A restaurant has opened in Dubai that boasts the world’s “first AI chef”, the latest splashy dip into new technology in a city obsessed with being at the forefront of the future.
The Emirati city has become increasingly known for its growing culinary scene, with thousands of restaurants offering everything from luxurious Michelin-starred restaurants to greasy eateries serving authentic street food from across the Middle East and Asia.
But at Woohoo, the brain 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 optimize menus and balance flavors, depending on the establishment.
However, the real work of preparing and serving food remains in human hands, for now.
“AI will create better dishes than humans maybe in the future,” said the restaurant’s Turkish co-founder Ahmet Oytun Cakir.
While Woohoo’s menu primarily comprises international fusion dishes, a few AI creations stand out.
This includes a “dinosaur tartare” intended to recreate the flavor of the extinct reptiles.
The restaurant did not reveal the recipe for the dinosaur tartare, which was created through DNA mapping.
Priced at around 50 euros ($58), the dish tastes like a combination of raw meats and is served on a pulsating plate to make it look like it’s breathing.
“It was a total surprise. It was delicious,” customer Urgunlu told Efe.
Along with AI-generated holograms and sci-fi animations, the neon-lit heart of the venue features a giant cylindrical computer, billed as the digital mainframe that powers the restaurant’s lights and smoke shows.
‘I don’t believe in that’
Woohoo’s Turkish chef Serhat Karanfil oversees the cooking and final presentation and admits that he doesn’t always agree with the AI chef’s choices and selections.
“If, for example, I try it and it’s too spicy, I talk to Chef Aiman again. After discussing it, we find the right balance,” he says.
Cakir has high hopes that Chef Aiman will one day become “the next Gordon Ramsay, but with AI.”
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 in that,” said the Dubai-based Syrian chef. AFP.
His restaurant Orfali Bros achieved a Michelin star last year, after Dubai became the first city in the Middle East to join the prestigious guide in 2022.
Cooking requires “nafas,” or soul, Orfali explained, using the Arabic term that describes a cook’s personal flair for food and his or her ability to prepare exceptional meals.
“Artificial intelligence lacks feelings and memories; in short, it has no nafas… It cannot imbue them in food.”
Dubai Ideas
Orfali said he limited the use of AI in his own establishment to administrative tasks such as setting kitchen hours and conducting additional research.
“We use him as a kitchen helper, but in the end he doesn’t cook,” she said.
Still, Woohoo has resonated with customers accustomed to the lavish offerings of Dubai, a tech megalopolis with a penchant for extravagance where AI has its own minister.
“Everyone supports these ideas here in Dubai,” Cakir said.
The restaurant has also generated a stir on social media, with a dedicated AI Chef Instagram account featuring Chef Aiman’s avatar in videos sharing tips and recipes.
Dio, a customer who did not give his last name, said he visited the restaurant after seeing the madness around.
“It’s such a creative concept that I thought I should experience it myself,” she said.
“The dishes were extraordinary.”
Header image: In this photo taken on November 12, 2025, Oytun Cakir, co-founder of AI-powered restaurant Woohoo, poses for a portrait in Dubai. — AFP
