Teach me about the types of cheese and what it can be paired with,” was the query that was typed in. And within a moment, came the answer on the screen — fresh, hard, blue and soft, with the history of each kind of cheese and the list of breads, fruits and drinks suitable for pairing with each.

“Prepare a note on new techniques and innovations of wine-making in France,” was the next question asked. The response addressed issues in oak ageing and barrel management as also the impact of technological advances like artificial intelligence and data analytics.

“Write about initial meat-curing techniques with further references and research. I want the answer in Hindi and Urdu,” asked the third questioner. The answer, therefore, came twice over in the two languages — explaining how meat-based food is preserved and flavoured, by adding salt, nitrate, sugar and spices, as well as the benefits of the process.

Each question received detailed response with an offer to dive deep for details.

The occasion was the launch of IIHM NamAIste Hospitality GPT at the Sector V campus of the hospitality management institute. “It will be the repository of knowledge of everything that’s got to do with hospitality, hotels, food, wines etc. and this information is going to be exclusive,” it was announced.

The AI companion has been created by IIHM’s technical collaborators, Entiovi Technologies, to empower students, educators, professionals and hospitality managements worldwide. “It will pave a new way of reimagining things,” said Suborno Bose, the founder-chairman of IIHM.

Acknowledging that the hospitality industry was changing rapidly in India and elsewhere, Bose refused to accept that AI might get ahead of human beings. “Our industry is based on people. This will always remain so. It will always require human touch and smile. AI is going to assist in this. As an industry, we can apply AI in different ways like use of booking engines, eliminating waste and ensuring that associates are working eight hours as we sometimes have overworked employees,” he said, adding that the NamaAIste GPT is “best-suited for hospitality education”.

Bose also stressed on the app’s Indian origin. “It is made in India for the world.”

Sanjoy Chatterjee of Entiovi Technologies recalled how the idea for the app germinated through an exchange of messages one morning in early February. The uniqueness of the app, he pointed out, was not the technology but the creation of knowledge base from 60 countries. “Imagine a student writing a question in Bengali and the answer is sourced from documents in Japanese and reaching him in Bengali. Other industries will find inspiration in our model,” he said.

A presentation explained why the subscribers-only app was different from other GenAI models. “NamAIste is purpose-built, being trained in hospitality-specific data, SOPs and case studies and hosted securely in servers in India. It is built to protect institutional and learner privacy, ensuring data ownership,” it was claimed.

The launch was originally planned for April 24, the World Hospitality Day, but had to be pushed back due to the tension at the borders.

Other than representatives from various branches of IIHM, the launch saw chefs from the UK, Greece, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Nepal and Malaysia logging in on a giant screen and offer their comments.