Meal kit delivery services have gained immense popularity, but they still require users to cook the ingredients themselves. Enter Chefee, the home robotic chef developed by Austin, Texas-based startup Chefee Robotics, which aims to revolutionize home cooking by preparing hot meals that are ready to eat when you get home from work.
Currently in its functional prototype form, Chefee is designed to be installed in a typical kitchen and can be removed and reinstalled if the owner moves. The system comprises two main components. The upper unit, located alongside kitchen cupboards, is a refrigerated pantry storing both perishable and dry ingredients in slide-out plastic bins that need to be refilled manually.
Beneath the pantry is the three-element cooker, which can be either a countertop device or a pricier module recessed into the counter. Users start by using an accompanying app to create a weekly meal plan, choosing from over 5,000 recipes or programming their own. The Wi-Fi-connected Chefee then orders all necessary ingredients from a grocery delivery service, which can be pre-chopped and pre-sliced if desired. Alternatively, users can supply and prepare the ingredients themselves.
Once the pantry is loaded, the app sets the date and time for each meal to be ready. Following the schedule, Chefee drops the appropriate ingredients into a bowl held by the cooker’s robotic arm, which transfers them into one or more of the cooker’s three heated stainless steel bowls. The ingredients are then robotically stirred and simmered until meal time, supervised by an AI-enabled downward-facing camera on the pantry.
Chefee can prepare four to six portions of any given recipe, and both the bowls and bins are dishwasher-safe. The cooker can also be used manually. Additionally, the app minimizes waste by suggesting recipes based on perishable ingredients on hand.
Chefee Robotics is now accepting refundable US$250 deposits towards a final price starting at $14,995, with deliveries expected to commence this December. CEO Assaf Pashut and his team provide more information in a video showcasing the system in action.
