Robot waiter at Gatineau restaurant

Elie Maalouf made this temporary addition to his team at St. Joseph’s Boulevard Restaurant.

It’s not really a buy yet. This is just a trial period, although I think he passed the interviewcynical businessman.

He says he came up with the idea of ​​using non-human help last May, when the labor shortage was particularly severe. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, his restaurant had 16 paid employees. By spring, their number had decreased to eight, including members of the Maalouf family.

I was a staff member. My wife was one of the staff. My sister came to help us on the weekend, and my dad and aunt worked in the kitchen.

For him, relying on only three permanent employees was Really not the way to run a restaurant. So he started looking in the direction Bella PotIt is a robot designed by the Chinese company Pudu Robotics.

Elie Maalouf says the robot can carry up to 12 hot and heavy dishes from the kitchen to the tables. Currently, servants accompany him on his travels.

Nothing replaces human contact

This new technology impresses the vast majority of customers. My heart was pounding a little, and I was so excited for the robot to come here. I hope this is the futureSaid one of them, Simon Tesfaye.

While the vast majority of La Buena Déjeuner customers are happy with the idea of ​​introducing a robotic cat, Mr. Maalouf says he realizes that some may be uncomfortable with the idea that a piece of technology does the job. I am a human He himself agrees that there is no innovation He will never replace an employee.

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The robot cannot do some important tasks for the waiter, but it helps the restaurant in difficult times.

Photo: Radio Canada/Rafael Tremblay

Ingenious though, the robot has its limitations: it can’t refill drinks, it can’t give customers their meals, and it can’t replace lost table items. But it helps the restaurant through a tricky patch.

Helps us manage the workload throughout the day, he completed.

with information from Trevor Pritchard, CBC