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When AI blends into the restaurant world
Summary
AI is transforming professional kitchens, but right now, it lacks the perception that humans bring to cooking and service
A cook-off between artificial intelligence (AI) and a two-Michelin-starred Valencian chef drew the biggest crowd at last month’s San Sebastian Gastronomika culinary event in Spain. The auditorium packed up to the point that many attendees had to stand in the aisles and passageways. On one side was chef Ricard Camarena and on the other, a team led by physicist Eneko Axpe. The challenge: create dishes using ingredients suggested by the audience.
While Camarena harnessed his knowledge, Axpe used AI-generated recipes. A jury evaluated the food without knowing who had prepared each dish. While Camarena’s starter and main course were lauded for their flavour and composition, the AI-generated dishes, though technically impressive, lacked soul. The desserts ended in a draw, showcasing the immense potential of AI in the culinary world.
It’s a contest that the food industry around the world is still talking about. Thomas Zacharias, founder of The Locavore, a platform championing local food in India, believes this kind of collaboration holds promise. “AI allows us to explore flavour combinations, textures and ingredients that we might not traditionally consider. It can become a powerful tool for experimentation, leading to new possibilities in gastronomy," he says.
Also read: What is the secret sauce of a restaurant's success?
Bots and the kitchen
AI is already playing a crucial role in guest management. AI-powered chatbots handle customer queries about menus and forward personalised marketing messages to guests. IHOP, a diner and breakfast chain with 1,800 locations all over the world, including India, uses AI to analyse a customer’s ordering history to recommend dishes they might prefer, similar to Swiggy and Zomato.
Another area where AI is making strides is in improving efficiency. AI-powered inventory systems help restaurants track food costs and predict how much they’ll need, thereby curbing wastage.
“In fine dining restaurants, an important element is the sauces. Yes, they are technique driven but the individual elements—temperature, viscosity, colour—can be codified. In fact a computer can do it better as it can detect between a thousand shades of yellow, unlike humans," explains Shaival Desai, chief growth officer at PetPooja. The software company has created the AI-powered Invoice programme which helps restaurants monitor changes in food prices and automatically adjust menu prices.
“AI can already detect temperature and appearance and it’s very close to getting the smell part right," Desai says. “There are companies that are working on AI-based smell detectors. So it’s just a matter of 2-3 years and AI will enter fine dine kitchens too."
For now, restaurants are experimenting with AI to upgrade the dining experience. Last year, The Bombay Canteen employed AI tangentially to elevate its annual Onam feast. Titled “Raja Ravi Varma’s Feast of Wonders", the dinner featured AI-generated art displayed on screens, bringing iconic paintings to life and immersing guests in the history of Onam. Similarly, the restobar, The Second House in Goa, uses AI-generated art to splash their walls with images of quaint Goan village homes and lush green paddy fields.
Chefs are using generative AI chatbots like to streamline their planning. Niyati Rao, co-founder of the Mumbai restaurant Ekaa, believes one has to live hand-in-hand with AI. Rao uses ChatGPT to calculate the price of dishes. “So instead of toiling over a calculator or on an excel sheet, I simply feed the recipe in ChatGPT. It calculates the prices of ingredients and gives me a cost for the dish. I also use it to multiply a recipe by 2 or 10 times. It saves time."
She says AI can be a great tool to compile guest profiles (food allergies, likes and dislikes) but it has its limitations. “It only works with data that is already available. If you ask for recipes based on a list of ingredients, it will only give you a compilation of recipes that have been done before. that’s not pushing the boundaries or being imaginative," Rao says.
A major drawback is AI’s current inability to replicate sensory experiences, believes Hussain Shahzad of The Bombay Canteen. “In experiential dining, chefs and service teams play an important role in creating personalised experiences. It’s the human interactions that make these dining experiences memorable. The artistry, creativity and connections with guests are what truly set these restaurants apart." While AI can analyse ingredients and recipes, it cannot replicate the personal experiences that chefs bring to the kitchen to infuse food with cultural and emotional significance.
In that sense, the way forward for dining will be a fusion of past and future. While technology will continue to play a crucial role, it might not be as easy to overshadow the heart and soul of cooking: human creativity and culinary tradition.
Nivedita Jayaram Pawar is a Mumbai-based food writer.
