On October 27 in Chengdu, a restaurant showcased a remarkable innovation in culinary technology. By simply placing 120 grams of shredded pork, 150 grams of shredded green bamboo shoots, and 30 grams of wood ear mushrooms into a prep box and selecting the “Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork” option, an intelligent cooking machine sprang to life. It preheated, added oil, sequentially incorporated the ingredients, and quickly stir-fried everything together, flooding the kitchen with enticing aromas. In just 63 seconds, a vibrant dish was prepared and promptly served to hungry diners.
As technology evolves, the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and the restaurant industry is expanding. The first certified AI cooking robot has launched in Beijing, while a smart coffee machine in a Shanghai park offers over 50 flavors of coffee. Today, AI chefs are making waves, effectively driving transformation in China’s culinary landscape.
Walking into what should be a bustling restaurant kitchen, five intelligent cooking machines are strategically positioned, each one demonstrating its capabilities in frying, stir-frying, and other cooking techniques. Several staff members manage the machines, handle ingredient preparation, and pack up orders. This collaboration between humans and machines allows the establishment to serve up to 600 customers a day.
Foodie Yang Junfei was amazed as he looked over a table full of dishes including twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu, and sour fish. “It’s unbelievable,” he exclaimed. “The flavors are great, and the dishes come out quickly. You wouldn’t be able to tell the food was made by a machine if the owner didn’t mention it.” During peak dining hours, he managed to get nearly ten dishes served in under half an hour.
Taking chili chicken as an example, the restaurant’s brand founder Huang Tianyong shared his calculations: traditional cooking takes 8 to 10 minutes with labor costs ranging from 7 to 13 Chinese yuan, while the cooking machine only requires 3.5 minutes and about 0.5 yuan in energy costs. Since 2019, he has transformed his brand utilizing this self-developed cooking machine, expanding to over 30 Sichuan cuisine restaurants in China and even branching out to the US, Germany, and Singapore.
Similarly, Ma Changyin, owner of a long-established restaurant chain in Chengdu’s Jinniu District, introduced an intelligent cooking machine this past July as part of his quest for innovation. “Cost-effectiveness and high stability are the machine’s greatest advantages, making it suitable for hospitals, universities, and banquet cooking,” he said. With nearly 30 years in the industry, this chef-turned-entrepreneur noted that one cooking machine struggles to accommodate the diverse dish preferences of individual tables, and it lacks precision when preparing cold and marinated items, meaning it cannot completely replace a human chef.
For home-cooking enthusiast Luo Jian, he feels that while the AI chef is impressive, it still lacks the “wok breath” that comes from human experience. “The interaction between ingredients and cooking time comes from a chef’s skill,” he said, believing that certain flavors are not easily replicated by machines. However, he appreciates the economical pricing at these establishments, recognizing that dining out is about convenience and saving money.
Lian Xiangjian, a representative for an intelligent cooking machine brand, explained that the machines’ biggest advantage lies in their ability to create a platform that leverages big data for management insights. He envisions a future “cloud recipe” database that could aggregate over 3,400 machines operating daily across various kitchens. This innovation could enable restaurants to easily “go online” to purchase menus, enhance service capabilities, and inspire chefs to continuously develop new dishes.
Yuan Xiaoran, executive president of the Chengdu Catering Industry Association, analyzed the situation, noting that digital technology is gradually transforming every facet of the restaurant industry—from online payments and smart ordering to无人配送 (unmanned delivery) and big data analysis of customer preferences. This evolution is enhancing service efficiency and optimizing customer experiences, effectively pushing the sector toward digital transformation. Given its convenience and replicability, intelligent cooking machines also contribute to the expansion of Sichuan cuisine internationally. She urged restaurant businesses to embrace change and engage actively in the wave of digital transformation, while also calling on digital trade companies to gain a deeper understanding of the industry’s needs in order to provide accurate, efficient, and customer-friendly digital solutions to invigorate the culinary scene.
