Artificial intelligence in professional kitchens – PART 2

Equipment failures are not only an annoying inconvenience, but also present a serious economic issue. The challenges are great: On the one hand, appliances will become increasingly complex, and on the other, there is likely to be a growing lack of specialised personnel to maintain and repair them. AI can offer decisive support here. It has the potential to predict imminent failures and, for instance, order any required parts. Fast and efficient solutions for solving problems on site are also certain to be included in the standard repertoire of AI in professional kitchens in the future.

Adequately training staff and deploying workers effectively has become a fine art in an industry plagued by a shortage of staff and skilled labour. Tools like planerio, Zira and qPlaner help to precisely track personnel data, organise shift rosters in seconds – including with the involvement of employees themselves – communicate with the team and even create productivity benchmarks. This not only outsources administrative tasks to AI, but also takes into account factors such as cost efficiency, demand optimisation and flexible working hours.

Artificial intelligence can also offer its services when it comes to staff training. It helps to personalise and accelerate the onboarding process, and imparts relevant knowledge required in specific areas. Cody, for instance, uses an intelligent AI assistant that has a similar interface to ChatGPT. It can be specifically trained to individual companies. Zaavy can be used to create pre-onboarding and onboarding processes or develop and manage internal training courses.

Consumer expectations are constantly increasing. Those who are used to personalised shopping experiences will also expect the same of the food service industry. And as this happens, food customisation will gain more and more importance. Online ordering systems have long been in place, such as UEAT, which uses AI-based recommendations to create personalised orders. At the fully automated restaurant CaliExpress in California, robots are in charge of flipping the burgers and preparing the fries. Thanks to AI and facial recognition technology, the preferences of returning guests are, quite literally, seen in their eyes. Restaurant reviews are then answered by tools such as Mara.ai.

When it comes to marketing, artificial intelligence offers practically limitless possibilities for professional kitchens. Social media specialists are not only able to call on ChatGPT for inspiration, but can also use the tool to write entire posts. Copy for websites, flyers and brochures is created in seconds. Those who want to conjure food images in an instant can make use of Midjourney, and once again, ChatGPT will make light work of crafting a corresponding menu description.

The professional kitchen sector has a constant thirst for innovation. It is therefore all the more important to keep up to date and carry out market research to develop products that appeal to the specific target group. The Tastewise tool from Israel uses machine learning to identify trends in the food service industry based on billions of data collected from sources such as menus, reviews, recipes and social media. Such applications give us insights into which ingredients, eating habits and cooking techniques are currently popular. And if inspiration is also required for the creation of specific dishes, AI applications like ChatGPT can be used to create a menu based on specific requirements or new recipes – such as dishes using only seasonal ingredients, for example.

Artificial intelligence has become a driving force in professional kitchens. It efficiently saves valuable resources and reduces the workload for employees, who can then be used more effectively elsewhere. It personalises the guest experience in a truly unique way. AI tools also offer efficient solutions for staff planning and training, thus optimising productivity. Furthermore, artificial intelligence plays a key role in personalised marketing and market research in order to continuously improve and adapt the professional kitchen's offer.

The conclusion is clear: Those who make smart use of artificial intelligence will gain an unbeatable advantage over competition in the industry.