Aussie startup Kitchintel creates new tech to solve staff issues
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With hospitality operators reporting shortages in restaurant kitchens all over the country, Australian-based startup Kitchintel has found an innovative and modern solution to the problem.
Kitchintel has designed Jasen, a fully automated grill that can cook hundreds of steaks, chicken, pork, lamb, fish or any protein the chef chooses as a way to resolve staffing issues in restaurants.
“Automations are coming. It’s not a matter of if but when. Currently, there is much robotics that the entire kitchen needs to be designed around and only perform very simple tasks like flipping a burger,” Kitchintel’s Chef and CEO Bradley Backhouse said.
“When we designed our fully automated grill, we made sure it could fit in any kitchen and work alongside the chefs helping them day-to-day. The result of our work is a machine that allows one chef to have the output of 2-3 chefs”.
The fully automated grill was made by Kitchintel to fully address staffing issues restaurant venues were facing over the last few years.
According to CrunchBase, US-based venture capitalists have invested nearly $600 million in restaurant automation startups in the past 3 years alone because of the increase of lack of staff.
And with the understaffing of restaurant kitchens becoming a bigger problem than ever due to the pandemic, ChefHire’s General Manager Dwain Watkins stated that they have noticed a greater demand for agency chefs even from venues who wouldn’t traditionally go down the agency route.
“A lot of clients are reporting placing ads with no one applying or scheduling interviews and the chef not showing up,” Manager Watkins said.
CEO Backhouse said that the issue wasn’t just temporary as commercial kitchens in Australia, the US and Europe have also been struggling to fill available positions for years.
“There just aren’t enough chefs in the labour pool to meet the demand,” he said.
As food venues increase and available kitchen staff becoming more scarce, the inclusion of automations in the restaurant industry such as Jasen is the best solution to easily making meals for customers.
Source: Kitchintel Press Release. Content has been edited for style and length.
Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.
