Celebrity chef Simon Gault has revealed he is opening a new resturant in Auckland and will be using a hi-tech assistant to help cook up the menu.

Gault said he is looking forward to getting back in the kitchen, and is near to signing a lease on pemises for the venture which could be open by Christmas.

SUPPLIED Celebrity chef Simon Gault speaks about his experience with IBM's "Chef Watson"

By his side will be an IBM computer system nicknamed "Chef Watson" which suggests food and flavour combinations to give chefs inspiration.

IBM's Watson programme uses natural language to learn and interact with humans. It ingested information from 10,000 recipes from the American food magazine, Bon Appétit, to learn about food pairing theories, molecular structure and nutritional details.

Gault is thought to be the first Kiwi chef to put the platform through its paces.

And he vows will have a new piece of technology on his side.when his new eatery opens its doors.

"It comes up with some surprising combinations for flavours and recipes, but they work because it can identify the chemical combinations which taste good," said Gault. "Sometimes they work together but are not special enough to use. The chef is still in charge, but "Chef Watson" is a really useful assistant."

The Watson programme can be used in many other ways apart from cooking and is already helping a range of industries and sectors from customer service to healthcare and financial services.

IBM Watson group leader, Asia Pacific, Jason Leonard said: "It is cognitive computing which can enhance the way people work and provide services.

"Because Watson is not bound by the volume of data or memory, it can read millions of unstructured documents in seconds. For doctors, engineers, teachers – any number of professionals – this technology represents a way to enhance their expertise and provide advice or ideas faster to more people."

He said IBM's Watson business was part of a US$1bn business unit, which has ambitions to grow to US10bn in the next decade.