It fries onions, pours in vegetable stock, stirs risotto rice and even taps a spatula on the side of a saucepan like any amateur cook might do while humming a tune or listening to a kitchen radio.
But this robot chef is working with scientific precision – cooking a Milanese risotto will take 52 minutes and eight seconds, no more and no less – and is meant to do away with human error.
Invented by Russian computer scientist Mark Oleynik, it is about to go on the market as a labour-saving device for busy homeowners, commercial kitchens, hotels, airlines and retirement homes.
It is priced in the same range as a luxury kitchen, roughly £50,000 ($63,100), and has tongs, a spatula, an induction hob and containers full of food stationed around its single robotic arm.
A sous-chef, or hungry owner, needs to fill the containers with chopped ingredients, then use an iPad to select from a menu of hundreds of recipes written and tested by professional cooks.
Then you press start, and the Moley Robotics machine (the company is named after Mr Oleynik) whirrs into action.
“This machine can help you to recreate a dish from a professional chef any time you need, in the place where you live or where you work,” Mr Oleynik told The National at a London showroom due to open in autumn.
A version of the robot was displayed at Dubai’s Gitex technology fair in 2020.
The model going on sale is a compact, minimalist unit known as the Chef’s Table. Moley is also making bigger domestic kitchens that can be customised with marble panelling.
The robo-repertoire includes pasta dishes, paella, risotto, seafood, omelettes, soups, steaks and stews. Tokyo’s famous chefs can relax for now – the robot has yet to master sushi.
You can use it as a normal hob if you want to try making the recipe yourself.
If you turn to the robot, it will pick up utensils with its single arm and get to work on its list of instructions, which you can follow on the screen.
It stirs, waits a little, stirs again then scrapes off the spatula and puts it away. Even the pepper grinder makes a robotic buzz.
The dishes have been fine-tuned down to the minute and second by real-life chefs including an Italian cook who masterminded the risotto. The showroom’s bin was full of omelettes as the robot perfected frying beaten eggs.
Mr Oleynik is no Michelin star chef himself but believes there is a gap in the market for freshly cooked food that does not take up “52 minutes of your life” or force people to compromise on quality.
“I want to have a freshly cooked meal any time, when I wake up, late evening, night-time, daytime,” said Mr Oleynik, who said the wealthy customer might not want a private chef in their home.
“I hate delivery because delivery food is not very good quality. By the time it’s coming, the time of the delivery, the taste is gone. I like good food so I need to go to a good restaurant, but it’s not just behind your door and there is only lunchtime and dinnertime so you’re not flexible.”
In commercial kitchens, Mr Oleynik makes no secret of the fact that the robot could take away jobs.
But it is being billed as a willing volunteer for antisocial night shifts, not least at a time of labour shortages in Europe.
“I don’t really see the chef who wants to sit during the night and wait for an order from room service,” Mr Oleynik said.
If the product sells, production scales up and the price falls, he would like the technology to be sold around the world, including in the Middle East.
“Everybody understands that to have the best-quality dish, it needs to be freshly prepared just before you eat,” he said.
“You extend the ability of your kitchen. You can still cook by yourself, no limitation. But if you don’t have time, you don’t have patience or you don’t have knowledge how to cook, the machine can help you.”
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
RESULTS
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jordan Sport, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Jungle Cat, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Kimbear, Patrick Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
