The introduction of robot chefs at South Korea's Munmak rest stop is a notable example of automation addressing labor shortages and standardizing food quality. These robots can prepare up to 14 servings simultaneously, operating 24/7 to meet demand.

However, this shift raises concerns about the impact on traditional culinary practices and the roles of human chefs. While efficiency and consistency are achieved, the unique touch and cultural significance that human chefs bring to traditional dishes may be diminished.

It's worth considering a hybrid approach where robots handle repetitive tasks, allowing human chefs to focus on creativity and maintaining the cultural essence of the cuisine. This balance could help preserve culinary traditions while embracing technological advancements.

Excellent reporting on what human work in the post automation world looks like. The remaining human workers oversee and support an automated process. This is not by any means a new development, but it’s entering new sectors, including culinary and cognitive work, led by advances robotics and AI. The future will likely see more of the same patterns emerge in new sectors.

And then the truckers will be robots too.

The gripes aren't all that different from the typical case of people complaining that some business was better when the owner was doing things before he hired underlings and started spending most of his time managing.

I've spent a lot of time in Gangwon as I'm a big Sokcho fan, but was unaware that they had their own guksu. Begging the question, given Pyongyang Naengmyeon is better Naengmyeon, is Makguksu better than Pyongyang Naengmyeon?

Every time I see one of these I'm reminded of the AMFare system [0] which was tried in the 60s. It was basically the American fast food version of this. No AI, just hundreds of special purpose mechanisms to make burgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, etc. Never took off and was apparently a nightmare to clean.

I just had a look at the wikipedia page for the company behind it (American Machine and Foundry). AMfare isn't mentioned, but there is a section called "Bowling pinsetters and nuclear reactors".

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xop9py8zBY

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Machine_and_Foundry

That "it's fun to eat alone" seating area is so dystopian.

"Park now finds refuge scrubbing dishes in the back of the kitchen, away from the counter"

They seem to have this entirely backwards.

The robots should be in the truck cab for a start, driving the trucks.

But even if there are human drivers who need these stops, the robots should then be doing the drudgier and more easily automated work; cleaning dishes, mopping the floor, prepping ingredients, and leave the cooking to an actual chef, and the human interaction to an actual human.

Great read. Touched on Korea's aging population - urgency is a great driver of innovation. Thoughtful discussion of automation's impact on people and their perception of work. Reads like the shaky start of something that could be huge. "the kitchen is calm during a rush" - which restaurant can say that!

No matter how much gets automated we humans need autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Robots won't be accepted long term unless they are repairable by those who lose money when they stop; tweakable down to movements, ingredient quantities etc. so recipes can be made exactly as desired. Restaurateurs need to own the outcome, soup to nuts. The whole thing lives or dies on having extremely good product people at the robot vendors - people who truly care.

Bring on the vibe fooding :)