Food Service Innovation

Food service is transforming through technology and changing consumer demand with post-pandemic structural shifts. The session covers ghost kitchen and virtual restaurant models, restaurant automation including AI-driven inventory and labour scheduling, allergen management at scale, sustainability in food service (single-use plastics elimination, food-waste tracking), plant-based menu integration, and labour-shortage technology solutions (robotics, self-order kiosks). Discussion addresses food-service in healthcare and institutional settings, hyperlocal sourcing in restaurants, dietary-restriction accommodation at scale, food-safety culture and training, and the post-tip and equitable-wage restaurant model movement.