In Dubai, a $1.1 Million AI Chef Is Running Its Own Restaurant

On a slow afternoon a few years ago, Dubai restaurateur Ahmet Oytun Cakir was in his office considering menu inspiration. Then the hospitality veteran, whose empire includes the popular hangouts BohoX and rove, had a brainstorm: He’d turn to ChatGPT.

Seconds later, the newly-released chatbot delivered a recipe for spiced lamb. Cakir decided to try it. “It was amazing, amazing,” he recalls. “Immediately we shot the photo, we put it on the menu. It became a bestseller.” That hit dish sparked a bolder thought: What if an entire restaurant could be powered by artificial intelligence?

Fast-forward to September 2025, when Cakir’s company, Gastronaut Hospitality ...