There is no doubt that restaurants have every reason to expect diners to be more discerning these days. After all, incomes are generally higher than they used to be, people tend to eat out more and the amount of choice is also greater, both in terms of the sheer number of establishments in most towns and cities, as well as the variety. All that means the emphasis is on the restaurateur to ensure their offerings are of a high quality. This means plenty of care and creativity is needed, while of course nothing can beat having a good chef.
However, even the finest cook will benefit from the use of good technology to make the food better. The appliance of science in culinary matters has been developing from the first days that fire was used for cooking, but in an age of food thermometers and microwaves, the potential to improve food preparation is significant. There are two ways in which technology can help. One is in the actual cooking itself, while the other is the use of tech to help with preparation and orders. In the former case, attendees at an event called Bite in California’s Silicon Valley saw some of the latest devices earlier this month.
This included the WiFi Nomiku, which uses an app to control the temperature of the device, which heats food in water to just the right temperature. Other futuristic devices were a grill that will take spoken instructions, an internet-linked craft beer-making device and a 3D printer for making everything from the ideal cake topping to the perfectly-proportioned sugar cube. All these items could help make sure the presentation and condition of the culinary offerings are almost perfect.
Organising food is another matter, but there are now hotel mobile apps that make it much easier, creating spreadsheets to help ensure bulk orders are properly organised, or enable chefs to procure goods from a virtual shopping aisle. All this may fall a bit short of some sci-fi world in which the chef is replaced by a robot and the food arrives at the table by drone, but it shows that the way tech can be used is growing rapidly in its standard and variety of applications. The Internet of Things is very much part of the modern kitchen – and that means smart restaurants will make the most of it to raise the culinary bar.
