Sponsored By

NRN editors discuss McDonald’s Famous Orders, Chipotle’s new concept, and the future of robots and AINRN editors discuss McDonald’s Famous Orders, Chipotle’s new concept, and the future of robots and AI

Plus hear from Ray Kees, director of culinary at Krystal

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

February 17, 2023

1 Min Read
Nation's Restaurant News logo in a gray background | Nation's Restaurant News

This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about the future of robots and AI in restaurants.

After a few high-profile mistakes, robots and AI are up for discussion in the restaurant industry. Long the darling of the industry for reducing the need for human labor, there have been some recent cases of AI and robots messing up. The team discussed the future of AI and robots in the industry and what these high-profile cases mean.

Also, the team discussed Chipotle’s new concept. Farmesa is opening in a Kitchen United unit in California and is an offshoot of Chipotle. This isn’t Chipotle’s first foray into other concepts and the team discussed what this means and what the future of Farmesa holds.

Finally, the team discussed McDonald’s newest Famous Order meal. The meal, featuring Cardi B and Offset, is the fifth iteration of the brand’s marketing campaign since it relaunched in 2020. The team talked about what this marketing campaign has done for McDonald’s.

This week’s interview is Ray Kees, director of culinary for Krystal. He spoke with Bret Thorn about his heritage, future innovations at Krystal, and sticking to the basics.

 

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

Subscribe Nation's Restaurant News Newsletters
Get the latest breaking news in the industry, analysis, research, recipes, consumer trends, the latest products and more.