A little while ago, we Frogs asked ourselves what might be in the food trucks in the future. This time, we ask ourselves what new features might be found in tomorrow’s restaurant equipment.

1. They’ll Probably Be Connected

When we mean connected, we don’t exactly mean that we’ll get a notification when the oven’s done. But instead the connected features of today’s industrial restaurant equipment will probably be more practical. Chefs will be able to monitor temperature changes from fridges and freezers without resorting to a separate thermometer. Technicians will be able to perform on-board diagnostics (much like how you can use Google Glass to repair cars) on equipment for any faults or see if parts need replacing. Although, to be fair, it might be a cool feature for ovens to tweet to restaurant patrons to let them know that the chicken’s been done.

After all, there are some equipment that already feature integrated color LCD screens. It’s only a matter of time before today’s ranges (for example) require software updates.

2. Today’s Coolers and Freezers (or pretty much any equipment that has a compressor and uses refrigerant) will be Ozone Layer-Safe

In other words, the use of chlorofluorocarbons as refrigerant in today’s equipment will be the thing of the past (see one of our past articles if you want to know what we’re talking about). By 2030, the Montreal Protocol any hydro-flouroocarbons will no longer be allowed to be used or imported.

Does that mean all coolers/freezers and A/Cs will die? No–just that manufacturers will produce alternatives that will have a minimal effect on the ozone layer. There’s already one that’s been proposed for cars, so it’s only a matter of time for commercial equipment.

3. Metallic Glass Might be the New Stainless Steel

Heard of Metallic Glass? That might possibly be the new material that will replace stainless steel as the gold standard in kitchen equipment. It’s not only stronger and lighter than stainless steel, but allows great flexibility in shapes and materials.

Initial tests show that metallic glass is extremely hard to make brittle–promising news for the material. It’s used in the heads of golf clubs for example. There’s really only one drawback: Cost.