On-demand processing of chilled food product

A method of on-demand processing of a chilled food product, comprising:

• storing a plurality of packages of food product in a storage sub-system of a packaged food product processing machine;
• receiving an input from a food consumer interface of the food product processing machine, where the input identifies a food product and an end state of the food product;
• retrieving one of the packages of food product from the storage sub-system based on the input that identifies the food product by a package handling sub-system of the packaged food processing machine;
• manipulating the package of food product by the package handling sub-system in a chilled fluid bath of a package cooling sub-system of the packaged food processing machine, wherein the manipulating comprises moving the package to promote heat transfer between a surface of the package and the chilled fluid bath and to agitate the food product inside the package to promote heat transfer between the package and the chilled fluid bath and the manipulating is controlled based on the input that identifies the end state of the food product;
• monitoring a current state of the food product within the package of food product;
• based on monitoring the current state of the food product, removing the package of food product from the chilled fluid bath by the package handling sub-system;
• and
• after removing the package of food product from the chilled fluid bath, delivering the package of food product to a food consumer.

A packaged food product processing machine, comprising:

• a food consumer interface configured to receive a food consumer selection identifying an end state of a food product;
• a package cooling sub-system comprising a chilled fluid bath;
• a gripper component configured to agitate a package containing the food product in the chilled fluid bath and to sense a physical parameter of the food product;
• and
• a controller configured to command the gripper to control the rate of heat transfer from the package to the chilled fluid bath based on receiving an input identifying an end state selection from the food consumer interface and based on receiving an input containing a value of the physical parameter of the food product from the gripper component.