Introduction to AI-Generated Restaurants
Illustration: Greg Clarke
The question of whether AI will be the brains behind our next memorable restaurant meal has been posed in a recent New York Times article. Two prominent Chicago chefs, Grant Achatz of the Alinea Group and Jenner Tomaska of Esmé, have been utilizing large language models to devise both recipes and dishware, inching their kitchens closer to the transhuman future.
The Use of AI in Restaurant Menu Planning
Achatz revealed plans for an upcoming menu at Next for which he has used AI to flesh out the resumes and backgrounds of eight fictional chefs who will contribute to it. One is “Jill,” a 33-year-old Wisconsinite who has managed to cook in the kitchens of a great modernist chef, a sushi master, and Auguste Escoffier — the legend who codified French cuisine and has been dead for nearly a century.
Experimenting with AI-Generated Chef Backstories
The author of the article fed a couple of suggestions into ChatGPT, including “Glen,” a 38-year-old incel who lives in his mother’s basement in Orland Park, and “Q’og,” a time traveler from the toxic planet Zhuf who is disguised in human form and claims to have worked at the French Laundry. The AI invented a pretty funny backstory about Glen and the terrible tripe stew his mother cooked, but what really caught the author’s attention was just how sophisticated the recipe was.
A Restaurant Conceived by AI
The author asked ChatGPT to imagine a restaurant they’d love, and the app surmised they were a “sharp but fair critic [who] doesn’t sugarcoat flaws, but gives praise where due.” The ideal restaurant is called Lamplight, located in West Town, and helmed by a second-generation Korean American who trained at Avec or Lula Cafe before working in Seoul and Istanbul.
The Menu at Lamplight
The menu at Lamplight actually sounds amazing, with dishes such as:
- Smoked lake trout crêpe with pickled onions and black garlic aioli
- Spring pea mandu in preserved lemon broth
- Grilled chicken oyster skewers with charred scallion miso
- Koji-marinated pork collar with rhubarb mustard and butter beans
- Charred cabbage steak with anchovy vinaigrette and sunflower seed dukkah
- Roasted carrots in fermented chili honey with whipped tofu
Conclusion
The use of AI in restaurant menu planning and conception is a fascinating development. While it may seem gimmicky at first, the sophistication of the recipes and menus generated by large language models is impressive. However, there are still limitations to AI-generated restaurants, such as the estimated cost of a meal, which may not be realistic.
FAQs
Q: Can AI really generate recipes and menus for restaurants?
A: Yes, large language models like ChatGPT can generate recipes and menus based on their training data.
Q: How accurate are AI-generated recipes and menus?
A: The accuracy of AI-generated recipes and menus depends on the quality of the training data and the sophistication of the language model.
Q: Will AI replace human chefs and restaurateurs?
A: While AI can generate recipes and menus, human chefs and restaurateurs are still necessary for the execution and presentation of the dishes.
Q: Can I try the dishes generated by AI?
A: Yes, if a restaurant decides to implement an AI-generated menu, you can try the dishes. However, the cost and quality of the dishes may vary.
