[Report] Robot Rotating Arms 360 Degrees to Grill Meat on Chef's Command... 'Combi' Performance Delights Customers

Andaz Hotel Introduces Industry-First Cooking Robot
Arms Rotate 360 Degrees... Cooks According to Recipe
Smart Resting Function... "Will Increase Utilization"

"The cooking robot is my reliable 'helper'."

AI cooking robot at Andaz Hotel.
Photo by Lee Seohee

On the afternoon of the 15th, my first impression of the AI cooking robot I met at Jogakbo, the dining room on the 2nd floor of Andaz Seoul Gangnam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was "smaller than expected." The cooking robot, equipped with a small LED panel and two stainless steel grills on both sides, was surprisingly compact enough to fit comfortably in its two arms. When Executive Chef Damien Selme placed a piece of meat on each grill, the cooking began in earnest with a "ding" sound. The robot moved its two arms up and down and rotated 360 degrees to control the meat’s grilling and moisture. Midway through cooking, a blue sensor flashed, and the attached LED panel displayed the Maillard score and juice retention rate of the meat in real time. Once the scores were met, the robot smartly performed the final "resting" process to lock in the meat’s juices.

The AI cooking robot introduced by Andaz Hotel is a joint creation of KT, the owner of Andaz Hotel, and the robotics company Beyond Honeycomb. While considering ways to improve workforce efficiency, Andaz Hotel became the first in the hotel industry to adopt a cooking robot. The idea was that if the chef is the overall "leader" overseeing the cooking process, it would be great to have a smart "helper" by their side to grill the key ingredients. The cooking robot fulfilled this wish of Andaz Hotel. When the chef inputs the desired browning and moisture scores on the dashboard, the robot precisely prepares the ingredients accordingly. According to Andaz Hotel, depending on how the recipes are input, the robot can prepare more than 100 different dishes.

At the Andaz Hotel's 2nd floor dining room 'Jogakbo,' Executive Chef Damien Selme and an AI cooking robot are preparing the 'Open Steak Sandwich.'
[Photo by Seohee Lee]

As much as the robot caught attention, so did the "open kitchen" where every single kitchen ingredient was visible. There was no separate wall between the dining tables and the kitchen, allowing diners to clearly see the chef’s cooking process, and the distance was close enough to reach out and touch. Thanks to this, there was also the enjoyable experience of watching the "combo" of the chef and the robot while waiting for food. Unlike typical five-star hotel kitchens, which are located deep inside the dining room and inaccessible to customers, Andaz Hotel’s kitchen gave off a more casual and friendly impression. Baek Seong-il, Head of Food and Beverage at Andaz Hotel, said, "Given the conservative nature of hotel culture, there were many concerns before introducing the cooking robot, but the reactions from customers who actually experienced the robot have been mostly positive. Our goal at Andaz Hotel is to break down the barriers with customers through the open kitchen and provide visual enjoyment and high-quality food with the cooking robot."

Andaz Hotel plans to expand and install cooking robots in banquet halls and other places requiring large-scale cooking. Currently, the robot is used only for one dish, the "Andaz Steak Sandwich," but the plan is to utilize the robot for seafood dishes and others in the future. Executive Chef Damien Selme said, "AI cooking robots are an inevitable future that the cooking industry will face, and as chefs, we must always consider how to utilize them. Unlike human chefs, whose cooking methods may vary depending on their condition, cooking robots consistently provide dishes of a certain quality to customers and will become our reliable helpers going forward."