in which the robotic automatic numerous sections of White Castle’s burger and fries planning.

Now the two corporations have announced plans to deploy a 2nd-generation of food preparing robots, Flippy ROAR, in 10 White Castle places. Flippy ROAR has been developed to function on an overhead rail, a alter that aids the robotic far better in good shape into compact kitchen layouts.

Flippy ROAR is expected to be notably practical to White Castle in its exertion to staff members late-night time shifts at its dining places, changing hard-to-recruit kitchen workers for the duration of all those hrs and allowing the rest of the White Castle crew to focus on purchaser-going through assistance.

As components and software remedies continue on to evolve, hope systems this kind of as Flippy ROAR to provide chain operators with a beneficial aggressive benefit in the post-COVID cafe planet.

With his most effective-recognized reserve, “On Food stuff and Cooking,” food stuff writer Harold McGee revolutionized the way foods skilled believed about and practiced the artwork of cooking.

Initial posted in 1984, McGee’s perform utilized ideas of chemistry, biology, and physics to our understanding of meals preparing and, in carrying out so, led chefs and culinary specialists to feel about their craft in a complete new and more scientific way.

Now McGee has taken on one more element of food stuff science with the publication of his new perform “Nose Dive,” an exploration of the sense of scent. The guide is McGee’s descriptive exploration of what he terms the “osmocosm,” the broad array of scents, smells, odors, and stinks that exist in the world all over us.

With the perception of scent staying these types of an integral component of the knowledge of having fun with food items and consume, McGee’s new do the job should really be of fascination to any major foodie or foods professional.

“Nose Dive – A Industry Information to the World’s Smells” is printed by Penguin Random Dwelling and is available from most online and retail booksellers.

Like nearly each and every independently owned restaurant, Gypsy Apple Bistro in Shelburne Falls was tough hit by the COVID lockdown previous spring.

Compounding the issues the mandated shutdown triggered, chef-owner Michaelangelo Wescott expertise critical wellbeing troubles as he well prepared to reopen the restaurant hospitalization and an indefinite shutdown of Gypsy Apple was the final result.

To assistance with Wescott’s medical costs as nicely as go over some of the earnings missing through the restaurant’s shutdown, close friends of the cafe have proven a GoFundMe in his identify.

The GoFundMe webpage for Wescott can be accessed at gofundme.com/fundraiser-for-michaelangelo-wescott-gypsy-apple.

Beyond the hope of an eventual return to normalcy, the Overlook Florence Diner in Northampton has a further explanation to celebrate the arrival of 2021.

Housed in a 1941 Worcester Lunch Motor vehicle Firm diner and detailed on the National Sign-up of Historic Locations, the Miss out on Florence Diner will be celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2021.

The “Miss Flo” maintains a web web-site at missflorencediner.web where by details about menu, several hours, and the diner’s history can be discovered.

Wildwood Barbecue in Hadley has introduced that it will just take its customary winter season “break” from Sunday, January 3, 2021 till the finish of February, suspending functions throughout that time period.

Information about the establishment’s reopening ideas will be obtainable at their world wide web web site, wildwoodque.com.

Chicago-based McDonald’s Corp. very last thirty day period declared to its franchisees that it planned to conclude a very long-standing subsidy payment initially executed to make youngsters foods at the chain “affordable.”

Started two a long time ago as a way of encouraging manage the McDonald’s Delighted Meal at a $1.99 rate point, the subsidy experienced been costing McDonald’s more than $50 million a 12 months. Given that the subsidy plan began the rate of a Delighted Meal has, on the other hand, climbed considerably, with the kids’ food deal now promoting at more than $3.50 in most marketplaces.

Numerous other price adjustments will also effect McDonald’s franchise holders as the chain normally takes measures to offset predicted monetary challenges in the months ahead.

In Westfield, the Shortstop Bar & Grill has been endorsing a takeout unique. Situated at 99 Springfield Road, the Shortstop is providing 20% off on all to-go orders. The discounted does not implement to orders put by means of third get together shipping products and services this sort of as DoorDash or UberEats.

The Shortstop menu can be viewed at fb.com/shortstopbar their telephone range is (413) 642-6370.

The Salem Cross Inn in West Brookfield has shifted to its winter season period hours, featuring evening meal on Friday and Saturday evenings from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 noon right until 6 p.m.

The Inn’s eating room is observing COVID-19 protocols – reservations are necessary, masks need to be worn, the sizing of a bash is constrained to six, and dining time capped at 90 minutes.

Issue to doable pandemic constraints, the Inn expects to resume its regular whole-time plan in April.

Reservations can be designed by calling the Salem Cross Inn at (508) 867-2345.

From the onset of the pandemic public well being crisis past spring, Deborah Snow and Barbara White, the co-owners of the Blue Heron Cafe in Sunderland, have exercised commendable caution in preserving the overall health of the two their patrons and the restaurant’s workers.

On December 13, concerned about the rising quantity of COVID-19 circumstances in the restaurant’s Hampshire-Franklin market region, Snow and White built the challenging selection to discontinue in-individual eating and revert to a takeout-only company model.

The restaurant is at present offering contactless curbside takeout Thursday as a result of Sunday starting at 4 p.m., with very last orders on Thursday and Sunday at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Current weekly, the restaurant’s curbside takeout menu can be found at the Blue Heron’s website, blueherondining.com. Takeout offerings involve family members design supper packages as well as person entrees, compact plates, and dessert.

The Blue Heron Cafe, which answers at (413) 665-2102, also features a chef-curated range of grocery items for contactless pickup.

Positioned on the banks of the Connecticut River in South Hadley, The Boathouse offers great scenic vistas of the Connecticut River, Mount Tom, and the Mount Holyoke Selection.

It is also a vacation spot for comfortable weekend eating, with brunch out there the two Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The menu contains selections these kinds of as chicken & waffles, steak and eggs quesadilla, avocado toast, and a Monte Cristo sandwich. There is even a family members model breakfast platter that features eggs, breakfast meats, waffles and French toast.

A “bottomless” mimosa or Bloody Mary cocktail solution is also part of the brunch agenda.

Reservations for socially-distanced dining at the Boathouse can be manufactured by calling (413) 536-2342.

Hugh Robert is a college member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts plan and has virtually 45 many years of cafe and academic working experience. Robert can be arrived at on-line at [email protected].