<p>Behind the dark green facade of a new Paris pizzeria, arms wielding ladles and spatulas perform an intricate ballet to churn out made-to-order pies -- but no human hands are involved in the performance.</p>.<p>The glass-enclosed kitchen is staffed by silver robots that build, bake and box up pizzas with the help of specially developed equipment, at a rate of up to 80 an hour.</p>.<p>After ordering at self-service terminals, clients can watch as the machines flatten fresh dough, spread tomato sauce, add organic vegetables, cheese and other toppings, then whisk the creations into the oven.</p>.<p>"It's a very fast process, the timing is perfectly controlled and quality is assured because the robots are consistent," says Sebastien Roverso, 34, a co-founder and inventor of the Pazzi robot and its namesake restaurant.</p>.<p>"And it's a pretty cool and relaxed atmosphere," he says. "The idea is that you spend a few pleasant minutes watching the robot while waiting."</p>.<p>Or as the sign says in English out front: "Come for the show, Stay for the Pizza!"</p>.<p>Roverso and a fellow engineer and inventor, Cyrill Hamon, launched their adventure eight years ago in a family garage, securing millions of euros from venture funds including the state-owned development bank, Bpifrance.</p>.<p>After a first restaurant in a Paris suburb in 2019, the company has its sights on an international chain where employees would focus solely on customer service or table cleanup.</p>.<p>"We're finalising contracts for new spots" in Paris, "and in March or April we'll open in Switzerland," said Philippe Goldman, a former L'Oreal executive who came on as managing director for the start-up.</p>.<p>The Pazzi robots are almost completely autonomous and in theory won't be susceptible to breakdowns.</p>.<p>"And we have engineers who work remotely and can take control and watch with cameras, so they can correct things if necessary to make sure service continues," Roverso said.</p>.<p>The tricky part was dealing with fresh dough, since using frozen products was out of the question.</p>.<p>"The dough is alive... every hour that passes, it's different," said Thierry Graffagnino, a chef and three-time winner of World Pizza Contest in Rome, who was brought in to help elaborate Pazzi's recipes and process.</p>.<p>"We had to make sure the robot could figure things out alone and adapt, something that even some pizzaiolos don't always know how to do," Graffagnino said.</p>.<p>"Today we make a very good pizza, but we're still looking to improve it, we're not going to stop here," he said.</p>.<p>The robots are also seen as an answer to chronic labour shortages in restaurants and food service -- in many countries owners are struggling to rehire workers furloughed in Covid lockdowns, since many are abandoning the sector's long and stressful hours.</p>.<p>"Fast food is facing a crisis everywhere in terms of hiring and the ability to find employees," Goldman said.</p>.<p>But even if robots start supplementing cooks in the kitchen, Pazzi has no intention of trying to replace traditional pizza cooks entirely.</p>.<p>"You have Neapolitan pizza, Sicilian pizza, Roman pizza, and now there's Pazzi pizza -- it's made by a robot but after all, it's healthy competition," Graffagnino said.</p>.<p>"It's up to everyone to make a good pizza."</p>
<p>Behind the dark green facade of a new Paris pizzeria, arms wielding ladles and spatulas perform an intricate ballet to churn out made-to-order pies -- but no human hands are involved in the performance.</p>.<p>The glass-enclosed kitchen is staffed by silver robots that build, bake and box up pizzas with the help of specially developed equipment, at a rate of up to 80 an hour.</p>.<p>After ordering at self-service terminals, clients can watch as the machines flatten fresh dough, spread tomato sauce, add organic vegetables, cheese and other toppings, then whisk the creations into the oven.</p>.<p>"It's a very fast process, the timing is perfectly controlled and quality is assured because the robots are consistent," says Sebastien Roverso, 34, a co-founder and inventor of the Pazzi robot and its namesake restaurant.</p>.<p>"And it's a pretty cool and relaxed atmosphere," he says. "The idea is that you spend a few pleasant minutes watching the robot while waiting."</p>.<p>Or as the sign says in English out front: "Come for the show, Stay for the Pizza!"</p>.<p>Roverso and a fellow engineer and inventor, Cyrill Hamon, launched their adventure eight years ago in a family garage, securing millions of euros from venture funds including the state-owned development bank, Bpifrance.</p>.<p>After a first restaurant in a Paris suburb in 2019, the company has its sights on an international chain where employees would focus solely on customer service or table cleanup.</p>.<p>"We're finalising contracts for new spots" in Paris, "and in March or April we'll open in Switzerland," said Philippe Goldman, a former L'Oreal executive who came on as managing director for the start-up.</p>.<p>The Pazzi robots are almost completely autonomous and in theory won't be susceptible to breakdowns.</p>.<p>"And we have engineers who work remotely and can take control and watch with cameras, so they can correct things if necessary to make sure service continues," Roverso said.</p>.<p>The tricky part was dealing with fresh dough, since using frozen products was out of the question.</p>.<p>"The dough is alive... every hour that passes, it's different," said Thierry Graffagnino, a chef and three-time winner of World Pizza Contest in Rome, who was brought in to help elaborate Pazzi's recipes and process.</p>.<p>"We had to make sure the robot could figure things out alone and adapt, something that even some pizzaiolos don't always know how to do," Graffagnino said.</p>.<p>"Today we make a very good pizza, but we're still looking to improve it, we're not going to stop here," he said.</p>.<p>The robots are also seen as an answer to chronic labour shortages in restaurants and food service -- in many countries owners are struggling to rehire workers furloughed in Covid lockdowns, since many are abandoning the sector's long and stressful hours.</p>.<p>"Fast food is facing a crisis everywhere in terms of hiring and the ability to find employees," Goldman said.</p>.<p>But even if robots start supplementing cooks in the kitchen, Pazzi has no intention of trying to replace traditional pizza cooks entirely.</p>.<p>"You have Neapolitan pizza, Sicilian pizza, Roman pizza, and now there's Pazzi pizza -- it's made by a robot but after all, it's healthy competition," Graffagnino said.</p>.<p>"It's up to everyone to make a good pizza."</p>