“One Penne Robonese, please!” That sounds like a joke. But it could soon become reality.
Nikolas Bullwinkel (28), boss and founder of the Circus Group, wants robots to take over the cooking in kitchens and canteens – and to manage without any human help. His goal: good food for everyone, everywhere and affordable.
Where there is food, there is a lack of cooks
Bullwinkel has his roots in the startup scene. The co-founder of Flink, one of the last surviving fast food delivery services, now wants to use robot chefs to solve the problems in canteens and large kitchens around the world.
“In Germany, there is a shortage of around 100,000 skilled workers in the catering industry,” says Bullwinkel. “Rising costs, a shortage of skilled workers and food waste are major challenges.”
Nikolas Bullwinkel brought his company Circus to the Xetra stock exchange in Frankfurt in January 2024
Photo: Theo Klein / BILD
On-site appointment in Munich
The centerpiece is located in a mixture of workshop and laboratory in Munich: the ultra-modern cooking robot “Circus Autonomy One”. The CA-1, as it is called for short, looks like a futuristic food truck: rounded shapes, smooth stainless steel design. But here it is not people who cook, but robot arms.
Circus’ CA-1 robot can prepare up to 2,000 meals a day in just 20 square meters – fully automatically and without human assistance
Photo: Theo Klein / BILD
For three and a half years, more than 80 experts from robotics, software and food technology have been working to bring the robot to market maturity.
Whatever fits in a pot is cooked
“Today we cook using five pots and an induction hob with a ventilation system,” explains Bullwinkel. The system is closed and can prepare up to 2,000 dishes a day.
Pasta, vegetables, meat – everything is stored in silos on the side, collected by robot arms and put into a bowl. “Soups, salads, curries, pasta – everything that fits in a pot is already being cooked today,” says Bullwinkel.
Canteens, airports and rest areas
The company’s focus is on supplying food in train stations, airports, rest areas, as well as educational institutions, schools, universities, care facilities and hospitals. “We adapt each dish to the needs of the customers – from the portion size to the spiciness,” adds Bullwinkel.
Circus Group’s CA-1 robot preparing Penne Arrabiata
Photo: Theo Klein / BILD
The taste test
“I’m a big fan of classic penne arrabiata. It’s a dish that we use very often as a test dish,” says Bullwinkel. What he doesn’t know is that I, the BILD reporter, grew up with pasta. My mother is the arrabiata queen.
“Penne Arrabiata is one of the most complex dishes for a robot. It is a challenge to get penne al dente,” he explains. But they have mastered this very well over the last few years, as with thousands of other dishes.
I think confidently: OK, what else can he say? If the boss isn’t convinced of his product, who is? Next to me, the robot arm is frying the garlic. It sizzles and smells – just like in a normal kitchen.
BILD reporter Christin Martens and circus founder Nikolas Bullwinkel in an interview
Photo: Theo Klein / BILD
Surprisingly delicious
The taste: authentic. Firm, tomatoey, slightly spicy. Thanks to frozen al dente pasta, the dish is ready in two and a half minutes.
The machine can make up to 120 meals per hour. The robot works 23 hours a day, one hour is spent on maintenance and cleaning. It does the washing up itself.
“The only thing that requires breaks is replenishing the ingredients,” says Bullwinkel. “We can cover over 2 billion dish combinations because we have a broad list of ingredients.” The recipes come from artificial intelligence.
Tailor-made nutrition for clinics
The technology will also be used in nursing homes and hospitals in the future. “What would be complex for a chef is done effortlessly by the robot. We can address individual illnesses, symptoms or personal preferences and offer each person a personalized diet, which would not be possible today,” explains Bullwinkel.
First projects in Beijing and Berlin
The technology is to be introduced commercially from 2025. A partnership with Chinese universities shows the potential: 5,400 robots are planned to produce up to four billion meals a year in Beijing’s educational institutions. The estimated sales potential is in the low single-digit billion range.
There is also a large pilot project in Germany: From 2025, the CA-1 robot will be on BER Airport in Berlin, some of the employees are fed. Prices for a main course start at four euros – significantly cheaper than the twelve euros for a usually soggy airport sandwich.
