In this restaurant robots make salads. Why US chain Sweetgreen is automating its kitchens

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US salad chain Sweetgreen is rolling out automated kitchens where robots make the salads. Every bowl still has a human touch – for now

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Salads come off the new Infinite Kitchen robotic system at a Sweetgreen restaurant in Chicago. The US chain is committed to rolling out automated kitchens where robots make the salads. Photo: TNS

Tribune News Service

Published: 12:45pm, 20 Dec 2024Updated: 5:52pm, 21 Dec 2024

Diners, get ready to meet the chef of the future: a robot that makes your salad to order.

The California-based Sweetgreen restaurant chain chose its Willis Tower outlet in the US city of Chicago for the latest roll-out of its automated Infinite Kitchen system this week, putting an assembly line of robotic chefs to work preparing bowls of everything from Kale Caesar to Hummus Crunch.

Early roll-outs of the technology at nearly a dozen locations across the United States have shown promising results, delivering food faster – and perhaps better – by going from farm to machine to table, according to Nicolas Jammet, a co-founder and chief concept officer at Sweetgreen.

“I think the quality of the bowl, of the food, is actually better because each ingredient is held at the perfect temperature, perfect portion, perfect ratios, the greens are crisper,” Jammet said. “I actually think it’s a more consistent experience.”

Sweetgreen workers add the final ingredients as salads come off the new Infinite Kitchen robotic system in Chicago. Photo: TNS

The proprietary technology, which looks like something out of The Jetsons – without the flying cars – features a series of machines that dispense and mix salad ingredients in a bowl travelling along an assembly line.