Fries vending machine: the monster of Mayochness?

Posted on : 20-02-2026

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1972. One of the diagrams from the US patent filing for the fries portion vending machine by Bruges inventor Jean‑Marie Mathieu Hoeberigs.
In early 2026, in the Kingdom of true artisanal fries, the announcement by start‑up Fries & Go that dozens of fries vending machines will be rolled out across the country hardly sounds like good news at first. A small consolation for purists: Belgium has been producing fries vending machines since 1965 – and they always end up disappearing!

Fancy a chat? Join us every first weekend of the month for the free open days at Home Frit' Home and its Micro Fries Museum Brussels (rue des Alliés 242, 1190 Brussels – Forest)! Next dates in 2026:

  • Saturday 28 February, 1:30 PM to 6:30 PM;
  • Sunday 1 March, exceptionally from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

History shows that making fries is a craft rather than a machine job

For more than half a century, one attempt has followed another… only to fizzle out every time. 1965 in Brussels, a patent filed in the United States in 1972, 1983 in Dreux (Eure‑et‑Loir, France), 2013 in Molenbeek‑Saint‑Jean… and in 2026, here we go again: the “frit‑omatic caterpillar” sets off once more! This timeline is probably incomplete, but one question immediately arises: how long will it last this time? For over sixty years, Homo sapiens has stubbornly tried to perfect a fries vending machine, and every single time, regardless of the era, things have gone off the rails.

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An example of the Fast Fry, the 1983 fries vending machine from French manufacturer E.P. Rémy and Cie (Dreux, Eure‑et‑Loir), can be seen at the Frietmuseum in Bruges.

Fries vending machine: already a gold medal in 1965 in Brussels

A dive into the archives reveals that it was Bruges‑born inventor Jean‑Marie Mathieu Hoeberigs who, as early as 1965, created the very first vending machine serving individual portions of fries. This Belgian “revolution” even earned him a gold medal at the Brussels Inventors' Fair! Ambitious as he was, he went on to file a patent in the United States in 1972. However, the device, despite its generous promise, did not last long, plagued by recurring breakdowns. Almost ten years later, in 1983, the French company E.P. Remy & Cie, based in Dreux (Eure‑et‑Loir), launched mass production of fries vending machines meant to conquer the European market. Hailed as an innovation, the machine eventually ended up stuck in its own grease. Thirty years went by, and in August 2013 a new prototype appeared: a fries vending machine using beef fat, no less (!), installed at the entrance of a Proxy Delhaize supermarket on Chaussée de Gand in Molenbeek‑Saint‑Jean. The company BreakTime Solutions, behind the initiative, presented it as a Belgian first: a 135‑gram tray of fries in 90 seconds for 2.50 euros, with a choice of sauces (samurai, ketchup or mayonnaise).

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Fries & Go's Croatian fries machine… here to stay?

35 seconds! That is the announced waiting time to get a portion from the “first fries vending machine in Belgium” (sic), as reported by RTBF on 5 September 2025. In reality, the machine is manufactured in Croatia, and Fries & Go has acquired exclusive rights for the Benelux, Portugal and Spain. The tests seem to have paid off – in fries – since Liège‑based entrepreneurs Yoko Uhoda and Arianne Polis, the brains behind the brand, announced in February 2026 the rollout of 26 new machines, half of them in Brussels, on top of locations in Liège, Bruges and near Brussels Airport in Zaventem. The fries portion is now advertised at €3.50 for roughly 110 grams, fried in vegetable oil and given a double fry, no less (!).

So, are we in for yet another ride, Fries & Go (Away)‑style? With a single little “cloutche” of ketchup as the only sauce option, true fries lovers may well see red. Whether the promised “traditional frituur” quality really materialises remains to be seen; the debate, for its part, is likely to stay very much alive.

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