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21. 08. 09. - 16:00

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21. 08. 09. - 16:00

Ramsay robot wars

Chinese chefs have staged angry protests outside a new chain of restaurants that sacked their staff and replaced them with robots.

The robot chefs were created by a Chinese firm for the new "I Robot" chain of restaurants which opened this month in southern China's Guangxi province.

At each restaurant two robot chefs now do the work of 10 human cooks with only one human assistant needed to chop and prepare the ingredients which are then put into the robot chefs who make instant meals from the food.

Waiters make the order via computer touch screens that are passed on instantly to the kitchen and the dishes are prepared for collection often a matter of minutes later.

Huang Xianghao, the manager of the restaurant chain, said: "Our prices are the same as other restaurants, although the robot chefs' dishes probably taste better.

"They are expensive at 26,000 pounds each but even with the low wages of most Chinese cooks the robots will have paid for themselves within a year and after that it's just the cost of electricity and servicing."

"Each chef can cook up more than 300 recipes in a matter of minutes without anything other than somebody to feed raw materials into the robots.

"Chinese cuisine is known for its delicacy and deliciousness. It's amazing to many customers that robots can make such good dishes.

"The robot chefs are more efficient and hygienic. And they don't complain."

* Earlier this week Swiss police arrested more than 1,000 Chinese chefs at restaurants across the country that had been illegally smuggled into the country and were working for less than three pounds an hour.

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