Restaurants benefit from an outside perspective
November 6, 2018
Sometimes it’s important to stay in your lane. Other times, it’s important to remember the lane is a social construction made with a can of paint.
Chef Daniel Boulud, this year’s inductee to Nation’s Restaurant News’ MenuMasters Hall of Fame, is known for culinary innovation, but his latest venture is a bit further afield.
Boulud is an investor and culinary director of Spyce, the robotics-focused, fast-casual restaurant in Boston, developed by MIT engineering students.
How does Boulud reconcile being involved in a kitchen run by a robot?
Well, chefs always look for the latest kitchen tools, like the latest oven, Daniel Boulud said during a panel at the 2018 Restaurant Technology Summit hosted by the NYC Hospitality Alliance and CohnReznick on Oct. 30.
And a robot is just another tool for the kitchen that can help with precision and quality. Technology is part of the job.
“Robotization has been in every chef’s experience,” Boulud said.
In an industry where turnover is sky high, and certain job duties can be quite “tedious and backbreaking,” Spyce CEO and co-founder Michael Farid said robots can automate the roles that make running a fast-casual restaurant difficult.
Boulud joked, “Spyce doesn’t help my payroll at Daniel.”
At Spyce, it takes between 3 and 4 minutes to order, prepare the food and get the customer out the door, said Kale Rogers, COO and co-founder. The robots cook the food, but there are humans greeting diners and garnishing the meals.
The founders, who also include Luke Schlueter and Brady Knight, reached out to Boulud by guessing his email address. Boulud was open.
Now acclaimed chefs Thomas Keller and Gavin Kaysen are also investors in Spyce, and the concept has plans to add between 1 and 5 units in the Boston area. The menu is still in development in partnership with executive chef Sam Benson, formerly of Cafe Boulud. The Spyce Boys are taking it one step at a time.
Whether Spyce succeeds or not, what’s interesting here is the mishmash of skills — and the willingness for experts to partner to try something entirely new.
Here are MIT engineers who know nothing about restaurants working with a fine-dining chef.
After dining at Boulud’s fine-dining landmark Daniel, Spyce co-founder Rogers was inspired for his own project.
“It allowed us to understand what food could be.”
Who else can we bring into the restaurant industry? The restaurant industry needs a cross-pollination of ideas now more than ever.
Click to read the Nov. 12 issue
Contact Jenna Telesca at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @JennaTelesca
