Which juice is good for your skin and eyes?

DIGITAL KITCHEN BOARDS Front-of-house staff no longer need to find a pen and paper to take your orders in-house and risk communication errors with the kitchen thanks to Kitchen Display Systems (KDS). These are digital menu boards for kitchen staff, which help restaurants streamline operations. Directly linked to the restaurant’s point-of-sale (POS) system, the screen displays orders automatically according to priority, and flags up any special dietary requests. This technology tracks meal delivery times, monitors and signals when products are almost out of stock. Overall it provides a more efficient, accurate and sustainable restaurant service.

CHATBOTS We are already familiar with chatbots on all kinds of online retail and other services. Now restaurants are embracing this technology. Chatbots are fairly cheap and easy to create and can be integrated with different communication platforms. Once installed they can interact with customers by recommending dishes and pairing options, process payments, ask for feedback, offer promotions, announce events and give news. Restaurants can also use this conversational software to answer frequently asked questions, ask for feedback, and show the delivery status of a client’s order. A chatbot for restaurants can perform these tasks on a website as well as through a messaging platform. Many big chain restaurants are already using them, but please remember chatbots are not human! AIRPURIFICATION Finally, in response to recent health concerns many restaurants are upgrading air purification systems to improve air quality inside their restaurants. Some restaurants choose filter systems that trap pollutants and neutralise contaminants in the air. Some are using technology called bipolar ionisation, which purifies the air and surfaces in indoor spaces by neutralising contaminants. Yet others are testing out ultraviolet light for air and surface sanitisation. While these technologies are not mainstream yet, they are fast-becoming the most important restaurant technology of all in in our risk-averse world. So it might be time to invest.

SPEAKING

3 CRITICAL THINKING Work in pairs. Consider what you read in the text and discuss the following things. 1 What changed in restaurants during the pandemic? 2 How has this affected the restaurant scene post-pandemic? 3 How do you feel about the idea of relying on online and smart technology in a restaurant? 4 Do you think that technology like online reservation systems, digital kitchen boards and chatbots might mean fewer jobs for people in restaurants? Why/Why not? 5 In your opinion, what is the most useful use of technology in a restaurant? 6 How do you see the role of robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the future of the restaurant business?