A new restaurant named WOOHOO, billing itself as "dining in the future," is set to open in central Dubai this September, near the Burj Khalifa. While humans will assemble the food for now, the restaurant's menu, ambience, and service will be designed by a culinary large-language-model (LLM) called "Chef Aiman." According to a report by the news agency Reuters, his LLM that gets it name from combining "AI" and "man," has been trained on decades of food science research, molecular composition data, and over a thousand recipes from global cooking traditions, Ahmet Oytun Cakir, a co-founder of WOOHOO claimed.

Aiman's developers explain that the model works by deconstructing cuisine into components like texture, acidity, and umami. It then reassembles these elements into unusual flavour and ingredient combinations. These culinary prototypes are subsequently refined by human chefs who taste the combinations and provide further direction, an effort led by Dubai-based chef Reif Othman.

In an interview with Reuters, the interactive AI model Aiman explained: “Their responses to my suggestions help refine my understanding of what works beyond pure data.”

Aiman's creators emphasize that the aim isn't to replace the human touch in cooking, but to enhance and support it. "Human cooking will not be replaced, but we believe (Aiman) will elevate the ideas, creativity," Oytun Cakir, who is also chief executive of hospitality company Gastronaut, said to Reuters.

Aiman is built to create recipes that make use of ingredients commonly discarded by restaurants, such as meat trimmings and fat, Cakir explained. Looking ahead, the founders of WOOHOO envision licensing Aiman to restaurants worldwide, aiming to cut down kitchen waste and promote sustainability.