A West London-based company has developed a “family of robots’ that it claims will revolutionise how fried food is cooked.
The /FRYR intelligent, high-precision frying solutions from Karakuri, in Hammersmith, enable staff to spend less time in front of the fryer and more time on value-added, customer-focused tasks within the restaurant.
Launching with /FRYR210, robotic arms fill baskets with frozen product, drop them into hot oil, lift when ready – even giving a shake – before emptying the contents and starting again. All staff have to do is load the freezer and pack the end product.
Handling up to 30 baskets per fry well, /FRYR210 can produce up to 130lbs/60kg of chips per hour.
Real-time monitoring and prediction of frozen food levels alert staff in advance when the freezer needs refilling, avoiding costly delays, while patented portion control technology prepares variable basket volumes, ensuring fry baskets are filled with exactly the right amount of product to match restaurant demand.
The system works with existing extraction and fire suppression and can be installed overnight with no interruption to kitchen operations.
Barney Wragg, CEO and co-founder of Karakuri, says: “With more than 22 billion pounds of French fries eaten each year globally, frying is a massive business.
“Every restaurant knows that serving consistently crispy, fluffy fries will keep customers coming back for more.
“Our new family of /FRYR automated fry lines is changing the game for QSR and fast casual restaurants. It strikes the perfect balance of food, people and intelligent automation, allowing restaurants to deliver expertly fried food with total consistency and availability, at a price point that works for their bottom line.”
The first installs are due to go into fast-casual restaurants in the UK later this month.
/FRYR210 starts at $2,100 per month (around £1,900), which covers supply, maintenance and servicing.
See /FRYR210 in action here or if you are visiting Restaurant and Bar Tech Live next week in London, stop by the Karakuri stand and take a look.
