Dubai is set to introduce WOOHOO, a restaurant promising a futuristic dining experience, opening in September near the iconic Burj Khalifa. While human cooks will prepare the dishes for now, the restaurant’s menu, ambiance, and service will be orchestrated by “Chef Aiman,” an AI culinary model.
Chef Aiman—named by combining “AI” and “man”—has been trained on decades of food science, molecular data, and over a thousand recipes from global cuisines, explained Ahmet Oytun Cakir, one of WOOHOO’s founders. Although Aiman cannot taste or smell dishes like a traditional chef, it analyzes key culinary elements such as texture, acidity, and umami to create innovative flavor and ingredient combinations.
Human chefs, led by acclaimed Dubai-based chef Reif Othman, then refine these AI-generated recipes by tasting and providing feedback. This collaboration helps improve Aiman’s understanding beyond data alone. Aiman stated in an interview that its role is to complement, not replace, human creativity in cooking.
The AI is also programmed to develop recipes that make use of ingredients often discarded in kitchens, like meat trimmings and fats, aiming to reduce food waste. The founders hope that in the future, Aiman’s technology could be licensed worldwide to help restaurants boost sustainability and creativity.