A monolithic red machine stands in Europe. For a modest fee, it will awaken, briefly, to bake a three topping pizza, which is then ejected, steaming hot and in a familiar takeout pizza box, through a narrow slot.
It sounds like science fiction, but in a development that some gastronomes might argue shifts the genre to horror, Let’s Pizza is a real and growing enterprise in Europe. Worse – or better, depending on how hungry and discerning you happen to be – the device could start to appear in the United States
A1 Concepts CEO Ronald Rammers gave Pizza Marketplace some technical details about the machine during a recent interview.
“The machine contains a specially developed bag of flour and a bag of mineral water,” Rammers said. “Every time you order a pizza, the machine will start making the dough, then shape it into a crust, and top it with organic tomato sauce. Next, one of the toppings is placed on top and the pizza is ready for the oven.”
The machines, which can hold enough ingredients to make 200 pies, are connected to the Internet. When supplies run low, they signal for a restock. The company hopes to place the machines in airports, hotels, gas stations, and, oddly, hospitals.
The pizzas will be priced low compared to those found in traditional eating establishment, according to Rammers. A finished pie takes about two and a half minutes to emerge.
“We don’t have the intention to become the competition of the existing players,” Rammers said. “But once people discover the quality of the pizza and the convenience and, indeed, the speed factor, we expect to have competition in our favor.”
Curiously, it appears that another European pizza vending machine outfit is looking to make inroads in the United States.
Let’s Pizza isn’t the only bizarre vending machine to make the rounds recently. A device called the Swap-O-Matic, which will soon be rolled out beyond Brooklyn, uses the barter system in a model that’s part concept art and part cultural commentary.
Image: Let's Pizza
