French fry vending machine facts for kids

A French fry vending machine is a special vending machine that gives you hot, fresh French fries, also known as chips! Imagine getting crispy fries from a machine, just like you'd get a soda or a snack. The very first French fry vending machine was created around 1982 in Australia by a company called Precision Fry Foods. Since then, different companies have tried to make and sell these cool machines. Even a university in the Netherlands developed a special prototype machine.

Making Hot Fries: Brands and Prototypes

Many companies have worked on creating machines that can cook and serve French fries. Let's look at some of the interesting ones, both from the past and today.

Early Fry Machines

The first known French fry vending machine was called Mr. French Fry. It was designed by an Australian company, Precision Fry Foods Pty Ltd., and they officially registered their design in 1982. This machine could cook hot chips in just 60 seconds! It cost three Australian 20-cent coins to get an order. A small packet of salt was even included under the cup of fries.

Later, another company named Houser Vending Co., Inc. made a machine called Mr. Crispy's. These machines were used in places like college campuses and factories starting around 1990. The fries were cooked in hot sunflower oil at about 185°C for 40 seconds. The machine could make 500 orders before the oil needed changing. For safety, Mr. Crispy's had a special feature that turned it off if something went wrong, and it even had a built-in fire extinguisher!

Modern Fry Machines

Beyondte Technology, a company from China, started working on their "Robo French fry machine" in 2008. This machine can deliver hot French fries in about 95 seconds. A Belgian company, Breaktime Solutions, later took over Beyondte Technology. They tested the Robo machine in Brussels, Belgium, in 2012. This machine is quite heavy, weighing about 340 kilograms (750 pounds). It can cook fries in either beef fat or regular cooking oil. After about 150 orders, someone needs to clean and service the machine. Newer versions of the machine have a special ventilation system with three filters to stop strong cooking smells from escaping. Some people have even called the Robo French fry machine the "Rolls Royce of vending machines" because it's so fancy! In 2013, an order of fries from this machine cost about $3.50.

Another company, E-Vend Technology from Russia, makes French fry vending machines in China and Israel. These machines use frozen French fries and cook them in about 45 seconds using hot air instead of oil. This means the fries are less greasy!

Fotolook, s.r.o., a company in Slovakia, also sells its own French fry vending machine.

In 2015, students and business people at Wageningen University in the Netherlands showed off a new, fully automatic prototype vending machine. This machine cooks frozen potato strips by deep frying them. You can even choose to have your fries with mayonnaise, ketchup, or curry sauce! The whole process takes about two minutes, and the fries are served in a paper cup. The potato strips are kept frozen inside the machine at -18°C and then cooked in oil at 180°C. The machine has a special dispenser that makes sure the potatoes don't get squashed or broken. As of 2015, this prototype machine was only available at Wageningen University. You order your fries using a touchscreen, and the machine gives you a fork and salt in a separate box.

Images for kids

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  A Nichirei vending machine that offers prepared French fries (Tokyo, 2012)

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  Partial view of the front of an unused Beyondte French fry vending machine (2012)

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  A French fry vending machine in Safed, Israel (2005)

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  Integra french fry machines at Integra d.o.o. booth at Köln Germany, Eu'Vend and coffeena (2019)