I either state my person experience from many years ago. (Don't need to present a research link) OR I present my research. Sorry you don't find me as a positive addition on HN.

I was stating my personal experience of working at a restaurant that had their meals prepared in France was frozen and shipped to America. The preparation was boiled in bags or microwaved and got high dollar for the meals. That is my personal experience.

Long time ago most chains like Applebee's and Tuesday's meals were prepared hours, days or weeks before a person would eat them and either they were boiled in a bag, microwaved or deep fried. This still happens more than people know. That is my statement.

Here is an article on expensive French Restaurants use of pre-pared food.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/728...

So I guess me saying that if I can't smell a kitchen cooking food it probably is making pre-pared meals. I could also state that if the menu has hundreds of items they are also pre-pared meals, but to you that is poor posting?

I much rather have a few option that are fresh and that is what the OP Restaurant is doing with robots and one human at a garnish station. Most of America's restaurants do not use fresh food or prepare your food that day. Applebee's has gone out of their way to change the way they make food.

"Today, the country's largest casual dining chain lights up 2,000 new wood-fired grills for a revamped menu with steaks that Applebee's hand-cuts on the premises. Amid the barrage of price-driven industry promotions, Applebee's thinks its upgrade to USDA Choice beef, along with the stacks of logs outside restaurants and the aroma of wood smoke inside, will pique consumer interest. That's something the chain needs right now: In the last fiscal financial year, same-restaurant sales were flat, and this year, Applebee's expects sales to range from a negative 2 percent drop to a 2 percent gain." http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/applebees-bets-big-rel...