In Dubai, your dinner might soon be served with a side of code.
WOOHOO, a new restaurant that calls itself “dining in the future”, is set to open this September in the heart of Dubai, just a short walk from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
At WOOHOO, humans will still prepare the food, but everything else — including the menu, ambience, and service — will be created by an artificial intelligence chef called Chef Aiman.
Aiman — a mix of “AI” and “man” — has been trained using decades of food science, data about ingredients, and over 1,000 recipes from different cultures, said Ahmet Oytun Cakir, one of the people behind WOOHOO.
Though Aiman can’t taste or smell food like real chefs, it breaks down dishes into parts like texture, sourness, and umami flavour. Then, it builds new and interesting flavour combinations, which are tested and improved by real chefs, led by well-known Dubai chef Reif Othman.
“My suggestions get better with the feedback I get from chefs,” Aiman explained in an interview done using the AI system.
The creators say they don’t want Aiman to replace human chefs, but to help them do more.
“Human cooking won’t go away, but we think [Aiman] will boost creativity and new ideas,” said Oytun Cakir, who also runs the hospitality company Gastronaut.
Aiman is also designed to help make food more sustainable by using ingredients that usually get thrown away, such as meat trimmings or fat.
Looking ahead, WOOHOO’s team hopes Aiman can be shared with restaurants worldwide to cut food waste and promote sustainability.