Behold the Device That Will (Maybe Possibly) Replace Chefs

Someday in the near future, restaurateurs will be able to replace inefficient or insubordinate chefs with one, brilliant machine. You see, right now, the super-geniuses at MIT are developing a device about the size of a large toaster oven called the Cornucopia that "prints" food much in the same way that a color printer prints a picture -- by adding different layers one at a time. In addition to creating a variety of different textures and shapes, the Cornucopia will be able to mix and create flavor combinations with more precision than a human can.

Sadly, the Cornucopia is still just a prototype, and Endgaget is skeptical that it will come out any time in the near future, if ever. To try and understand the implications of this device, Salon.com contacted the Director of Technology at the French Culinary Institute to ask him about his experiences using a similar, though less sophisticated machine created by rival geniuses at Cornell. While he notes that he had some great success creating a highly detailed, uniquely shaped food product, he notes "“If you actually think you’re going to print out all of your food, you don’t like food.”

Oh, also: the device can't heat, bake, cut or season food, and no working model of the device has been created yet. So maybe its not the be-all-end-all chef-replacing robot. Still ... pretty cool looking, though.
· The Machine That Will Replace Kitchens and Cooks [Salon]
·MIT's 3D Food Printer Patiently Awaits 'The Future' [Endgaget]