An automated cooking system, comprising: a fryer including a plurality of fryer vats each configured to hold a cooking medium; a dispensing freezer positioned adjacent to one lateral side of the fryer; a hot holding station positioned adjacent to an opposite lateral side of the fryer; a plurality of baskets configured to receive and hold food products during cooking cycles at the fryer; and a gantry system including a gantry control operatively coupled to a gantry configured to engage and move each of the baskets, wherein the gantry control operates the gantry system to: perform a plurality of basket loading cycles, each basket loading cycle defined by at least the following: picking up a filled basket from the dispensing freezer, moving the gantry and the filled basket to a selected one of the platforms at the fryer, and dropping off the filled basket onto the selected one of the platforms to allow the fryer to cook food product in the filled basket; and perform a plurality of basket discharge cycles, each basket discharge cycle defined by at least the following: picking up a filled basket containing food product that has been cooked by the fryer from one of the platforms at the fryer with the gantry, moving the gantry and the filled basket to the hot holding station, and discharge the cooked food product into the hot holding station to empty the basket, wherein the gantry control prioritizes and orders the basket loading cycles and the basket discharge cycles for the gantry system to satisfy varying levels of demand for cooked food products from the fryer, characterized in that each fryer vat includes at least one platform for receiving and moving a basket into and out of the cooking medium, and wherein each basket discharge cycle is further defined by: actuating the filled basket with the gantry to open the filled basket and thereby discharge the cooked food product from the basket. a fryer including a plurality of fryer vats each configured to hold a cooking medium; a dispensing freezer positioned adjacent to one lateral side of the fryer; a hot holding station positioned adjacent to an opposite lateral side of the fryer; a plurality of baskets configured to receive and hold food products during cooking cycles at the fryer; and a gantry system including a gantry control operatively coupled to a gantry configured to engage and move each of the baskets, wherein the gantry control operates the gantry system to: perform a plurality of basket loading cycles, each basket loading cycle defined by at least the following: picking up a filled basket from the dispensing freezer, moving the gantry and the filled basket to a selected one of the platforms at the fryer, and dropping off the filled basket onto the selected one of the platforms to allow the fryer to cook food product in the filled basket; and perform a plurality of basket discharge cycles, each basket discharge cycle defined by at least the following: picking up a filled basket containing food product that has been cooked by the fryer from one of the platforms at the fryer with the gantry, moving the gantry and the filled basket to the hot holding station, and discharge the cooked food product into the hot holding station to empty the basket, perform a plurality of basket loading cycles, each basket loading cycle defined by at least the following: picking up a filled basket from the dispensing freezer, moving the gantry and the filled basket to a selected one of the platforms at the fryer, and dropping off the filled basket onto the selected one of the platforms to allow the fryer to cook food product in the filled basket; and perform a plurality of basket discharge cycles, each basket discharge cycle defined by at least the following: picking up a filled basket containing food product that has been cooked by the fryer from one of the platforms at the fryer with the gantry, moving the gantry and the filled basket to the hot holding station, and discharge the cooked food product into the hot holding station to empty the basket, wherein the gantry control prioritizes and orders the basket loading cycles and the basket discharge cycles for the gantry system to satisfy varying levels of demand for cooked food products from the fryer, characterized in that each fryer vat includes at least one platform for receiving and moving a basket into and out of the cooking medium, and wherein each basket discharge cycle is further defined by: actuating the filled basket with the gantry to open the filled basket and thereby discharge the cooked food product from the basket.