DUBAI: A Dubai restaurant claiming to host the world's first AI chef has ignited both excitement and scepticism within the city's vibrant culinary scene.
Woohoo restaurant features chef Aiman, an artificial intelligence programme trained on thousands of recipes and decades of culinary research.
The AI chef creates menus, balances flavours, and has developed standout dishes including a "dinosaur tartare" priced at roughly 50 euros.
This unique dish aims to recreate the taste of extinct reptiles using DNA mapping and is served on a pulsating plate.
"It was a total surprise. It was so delicious," said customer Efe Urgunlu.
The neon-lit venue complements its AI-driven concept with holograms, sci-fi animation, and a giant cylindrical computer.
Human chef Serhat Karanfil oversees the actual cooking and final presentation, sometimes disagreeing with the AI's selections.
"If I taste it, for example, and it is too spicy, I talk to chef Aiman again," Karanfil explained.
Restaurant co-founder Ahmet Oytun Cakir envisions chef Aiman becoming "the next Gordon Ramsay - but AI".
Not everyone in Dubai's food community shares this optimism, with Michelin-starred chef Mohamad Orfali expressing strong reservations.
"There is no such thing as an AI chef," Orfali stated firmly. "I don't believe in it."
The Syrian chef, whose Orfali Bros restaurant earned a Michelin star, emphasised that cooking requires "nafas" - an Arabic term meaning soul.
"Artificial intelligence lacks feelings and memories; in short, it has no nafas," Orfali explained.
Orfali limits AI use in his establishment to administrative tasks like kitchen scheduling and additional research.
Despite the criticism, Woohoo has resonated with Dubai customers accustomed to technological innovation.
"Everyone is supporting these ideas here in Dubai," said co-founder Cakir.
The restaurant has generated significant social media buzz, with an Instagram account dedicated to chef Aiman's avatar sharing tips and recipes.
Customer Dio, who visited after seeing online excitement, called the concept "creative" and the dishes "extraordinary". - AFP