Celebrated for his unique and, at times, seemingly strange yet equally interesting methods when it comes to cooking, Heston Blumenthal always seems to be at the forefront of change within the food and beverage sector. It is no wonder he has as many accolades as he does, including:
· An Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Reading in 2006 for his scientific approach to cooking
· An Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2006 (being the first chef to achieve this)
As of late 2019, he has been working with the robotics developer ‘Karakuri’ to see how robotics can positively enhance our lives food and beverage wise. As revolutionary as this could prove to be for many aspects of food and beverage, I do not believe fine dining to be one of them, and this comment made by Blumenthal highlights precisely why:
The collaboration between robots and humans is something I am deeply interested in. Whilst there are so many incredible things robots can do for us, they lack many of the key human qualities that make the hospitality and service sector so special
I completely agree with Blumenthal’s point of view with regard to this new concept; however I would like to explain my point of view further through the use of a hypothetical example. Say one would like to improve their fine dining establishment and surpass their competitors, there are many strategies one can take and implementing robotics seems like the worst thing to do.
If we look at this idea initially, it appears that the use of robots in a restaurant would overall increase productivity and cut costs. Nevertheless, what cost would this result in? For one, although fewer employees producing the same or higher output would be ideal for many businesses as it would mean cutting costs, the loss of jobs as a result of robotisation would result in many passionate professionals having to say goodbye to the industry they worked so hard and studied so long for.
Secondly, if we do decide to robotise restaurants, what would be the point of going to a restaurant in the first place? As I have mentioned in my previous article, one of the things that sets fine dining apart from, say, fast food dining is the experience. The finesse and knowledge that the waiters and sommeliers of these establishments possess cannot possibly be matched by robots. If robots do end up replacing these industry professional, I may as well stay at home and order takeout.
Another important point to note is the sheer lack of feasibility. Robots are, of course, completely unlike humans. Where we may make mistakes or grow tired during service, possibly affecting the overall quality of that service, the results that robots could potentially bring are far worse. They could suffer a virus or malfunction at any point, even during the service itself. This is why this idea would not be able to work in practice, as somebody highly experienced would have to be on standby 24/7 to ensure this doesn’t happen and fix it if it does. Not only does this prove that with the advancement of technology we still need humans more than ever, the establishment would have to pay the person on standby a rather hefty sum which completely eradicates the argument of less workers equals less money being paid towards salaries (for waiters, sommeliers and chefs alike).
A final point to ponder over is the fact that such a large operation like this would need to be tested over a very long period of time before we can even begin to think about putting it into practice.
I will leave you with my thoughts on fine dining and why I believe that it is sacred, and why I believe that in the new world this is one of the few things that should certainly remain as is.
To me, fine dining is an experience that aims to evoke a strong emotional response from its guests.
Although I doubt that robotics will infiltrate the realm of fine dining, I thought my writing might serve as some interesting food for thought, as with our world inevitably changing, for better or worse, we never know what’s in store…
