All Food and Drink Made by Robots at CES 2024, Ranked from Worst to First
I ate ice cream, ramen, cocktails and beer all made with the touch of a button or two. These are the best and worst robot-made eats and drinks I sampled at CES.
If you came to CES 2024 hungry, there was no shortage of robots whipping up tasty eats and drinks live on the showroom floor. Brands were touting automated food and drink robots with a little something for everyone.
There are robots to play with your dog or assist with home health care, but the presence of AI-powered ovens, intelligent grills and smart cocktail machines has significantly increased at the consumer tech expo in recent years. The 2024 convention saw several additions to the lineup of smart kitchen gadgets and culinary bots.
But how do the items they prepare taste?
From homemade ice cream in two minutes, to push-button ramen and fresh cocktails in a flash, I tried everything I could get my hands on at this year's electronics show in Las Vegas. These are the best (and worst) foods and drinks made by robots at CES 2024, ranked.
9. Yo-Kai, prime beef pho
Yo-Kai is an autonomous restaurant that creates hot orders of pan-Asian food from scratch, all within the confines of a single vending machine-size unit. The Yo-Kai machine cooks and dispenses bowls of hot ramen, pho and udon made from fresh ingredients in 90 seconds. The Japanese food-technology company has engineered a smaller, countertop version too, though it's not quite ready for consumer sale.
I tried three of Yo-Kai's offerings at CES, so the brand appears multiple times on my list. The beef in the prime beef pho was my least favorite, and the meat tasted anything but prime – though the pho broth and floating rice cakes were excellent. The dish was perfectly edible, but still placed last on my list of CES' robot-made eats.
8. iGulu, IPA
iGulu is a sleek and smart at-home brewer that simplifies the beermaking process. Just fill the brewing chamber with water, add four to five ingredients when the system tells you. About two weeks later, you'll have 40 liters of freshly made beer in a self-cooling kegerator.
The IPA I sampled at CES had a satisfying flavor profile but lacked the carbonation I crave in a hoppy ale.
