Top story · In the Pro Kitchen
Starbucks will add delivery to its own app in the second quarter of 2027, with Rewards members earning and redeeming points on those orders. It is also testing AI to help baristas take drive-thru orders, and plans drive-thrus that recognize customers on arrival with personalized digital menus. Starbucks Rewards reached 36 million active members in its fourth quarter; the company gave no figures yet for the AI tests.
Read at Restaurant Dive →The Weekly · October 30
In the Pro Kitchen
The owner of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut says voice AI now takes orders at over 900 of its restaurants, and it credits the technology with a 6% improvement in drive-thru performance. Its CFO said Yum's AI work is moving from testing to scaling.
At Home
Two new tools join KitchenAid's Go Cordless system, which shares one removable battery across its appliances. The Go Grater, Slicer and Shredder (£149) swaps between three blade cylinders for cheese, nuts, fruit and vegetables; the Go Handheld Vacuum Sealer (£179) comes with containers and bags and includes a wine-bottle sealer. Both are on sale in the UK now, and the battery is sold separately.
In the Pro Kitchen
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.
At Home
Announced in the UK on Oct 31, Smeg's MultiGrill switches between contact, oven and BBQ modes, and in BBQ mode each plate can run at its own temperature. It sears at up to 250°C, ships with separate waffle plates and has burger, waffle and panini presets. It costs £299.95 from Smeg in cream or black.
Weekend Recipe · Probe thermometer
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The week in kitchen tech, for home cooks and pros, plus a recipe to try. Free; unsubscribe anytime.
