Why we built AlignEat
Every table deserves a meal they can enjoy.
AlignEat started with a family, a holiday, and a problem.
It started in Bali. We were at a restaurant — the kind of place where everything on the menu sounds good and nothing is labeled. Between Karim's gluten, lactose, and corn restrictions and the rest of the table, every meal had become a negotiation. A kind waiter, a long conversation, a chef who came out twice. Everyone trying their best. Everyone exhausted by it.
Aurélie looked at Karim and said: there has to be a better way. And we created it.
Back in Dubai — one of the most exciting food cities in the world — the problem only became sharper. Hundreds of restaurants. New cuisines every week. And the same impossible question at every table: what can we actually eat?
The Reality
If eating out feels harder than it should, the data agrees with you.
- 4 in 5
- people with dietary restrictions say it affects how they live and socialize. World Allergy Organization, 2025
The people behind it
A small team, with skin in the game.
- CEO & Co-Founder
Karim Chbib
The AI-powered restaurateur. EHL-trained, Dubai-based, self-taught builder — obsessed with making technology that works in the real world.
- CMO & Co-Founder
Aurélie Chbib
The visionary organiser. Communications strategist with a career turning complexity into clarity — from UNHCR to building a brand from scratch.
- Nutrition & Content
Erika Aguilar
The creator nutritionist. Specialist in dietary profiling and food communication — the science behind every match AlignEat makes.