Could a robot be your next Michelin-starred chef?
Dubai is betting yes. The city, known for its futuristic flair, has opened Woohoo, a neon-lit restaurant boasting the world’s “first AI chef.”
Meet Chef Aiman, an AI trained on thousands of recipes and decades of culinary research.
It is capable of crafting innovative fusion dishes—and even something called “dinosaur tartare,” designed to taste like extinct reptiles.
Served on a pulsating plate, it’s as theatrical as it is unusual.
“AI might create better dishes than humans one day,” said Woohoo co-founder Ahmet Oytun Cakir.
But for now, human chefs still handle the cooking.
AI In Culinary Arts
Turkish chef Serhat Karanfil oversees the kitchen, tasting and tweaking Aiman’s creations.
“If it’s too spicy, we talk to Chef Aiman again. Then we find the right balance.”
Not everyone is convinced. Michelin-starred chef Mohamad Orfali calls the idea “nonsense.”
“Cooking requires nafas—soul. “AI lacks feelings and memories.
It can’t infuse that into food,” he said, limiting AI at his own restaurant to scheduling and research.
Still, Woohoo has captured the imagination of Dubai diners.
“It’s such a creative concept, I had to experience it myself,” said customer Dio.
With holograms, sci-fi animations, and a social media-savvy AI avatar, Woohoo seems to embody Dubai itself: flashy, futuristic.
It is unafraid to ask, can a machine truly master the art of cooking?
