Time saving devices for the kitchen are not a new concept. Literally since the days of the cave dwelling, man has endeavoured to save time and energy on finding and preparing food. This conservation of energy allows either a chance to rest or an opportunity to burn up calories on other tasks. In the days of the hunter gatherer the whole of each day was spent sourcing, preparing and storing food for when times were hard. This task would require the whole clan to contribute, and there was little time for any other activities. Back to the modern day; we have so many labour saving devices to hand that we are practically snowed under with other jobs we just need to get done. Even fitting in socialising seems like a finely timed task at times. This is all part and parcel of the modern world, and is a template that the future will follow. We currently have a huge choice in appliances to utilise, and whilst the plain ole simple knife may be sufficient for a domestic setting, in a commercial kitchen, something with a bit more clout is needed for productivity and profit. The term 'labour saving' in the catering industry translates as profit making. If there is an opportunity to save time by using a processing tool such as a robot coupe, this means that less man hours need to be paid for to do the task manually. Productivity is high in relation to expenditure on equipment and labour costs. It could take five people an hour to prepare the vegetables needed for service using knives, or it could take one person the same time using a robot coupe. Prices start from as little as 35 GBP, a bit more pricey than the humble parring knife, and these are adequate for a small catering department; but these machines can be built to scale and are able to function in large scale industrial catering plants. For the regular commercial kitchen though, a high usage top end processor can cost in the region of 2,000 GBP. It is not just the preparation of vegetables that warrant the investment in a robot coupe, these processors can be built to process a variety of foods in a number of different ways. Grinding, pulping, pureeing, blending, shredding and kneading are actions that can be programmed into a robot coupe apart from slicing and chopping. The invention of these machines was a direct result of observations made by a salesman for a catering company. The Frenchman witnessed firsthand the time expended on preparation of food stuffs in his clients' kitchen, and immediately came up with the idea of placing a revolving blade in the base of a bowl. This design went on to inspire the processors we know today in both commercial and domestic use. The use of robots in the kitchen is likely to expand in the future too, as an ever more demanding way of life calls for yet more productive and time efficient ways of processing are called for. What kind of machine would this be; where is the robot coupe going to take us? We all know that turning to a spot of sci fi can be a valid indicator of progression, and drawing upon many films and comics it could be a case that all kitchen equipment will amalgamate in one big super unit. Would tipping all the ingredients in one end of a machine, punching in a programme, and then sitting back and waiting produce a perfectly prepped, cooked and served souffle? And what exactly would we be doing while it did this? Building the next labour saving profit building machine at a guess!
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