Korean fried chicken chain turning to robot cooks

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- South Korea's Doosan Robotics said Monday it will provide chicken-frying robots to Korean restaurant chain Kyochon F&B.

The chicken-frying robot will be installed at a Kyochon store in Osan, some 20 miles south of Seoul, this month.

Doosan Robotics said the robot is designed to complete 24 fried chickens per hour using six baskets concurrently. The robot can also replace the oil in the fryer and remove stains from the floor as necessary.

The deep-frying arm is fixed to the machine's upper section to orchestrate all the processes, the firm said.

"Oil fume is bad for those whose job it is to cook fried food. It can also lead to health issues. Our machine can reduce such dangers," a Doosan Robotics official told UPI News Korea.

"In addition, Kyochon's unique recipes can be strictly adhered to by our robots, eliminating concerns with quality control, a difficult issue for human cooks," he said.

Doosan Robotics added that once the pilot program is proven a success, the chicken-frying robots will appear in more Kyochon F&B locations. The franchise operates more than 1,300 outlets across South Korea.

"Eventually, our goal is to be able to tap into the wider fried chicken market, including the United States. In fact, almost 60% of our sales already come from the U.S. and Europe," the official said.

Doosan Robotics has received certification from the U.S. National Sanitization Foundation for the robot, also getting IP66 for its waterproof ability and dust resistance from the International Electrotechnical Commission.

Korean food companies have been working hard to break into the U.S. market.

Bakery giant SPC is operating more than 150 stores in the United States with the target of 1,000 total by 2030.