Arabic Culinary & Culture Intern

About the internship

We are looking for an Arabic Culinary & Culture Intern to help research, cook, document, and improve recipes and food content for Matbakhli.

This is a remote opportunity for someone interested in cooking, Arabic culture, research, storytelling, and advanced technology. You will gain practical experience with AI-assisted translation, recipe-content generation, prompt writing, AI-output evaluation, and human-in-the-loop quality review.

You do not need to be an AI engineer. However, you should be curious about how AI can support culinary work while understanding that AI-generated content must be checked by people.

What you will gain

• Potential paid opportunity: Interns who demonstrate strong performance, reliability, and the ability to handle assigned tasks may be considered for a paid part-time or project-based opportunity with Matbakhli after the internship. This is not guaranteed and depends on performance, available work, and business needs.
• Advanced AI experience: Gain practical experience using AI-assisted translation and recipe-content tools, writing prompts, evaluating model outputs, identifying hallucinations, and improving human-in-the-loop AI workflows.
• People and teamwork experience: Work directly with the founder, product collaborators, recipe reviewers, cooks, and cultural contributors in a remote environment.
• Portfolio experience: Build real examples of culinary research, bilingual localization, recipe testing, AI evaluation, and food content that you can use in future job applications.
• Reference support: Interns who demonstrate strong work, professionalism, and reliable collaboration may request a truthful reference or recommendation from the founder for future opportunities. References will be based on actual contributions and performance.

Responsibilities

Cooking and recipe testing

• Cook and test assigned recipes in a safe home kitchen.
• Record ingredient quantities, preparation methods, cooking times, yields, portions, and observations.
• Identify unclear, incomplete, unrealistic, or culturally inaccurate instructions.
• Take agreed photographs or videos of cooking tests.
• Report unknown information instead of guessing.

Arabic food-culture research

• Research Arab dishes, ingredients, techniques, regional names, and food customs.
• Help distinguish Qatari and Gulf cuisine from Levantine, Egyptian, Iraqi, North African, and other Arab culinary traditions.
• Research the cultural stories behind recipes.
• Speak with home cooks, chefs, family members, and reliable cultural sources when appropriate.
• Help Matbakhli avoid generic, stereotyped, or inaccurate descriptions of Arab food.

Arabic and English content

• Edit recipe titles, descriptions, ingredients, cooking steps, captions, and cultural notes.
• Ensure Arabic content sounds natural and culturally appropriate.
• Preserve quantities, units, timings, temperatures, servings, and safety instructions in both languages.
• Help create a consistent Arabic culinary vocabulary for Matbakhli.

AI product work

• Use AI tools to create first drafts of translations, recipe descriptions, and culinary information.
• Write and improve prompts for recipe content and Arabic localization.
• Review AI-generated content for hallucinations, invented ingredients, incorrect quantities, wrong regional claims, and unsafe instructions.
• Compare AI output with the original recipe.
• Create examples of good and bad AI outputs for future evaluation.
• Test whether AI preserves grams, servings, timings, temperatures, and other structured cooking information.
• Recommend whether AI output should be accepted, edited, rejected, or reviewed by a human expert.

AI output will always be treated as a draft. The intern will not independently approve food safety, allergens, nutrition, or publication.

Required qualifications

• Current Qatar University student or recent graduate.
• Preferred fields include International Affairs, especially Culture, Society and Heritage; History; Arabic; Nutrition and Dietetics; Mass Communication; hospitality; tourism; or a related field.
• Strong written Arabic and English communication skills.
• Genuine hands-on cooking ability.
• Interest in Qatari, Gulf, and broader Arab food cultures.
• Ability to measure ingredients carefully and document work accurately.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to research information and record sources.
• Reliable internet access and a laptop.
• Access to a safe kitchen for recipe testing.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment.
• Interest in AI tools, prompt writing, and reviewing AI-generated content.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience writing recipes, food stories, captions, or cultural content.
• Experience with Arabic translation or localization.
• Food photography, video, or social-media experience.
• Familiarity with nutrition labels, food safety, allergens, or food service.
• Experience using ChatGPT, Gemini, Fanar, or similar AI tools.
• Familiarity with spreadsheets, online forms, or content-management systems.
• Knowledge of Qatari or Gulf ingredients, traditions, and household dishes.

Remote working format

• Fully remote.
• Primarily asynchronous work.
• One scheduled weekly check-in.
• Work coordinated through shared documents and Matbakhli’s recipe tools.
• Cooking tests completed in the intern’s own kitchen unless another arrangement is agreed.
• Ingredient or equipment reimbursement must be agreed before expenses are incurred.

What this internship is not

• This is not a machine-learning engineering position.
• It does not require advanced programming experience.
• It does not replace a professional chef, nutritionist, food-safety reviewer, or native Arabic reviewer.
• The intern will not publish recipes or approve their own work.
• The intern will not provide clinical nutrition advice or make allergy-safety guarantees.

How success will be evaluated

A successful intern will:

• Record real measurements instead of inventing missing values.
• Identify and explain AI mistakes.
• Write natural, respectful Arabic and clear English.
• Preserve recipe quantities and safety information.
• Distinguish verified facts from personal knowledge and uncertainty.
• Communicate blockers early.
• Meet agreed deadlines.
• Respond positively to feedback.
• Complete assigned work reliably and professionally.

How to apply

Please send the following to:

contact@matbakhli.com

Include:

1. Your CV
2. A short 150–250 word explanation of why you are interested
3. Your university major and expected graduation date
4. Your availability and earliest possible start date
5. Examples of cooking, food writing, cultural research, Arabic localization, photography, video, or AI-related work, if available