restaurant dining room interior — Photo: RealAKP / Pixabay

Top story · In the Pro Kitchen

Solink raises over $100 million to turn restaurant security cameras into ops data

Ottawa-based Solink closed a round of more than $100 million led by Vertu Capital to build out its AI Vision Intelligence platform, which reads existing security-camera footage and pairs it with POS, labor and inventory data. It already runs at 35,000+ locations in 65 countries and connects to systems like Toast, Square and Clover. For operators, that means foot traffic, walkouts and service bottlenecks measured against sales; the CEO says it doesn't use facial recognition or biometrics to track staff.

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The Weekly · October 30

DoorDash goes for Instacart, regulators go after Toast, and AI moves onto the line

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Trending this week

restaurant table cutlery — Photo: JoelFazhari / Pixabay

In the Pro Kitchen

Blackbird's new FlyCard lets diners earn restaurant points anywhere they pay

Restaurant loyalty network Blackbird launched FlyCard, a free Visa debit card with no credit check that works at any restaurant, not only its roughly 1,500 member locations. Diners load it with Blackbird's Fly points (100 Fly to $1) and earn at least 2x Fly per dollar spent, and the spending feeds a new AI recommendation tool in the app. It's another sign loyalty programs are reaching beyond a single chain's own app.

Nation's Restaurant News → · Nov 3

toast bread breakfast table — Photo: Pexels / Pixabay

At Home

Lidl's £25 touchscreen toaster adds a fold-out warming rack

Lidl UK now stocks a Silvercrest two-slice toaster with an LED touchscreen, six browning levels and reheat, keep-warm, defrost and one-sided bagel settings. A removable folding rack warms rolls on top while bread toasts, and an automatic lift raises the slices. It costs £24.99 in Lidl stores (£22.49 with Lidl Plus), a low price for touch controls on a toaster.

T3 → · Nov 3

city sidewalk evening — Photo: Pexels / Pixabay

In the Pro Kitchen

Wonder takes Avride delivery robots to four markets after Jersey City pilot

Wonder is expanding its sidewalk-robot delivery with Avride to Jersey City and Hoboken in New Jersey, Arlington County in Virginia, and Philadelphia, adding dozens more Grubhub restaurants over time. Since the pilot began in October 2025, robots have handled nearly 20% of deliveries from Wonder's Jersey City location. Grubhub customers inside a service area can pick robot delivery at checkout; the companies didn't disclose what the program costs.

Fast Casual → · Nov 3

soup pot steam stove — Photo: half_rain / Pixabay

At Home

Ninja's MultiPot XL cooks two dishes at once, from slow cook to sous vide

Announced Oct 28 in the UK: Ninja's MultiPot XL multi-cooker has two pots that run different settings at the same time, or swaps in one 7-litre pot for big batches. Its functions include slow cook, sear, sous vide, simmer, rice, pasta and bake, up to 220°C, and the pots are oven-safe. It costs £259.99 in the UK; T3 lists a US price of $249.99.

T3 → · Nov 3

Weekend Recipe · Probe thermometer

Reverse-Seared Steak with Garlic and Thyme

A low oven brings the steak up evenly, then a very hot cast-iron pan adds the crust. It's pink edge to edge with almost no gray band.

See the recipe

steak cast iron skillet — Photo: felix_w / Pixabay

At Home

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electric cooktop kitchen — Photo: rkit / Pixabay

Kenyon's new app adds an AI cooking assistant for its grills and cooktopsPress release

Announced Oct 27: cooktop and electric-grill maker Kenyon launched Cook With Kenyon for iOS and Android. Its assistant, Kenna, is trained on Kenyon's manuals and specs and answers cooking and troubleshooting questions by text or voice, suggests recipes from a photo of your ingredients, and sends doneness alerts from supported smart thermometers. Owners register their model in the app; Kenyon hasn't said whether it costs anything.

Kenyon (GlobeNewswire) → · Nov 2

soup bowl kitchen table — Photo: Pexels / Pixabay

Tefal's one-person YumMeal cooker pairs induction with air frying. Coming to the US?Spotted abroad

Tefal's YumMeal is a compact cooker for single portions that combines induction heating and air frying, with Air Fry, Induction and Combi modes and a 1.2-litre bowl you cook and eat from. It launched in the UK at £199.99 and is listed by Australian retailers such as JB Hi-Fi at AU$399. As of November 2, 2026, we found no listing under Tefal's US brand name, T-fal, in the US or Canada.

Where it's sold → · T3 → · Nov 2

espresso machine kitchen counter — Photo: danymena88 / Pixabay

De'Longhi shrinks its drip-plus-espresso machine by a fifth

The new All-in-One Combination Coffee & Espresso Machine (COM630BK) makes drip coffee, cold brew and espresso, now with a touch display and a footprint more than 20% smaller than before. It sells for $349.95 in the US. A sensible pick if you want one machine on the counter instead of two.

T3 → · Oct 30

grilled steak thermometer — Photo: RitaE / Pixabay

ThermoWorks adds a shorter RFX wireless probe for steaks and fish fillets

The $99 RFX Meat Mini is built for thin cuts like filet mignon and single salmon portions, keeping the full-size probe's four sensors and dishwasher-safe body. It talks to ThermoWorks' RFX Gateway by radio rather than Bluetooth, which is required, and runs up to 48 hours on a charge. It's on sale now.

Engadget → · Oct 30

modern kitchen oven cooking — Photo: mgattorna / Pixabay

Is the smart kitchen finally ready? Combustion's Chris Young says AI changes the math

At The Spoon's Smart Kitchen Summit, Young argued that many smart-kitchen flops came too early, before the tech could deliver. He says AI now cracks hard problems like predicting cook times and carryover heat, and could help home cooks actually use features like steam on combi ovens. The open question: who owns the customer if an AI layer runs every appliance.

The Spoon → · Oct 21

Anova's $299 Precision Cooker Pro 3.0 is rated for 10,000 hours of cookingPress release

Announced Oct 20: Anova's new top sous vide circulator runs at 1,600 W, moves 12 litres a minute, handles baths up to 100 litres and holds temperature within 0.05°C. It's built of metal, rated IPX7 waterproof and rated for 10,000 hours of continuous use, and Anova says it's quieter than the last Pro. It costs $299 at Anova's site and retailers including Amazon and Target.

Anova (PR Newswire) → · Nov 2

In the Pro Kitchen

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deep fryer restaurant kitchen — Photo: jarmoluk / Pixabay

Connecticut's Max Hospitality makes Beyond Oil its standard for fryingPress release

Max Hospitality, a Hartford restaurant group with ten restaurants plus catering and lounge venues in Connecticut and Massachusetts, is rolling out Beyond Oil's fryer-oil management system across the group after a trial at two locations. Beyond Oil says the system works within existing kitchen routines; the release cites better consistency, less waste and lower costs but gives no figures. For operators, it's another sign that oil-life tech is moving from pilots to group-wide standards.

Beyond Oil (GlobeNewswire) → · Nov 2

iced coffee cups delivery — Photo: cocoparisienne / Pixabay

CoffeeNow brings specialty coffee to offices by van, on routes planned by software

The Boise startup runs vans on fixed routes to about 25 businesses each, using its own ordering, driver and admin apps plus machine learning to pick the best stop times. Drink customizations live in the software so baristas don't memorize recipes. It is now testing a delivery fee and eyeing franchising.

QSR Web → · Oct 30

grocery bags doorstep — Photo: Serpae / Pixabay

DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about $17 billion

DoorDash will pay $65 a share, mostly in cash, for Instacart, with closing expected between late 2027 and mid-2028. Instacart keeps its brand and app until then. For restaurants, the combined company would control a much bigger courier network, which could shape delivery fees and terms down the road.

Restaurant Dive → · Oct 30

restaurant point of sale terminal — Photo: AS_Photography / Pixabay

FTC and eight states sue Toast over fees and hard-to-cancel contracts

Regulators allege the restaurant POS maker added unrequested services, hid early-termination fees on its pay-as-you-go plan and charged diners a 99-cent online-order fee that went to Toast. Toast disputes the case and says it will fight it in court; the claims are unproven. Operators on Toast may want to re-read their contract terms now.

QSR Web → · Oct 30

chicken wings restaurant — Photo: mrpizzamandc / Pixabay

Wingstop names a chief AI officer and leans on personalization to revive sales

With same-store sales down 5.4% last quarter, Wingstop is using AI-driven personalized offers, its new loyalty program and a field-team tool that flags struggling stores. It says food-quality complaints are down almost 30% this year after rolling out its Smart Kitchen system. A test of whether restaurant AI moves sales, not just operations.

Restaurant Dive → · Oct 30

restaurant kitchen food prep — Photo: 12019 / Pixabay

Chipotle's AI prep tool is in 500+ stores, with a national rollout planned for 2027

A cook-to-demand system tells crews how much to make and when, and it's heading nationwide early next year. Chipotle is also rolling out its own digital makeline screens and testing automatic rewards for Apple Pay users. Its AI recruiter cut the time from application to first shift from 12 days to 4.

Fast Casual → · Oct 29

Trending this week

At Home

Kenyon's new app adds an AI cooking assistant for its grills and cooktopsPress release

Anova's $299 Precision Cooker Pro 3.0 is rated for 10,000 hours of cookingPress release

In the Pro Kitchen

Connecticut's Max Hospitality makes Beyond Oil its standard for fryingPress release

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