Autonomous food station

A food station comprising:

• a plurality of cubbies, each cubby sized to enclose a food portion container, and each cubby including a portion container carrier that can hold the food portion container;
• a collection hatch large enough for the food portion container to pass therethrough, the collection hatch being externally accessible;
• an internal transport system including an end effector that temporarily couples to the portion container carrier of a selected cubby and controllably moves the food portion container carrier within the food station from the selected cubby to the collection hatch;
• a heating system that selectively provides heat to each of the plurality of cubbies independently of the other cubbies, with a heating rate and for a heating duration that is independently controllable for each of the plurality of cubbies;
• a cooling system that selectively removes heat from each of the plurality of cubbies independently of the other cubbies, with a cooling rate and for a cooling duration that is independently controllable for each of the plurality of cubbies;
• a control system that controls the heating and cooling of each of the plurality of cubbies and the movement of the internal transport system, the control system including a memory for storing information including information for determining the heating duration and cooling schedule and duration for each of the plurality of cubbies.