AI chef pushes the boundaries of Dubai’s food scene

He has opened a restaurant in Dubai that boasts the world’s “first artificial intelligence chef”, the latest flamboyant plunge into new technology in a city obsessed with being on the cutting edge of the future.

The Emirati city is becoming increasingly known for its burgeoning food scene, with thousands of restaurants on offer from Michelin-starred luxury restaurants to greasy spoons serving up street food from across the Middle East and Asia.

But at Woohoo, the mastermind behind the menu is not a person but an artificial intelligence program—known as Chef Aiman—trained on thousands of recipes and decades of culinary research and molecular gastronomy. Chef Aiman ​​can also fine-tune menus and balance flavors, according to the establishment.

The actual work of preparing and serving the food, however, remains in human hands, for now. “Artificial intelligence is going to create better dishes than humans maybe in the future,” said Turkish restaurant co-founder Ahmet Oytun Cakir.

While Woohoo’s menu consists mostly of international fusion dishes, some AI creations stand out. This includes a “dinosaur tartare” meant to recreate the taste of extinct reptiles. The restaurant did not reveal the dinosaur tartare recipe, which was created using DNA mapping.

Priced at around 50 euros ($58), the dish tastes like a combination of raw meat and is served on a pulsating plate to appear as if it is breathing. “It was a complete surprise. It was so delicious,” said customer Efe Urgunlu.

Along with AI-generated holograms and sci-fi animations, the heart of the illuminated space features a giant cylindrical computer — presented as the digital host powering the restaurant’s lights and smoke emissions.

Woohoo’s Turkish chef, Serhat Karanfil, oversees the cooking and final presentation, and admits he doesn’t always agree with Chef AI’s picks and choices. “If I taste it, for example, and it’s too spicy, I talk to chef Aiman ​​again. After we discuss, we find the right balance,” he said.

Cakir has high hopes that chef Aiman ​​will one day become “the next Gordon Ramsay — but AI.” However, not everyone in Dubai’s vibrant food scene is convinced. For Michelin-starred chef Mohamad Orfali, “there is no such thing as an AI chef.” “I don’t believe it,” the Dubai-based Syrian chef told AFP

Orfali Bros’ restaurant grabbed a Michelin star last year after Dubai became the first Middle Eastern city to join the prestigious guide in 2022. Cooking requires “nafas,” or soul, Orfali explained, using the Arabic term to describe a cook’s personal appetite for food and ability to create exceptional meals.

“Artificial intelligence lacks emotions and memories, in short, it has no life… It cannot imbibe it in food.” Orfali said he limited the use of AI at his own facility to administrative tasks such as setting the kitchen schedule and providing additional research.

“We use it as a kitchen helper, but eventually it won’t cook,” he said. Still, Woohoo resonates with customers accustomed to the luxury offerings of Dubai, a tech-savvy metropolis with a penchant for excess where artificial intelligence has its own minister.

“Everyone supports these ideas here in Dubai,” Cakir said. The restaurant has also created a buzz on social media, with an Instagram account dedicated to AI Chef that features Chef Aiman’s avatar in videos sharing tips and recipes.

Dio, a customer, said she visited the restaurant after seeing the frenzy surrounding it. “It’s such a creative idea, so I thought I should experience it myself,” she said. “The dishes were excellent.”