Articles
May 01, 2025
KI Awards: AI, robotics, multifunction equipment and new challenges
Winners offer more ways to save on labor, reduce costs, and make operations more efficient.
The KI Awards offers showgoers an upclose look at the latest and greatest products in equipment, technology and supplies.
Visitors to the National Restaurant Association Show eagerly seek out the Kitchen Innovations Awards every year to get a gander at the latest and greatest in equipment, technology and supplies.
And what stands out most depends on each visitor’s professional needs.
Long-time KI judge Jim Krueger, Jr., CMCE, NRAMF, is chief, Mission Feeding for the Air Force and U.S. Space Force, overseeing a portfolio of 346 operations located at 76 installations globally. “We’re always looking at ways to save labor, reduce costs and make things more efficient,” he says. “The internet of things and the wired kitchen are coming together nicely. I love robotics and the continuing ‘micro-ization’ of technology.”
Krueger liked the RoboFry X4 from Charter House Innovations, a smaller version of industrial-style robot-arm frying stations with two slim vertical basket handlers that fill, place, and dump product, streamlining the frying process from dispensing through dumping. The compact unit can be retrofitted to any fryer.
Continuing with the labor-saving theme, Krueger praises Bridge Appliances’ Automatic Egg Cooker, a countertop unit that can cook up to 36 sunny-side-up eggs simultaneously.
Krueger is also keenly aware of maintenance tasks that staffers tend to postpone, like replacing water filters. So he was impressed by Manitowoc’s NEO undercounter ice machine, the first standard-size commercial undercounter unit with an integrated water filtration system. NEO tracks ice making cycles and alerts the user when it’s time to change the filter.
One of the innovations that impressed him was the FizzBot from Lab2Fab LLC, initially developed by the Yum! automation team and now being commercialized in partnership with The Middleby Corp. It’s a compact POS-integrated beverage dispensing system that can produce up to 28 flavors of carbonated and non-carbonated fountain drinks in 20 seconds, providing a completed drink with ice every eight seconds during continuous production. The system includes hygienic labeling and sealing of up to three sizes of cups stored onboard.
“For a McDonald’s drive-thru, a stadium or a high-volume military installation, it addresses labor shortages, speed of service and accuracy,” he says. “It’s simple, unique and ideal for certain market segments.”
Condenzio is also excited by entrants that feature “software to help managers and employees see what’s going on with the food throughout its life cycle to maintain quality, reduce waste and make a safer product.” Examples: Renau’s Smart Kitchen System (SKS) Hub provides operators a digital overview of the kitchen—from visual management to remote monitoring, cook and hold times and task reminders. And Ecolab’s Digital Kitchen app can organize operational task management, food waste monitoring, recipe management, food labeling, tracking of remote monitoring, cold storage, and even employee communications. The system integrates hardware, software, and services in an easy-to-navigate solution.
Cha Nye Farley, director of facility services at Cracker Barrel, naturally seeks what will be most helpful to a labor-intensive 660-unit family dining chain. “We’re always looking for better ways to prepare, hold, and serve food that’s delicious, hot when it’s supposed to be and cold when it’s supposed to be,” she says.
“I’m super interested in convection ovens or any piece of equipment that can do multiple things.” She called out Alto-Shaam’s Origin multi-cook convection oven, which cooks a full load of food without the need to rotate pans thanks to patented Structured Air Technology of high-velocity vertical airflow and multi-shelf timers.
Cost-saving is another of Farley’s priorities. She liked the Metafoodx Platform, comprised of a mobile AI food scanner, cloud-based dashboard and infrared temperature sensor, helps operators automatically track menu-item consumption and monitor leftovers.
And for optimizing efficiency, she pointed to Carter-Hoffmann’s CHrisper Station, offering hot holding for fried chicken and other crispy foods with an advanced heat duct system, hot convection air and radiant heat air flow to double holding time. It features two flip-up doors on each side for easy pass-through.
In her third year as a KI Awards judge, “I really enjoy seeing the improvements on past projects,” Farley says. “Everything is getting smarter and more efficient. Products are being created to solve for real world problems and every year, someone thinks how can they do this better.”
And what stands out most depends on each visitor’s professional needs.
Long-time KI judge Jim Krueger, Jr., CMCE, NRAMF, is chief, Mission Feeding for the Air Force and U.S. Space Force, overseeing a portfolio of 346 operations located at 76 installations globally. “We’re always looking at ways to save labor, reduce costs and make things more efficient,” he says. “The internet of things and the wired kitchen are coming together nicely. I love robotics and the continuing ‘micro-ization’ of technology.”
Krueger liked the RoboFry X4 from Charter House Innovations, a smaller version of industrial-style robot-arm frying stations with two slim vertical basket handlers that fill, place, and dump product, streamlining the frying process from dispensing through dumping. The compact unit can be retrofitted to any fryer.
Continuing with the labor-saving theme, Krueger praises Bridge Appliances’ Automatic Egg Cooker, a countertop unit that can cook up to 36 sunny-side-up eggs simultaneously.
Krueger is also keenly aware of maintenance tasks that staffers tend to postpone, like replacing water filters. So he was impressed by Manitowoc’s NEO undercounter ice machine, the first standard-size commercial undercounter unit with an integrated water filtration system. NEO tracks ice making cycles and alerts the user when it’s time to change the filter.
See all 24 Kitchen Innovations Awards winners
Another judge of long standing, Lenny Condenzio, CEO of foodservice design firm Ricca Design Studios, oversees front- and back-of-house design for large projects in the corporate, hospitality, education, health care and public assembly sectors.One of the innovations that impressed him was the FizzBot from Lab2Fab LLC, initially developed by the Yum! automation team and now being commercialized in partnership with The Middleby Corp. It’s a compact POS-integrated beverage dispensing system that can produce up to 28 flavors of carbonated and non-carbonated fountain drinks in 20 seconds, providing a completed drink with ice every eight seconds during continuous production. The system includes hygienic labeling and sealing of up to three sizes of cups stored onboard.
“For a McDonald’s drive-thru, a stadium or a high-volume military installation, it addresses labor shortages, speed of service and accuracy,” he says. “It’s simple, unique and ideal for certain market segments.”
Condenzio is also excited by entrants that feature “software to help managers and employees see what’s going on with the food throughout its life cycle to maintain quality, reduce waste and make a safer product.” Examples: Renau’s Smart Kitchen System (SKS) Hub provides operators a digital overview of the kitchen—from visual management to remote monitoring, cook and hold times and task reminders. And Ecolab’s Digital Kitchen app can organize operational task management, food waste monitoring, recipe management, food labeling, tracking of remote monitoring, cold storage, and even employee communications. The system integrates hardware, software, and services in an easy-to-navigate solution.
Cha Nye Farley, director of facility services at Cracker Barrel, naturally seeks what will be most helpful to a labor-intensive 660-unit family dining chain. “We’re always looking for better ways to prepare, hold, and serve food that’s delicious, hot when it’s supposed to be and cold when it’s supposed to be,” she says.
“I’m super interested in convection ovens or any piece of equipment that can do multiple things.” She called out Alto-Shaam’s Origin multi-cook convection oven, which cooks a full load of food without the need to rotate pans thanks to patented Structured Air Technology of high-velocity vertical airflow and multi-shelf timers.
Cost-saving is another of Farley’s priorities. She liked the Metafoodx Platform, comprised of a mobile AI food scanner, cloud-based dashboard and infrared temperature sensor, helps operators automatically track menu-item consumption and monitor leftovers.
And for optimizing efficiency, she pointed to Carter-Hoffmann’s CHrisper Station, offering hot holding for fried chicken and other crispy foods with an advanced heat duct system, hot convection air and radiant heat air flow to double holding time. It features two flip-up doors on each side for easy pass-through.
In her third year as a KI Awards judge, “I really enjoy seeing the improvements on past projects,” Farley says. “Everything is getting smarter and more efficient. Products are being created to solve for real world problems and every year, someone thinks how can they do this better.”
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