French fry vending machine

The now defunct Australian company Precision Fry Foods Pty Ltd. designed the first known French fry vending machine, named Mr. French Fry.[4] The company registered the design with the Australian government in January 1982.[4] The machine cooked hot chips within 60 seconds, and operated using three AUD $0.20 coins.[4] A salt packet was included underneath the cup that the chips were served in.[4]

Another company, Houser Vending Co., Inc., developed a French fry vending machine named Mr. Crispy's, which was used in various locations such as college campuses and factories since at least September 1990.[5] The fries were cooked in 365 °F (185 °C) sunflower oil for around 40 seconds, and 500 orders of fries were prepared before the oil was changed.[5] The machine had a feature that automatically turned it off in the event of a malfunction, and it also had a fire extinguisher built into it.[5]

Beyondte Technology, based in Shenzhen Province, China, began development of the Robo French fry machine in 2008, which delivers hot French fries in around 95 seconds.[1] Beyondte Technology was acquired by Breaktime Solutions in Belgium.[6] The machine was developed by Belgian entrepreneurs,[7] and field tested in Brussels, Belgium during the summer of 2012.[1] The machine weighs 750 pounds (340 kg), and can cook French fries in beef fat or cooking oil.[1] The machine requires manual servicing and cleaning after around 150 orders are prepared.[1] Later developments included installation of a ventilation system that uses three filters to reduce odors emitting from the machine.[7] The New York Post has referred to the Robo French fry machine as the "Rolls Royce of vending machines."[7][8] In August 2013, an order of French fries from the machine was priced at USD $3.50.[7]

E-Vend Technology, a Russian company, manufactures a French fry vending machine in China and Israel using technology from the United States.[9] The machine uses frozen French fries, and prepares them in around 45 seconds using hot air, rather than cooking oil.[10]

Fotolook, s.r.o., based in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia markets a French fry vending machine.[11]

After ten years of development, in January 2015 the Hot Chips Company in Perth, Australia released a hot chips vending machine that uses rice bran oil.[12] The company stated plans to produce and market more machines sometime in 2015,[12] and has developed four prototypes that were tested in Adelaide and Perth.[13] The prototypes also supply condiments, including one named "chicken salt,"[13] which is chicken-flavored salt popular in Australia.

In September 2015 at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, students and entrepreneurs presented a fully automatic, prototype vending machine that cooks frozen potato strips by deep frying them.[2][3][14] The final product is served with mayonnaise, ketchup or curry.[2] The process takes around two minutes from start to finish,[2][3] in which the product is served in a paper cup.[14] The potato strips are stored in a frozen state inside the machine at −18 °C (0 °F), and it cooks them in oil at 180 °C (356 °F).[15][16] The unit uses a specially-designed dispenser to prevent the potatoes from being crushed or broken.[14] As of September 2015, only the single prototype is available, which is housed at Wageningen University.[15] Orders are placed using a touchscreen, and a fork and salt are provided separately in a box.[14]