Traditional catering stores operate "three highs and one low"-high rent, high labor, plateau materials and low gross profit.

in order to optimize the cost structure, catering, like all walks of life, has gradually become automated. Replacing labor with machines is not only more economical, but also ensures standardized production, allowing stores to expand rapidly. But the biggest challenge is that the machine needs to perfectly copy the chef's workflow and achieve the same meal effect.

therefore, judging from the current industrial application, the automation equipment first landed in the fields of western food and drinks with relatively simple operation steps, such as Zume, a robot pizza delivery company invested by Softbank with a valuation of US$ 1.5 billion, and Little Monster in Tea and Ratio reported in 36Kr, all of which adopted the scheme of robotic arm and kitchen equipment.

The "Super Kitchen" we recently came into contact with wants to give priority to "stir-frying", which is the most difficult and complicated direction in Chinese food. After three years of research and development, Super Kitchen has launched a set of intelligent cooking equipment with independent intellectual property rights, which consists of a cooking machine and a clean dish box. When in use, the clean dish box with main courses and ingredients is placed on the cooking machine, and the corresponding dishes are selected in the App, and the cooking machine will automatically complete the production.

founder yang gang has 21 years' experience in the catering industry. he told 36Kr that as a catering boss, he can personally feel the importance and difficulties of Chinese food standardization, and in the process of store replication, the recruitment and training of chefs, the quality of meals and the efficiency of products will all become constraints.

among many categories of Chinese food, the most difficult to standardize is "stir-fry". There have been many automatic cooking machines in the market before, and the product logic is that users put in raw materials, the machine rotates, or the stirring handle turns over the raw materials. From the experience, the shortcomings are: seasoning, main ingredients and ingredients need to be put in order in cooking, but these automatic cooking machines either put all the raw materials at once, which affects the finished products; Either users open the lid several times in the process and put in raw materials. In addition, users need to control their own components, and the effect of finished products can not be guaranteed.

The super chef hopes to solve these problems with a clean dish box. The clean dish box is built with main ingredients, ingredients, seasonings, etc. During the frying process, according to the chef's cooking method, the machine automatically puts the materials in sequence. Yang Gang told 36Kr that the super chef would disassemble the food production process. For example, in kung pao chicken, the effect of the finished product can be guaranteed by adding the frying pan-frying chicken-frying sauce-adding peanuts and other ingredients to continue to stir fry, and then fixing the main parameters of each step. At present, Super Kitchen has reserved more than 111 cooking plans, and plans to open the backstage to brands and chefs in the future.

but the question is, where does the clean vegetable box come from? Super kitchen plans to go to B first and then to C. The first is to cooperate with catering brands. Large chain stores often have their own central kitchens, which can produce clean dishes, and only need to add a packaging link to become a clean dish box. The box is made of food-grade and high-temperature resistant materials. At present, the cost of one box is less than 1 yuan, and it will be cheaper in mass production in the future, and the box can be reused many times.

At present, the enterprise version of the cooking machine costs RMB 1.68 million, which is equivalent to the chef's salary for two months, and its cooking efficiency is consistent with that of the chef. In addition to saving personnel costs, the use of cooking machine can also simplify the kitchen area and ensure the standardization of finished products.

to C, Super Kitchen is currently developing a home version of the product, and the estimated unit price is much lower than that of the enterprise version. It plans to reach consumers by leasing or giving away. The difficulty of the C-end lies in the channel of clean food boxes. The Super Kitchen plans to cooperate with catering stores and community stores, which will be supplied by restaurants and central kitchens, and consumers will pick them up in the community. The first model store will be opened in Dalian this month, which is positioned as a community convenience store focusing on fresh food.

In the long run, Yang Gang told 36Kr that from the perspective of the whole industrial chain, Super Kitchen hopes to commercialize fresh food at the source, shorten the middle circulation link, and directly make clean vegetable boxes in the upstream, and then deliver them to stores, families, enterprises and schools and other terminals.

Super Kitchen was mainly focused on research and development, and the first generation of products has just come into the market recently, and the first round of financing is also under way.