Food Preparation Workers

Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.

AI: Fully automatable - Temperature monitoring can be fully automated with IoT sensors, probes, and automated logging systems already widely deployed.

Keep records of the quantities of food used.

AI: Fully automatable - Recording quantities used is readily automated with inventory/ERP systems, POS integration, and sensors, allowing full software automation in most settings.

Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.

AI: Fully automatable - Autonomous mobile robots and conveyors can reliably carry supplies and utensils in many commercial settings and are widely deployable by 2025.

Cut, slice or grind meat, poultry, and seafood to prepare for cooking.

AI: Fully automatable - Slicing and grinding of meats and seafood is routinely handled by industrial slicers, grinders, and portioning machines and can be fully automated for standard tasks.

Weigh or measure ingredients.

AI: Fully automatable - Fully — weighing and measuring ingredients is a routine, well-specified task that can be entirely automated with scales, dispensers and control software already in commercial use.

Inform supervisors when equipment is not working properly and when food and supplies are getting low, and order needed items.

AI: Fully automatable - Fully — sensors, monitoring software and procurement automation can detect equipment faults and low supplies and automatically notify or reorder items without human intervention.

Add cutlery, napkins, food, and other items to trays on assembly lines in hospitals, cafeterias, airline kitchens, and similar establishments.

AI: Fully automatable - Fully — repetitive tray assembly in standardized layouts is readily automatable with vision-guided robots and pick-and-place systems used in food service facilities.

Prepare and serve a variety of beverages such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

AI: Fully automatable - Preparation and dispensing of common beverages is widely automated via espresso machines, automated tea/soft‑drink dispensers, and robotic baristas, enabling full automation in many contexts.

Make special dressings and sauces as condiments for sandwiches.

AI: Fully automatable - Fully — recipe-driven dispensing and mixing of dressings and sauces can be completely automated with dosing pumps, mixers and control systems in commercial kitchens.

Mix ingredients for green salads, molded fruit salads, vegetable salads, and pasta salads.

AI: Fully automatable - Fully — mixing and tossing salads or prepared salad mixes is a repetitive, mechanical process that can be accomplished by automated mixers and food-processing equipment.

Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.

AI: Partial - Industrial dishwashers and cleaning systems automate much sanitizing work, but comprehensive cleaning of all work areas and equipment still requires human judgment and manual effort in many cases.

Operate cash register, handle money, and give correct change.

AI: Partial - Operating registers and making change can be largely automated with POS/self‑checkout and coin dispensers, but physical cash handling and exceptions still often require humans.

Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.

AI: Partial - Sensorized storage, temperature control, and automated inventory systems can manage storage decisions to prevent spoilage, but physical placement and handling in variable environments remain only partially automated.

Portion and wrap the food, or place it directly on plates for service to patrons.

AI: Partial - Portioning and wrapping machinery and some plating robots handle standardized items well, but variability in portioning, custom plating, and delicate handling limits full automation in general short-order settings.

Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.

AI: Partial - Robotic and programmatic systems can prepare a limited set of standardized dishes, but cannot reliably handle the full variety and on-the-fly customization of human cooks in general settings.

Place food trays over food warmers for immediate service, or store them in refrigerated storage cabinets.

AI: Partial - Placing trays into warmers or refrigeration can be automated in controlled layouts, but variability in real kitchens and delicate handling needs limit full automation broadly as of 2025.

Package take-out foods or serve food to customers.

AI: Partial - Packaging take-out is largely automatable with machinery, but serving customers involves interaction and variable environments that remain only partially automatable.

Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.

AI: Partial - Automated stocking and buffet tending are possible in constrained, structured environments, but require human judgment and flexible manipulation in most real-world settings.

Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving.

AI: Partial - Washing, peeling, and cutting can be fully automated for specific items with dedicated machines, but general-purpose, varied food prep cutting is only partially automatable.

Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor.

AI: Partial - Routine vacuuming and floor scrubbing can be handled by robotic cleaners in many environments, but coverage gaps, obstacles, and sanitization standards often need human oversight.

Distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers.

AI: Partial - Distributing food to servers can be aided by conveyors and delivery robots, but coordination, timing, and human handoff variability mean it is only partially automated.

Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.

AI: Partial - Trash removal and container cleaning have some robotic and mechanized solutions, but the messy, variable nature of kitchen waste keeps them only partially automatable.

Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.

AI: Partial - Partially — AI can manage inventory, schedule storage and direct robotic handlers in controlled facilities, but receiving and stowing varied packages and utensils in unstructured kitchen environments still usually requires humans.

Assemble meal trays with foods in accordance with patients' diets.

AI: Partial - Robotic assemblers and portioning equipment can build standardized trays, but reliably accommodating individualized medical diets, substitutions, and sanitation nuances is only partially automated.

Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.

AI: Partial - Partially — robots and delivery systems can fetch and hand over items and perform some assisting tasks in standardized settings, but flexible, varied assistance to cooks still often needs humans.

Use manual or electric appliances to clean, peel, slice, and trim foods.

AI: Partial - Partially — industrial peeling, slicing and trimming are widely automated, but flexible use of manual or varied electric appliances in small or changing kitchens still commonly requires human operators.

Distribute menus to hospital patients, collect diet sheets, and deliver food trays and snacks to nursing units or directly to patients.

AI: Partial - Menus and diet sheets can be digitized and autonomous delivery robots can move trays, but end‑to‑end distribution in busy hospitals with complex interactions is not yet fully automated.

Scrape leftovers from dishes into garbage containers.

AI: Partial - Partially — scraper attachments, pre-rinse/disposal systems and some robotic solutions can handle leftovers, but diverse dish shapes and residues make full automation uncommon in many settings.

Stir and strain soups and sauces.

AI: Partial - Industrial kitchen equipment and robotic arms can stir and strain at scale, yet variability, delicate handling, and small‑kitchen constraints limit full automation in general food‑prep roles.

Load dishes, glasses, and tableware into dishwashing machines.

AI: Partial - Partially — automated dish conveyors and specialized loading machinery exist for standardized operations, but general-purpose loading of varied tableware remains difficult to fully automate reliably.

Butcher and clean fowl, fish, poultry, and shellfish to prepare for cooking or serving.

AI: Partial - Butchering and cleaning can be highly automated in industrial processing, but the diverse, small‑scale, and delicate cuts typical in many kitchens remain only partially automatable.