DishFinder
DishFinder
DishFinder
My Role
My Role
Frontend Developer/ Designer
Frontend Developer
Type
Type
Consumer app · Concept project
Consumer app · Concept project
Consumer app · Concept project
Platform
Platform
Mobile-first · Web
Mobile-first · Web
Time
Time
Aug 2025
Aug 2025
Key Insight
Key Insight
Users don't want recipes they like. They want to know what they can cook right now.
Users don't want recipes they like. They want to know what they can cook right now.
(01)
(01)
Project overview.
Project overview.
Every recipe needs the one thing you don't have. DishFinder fixes that.
Most recipe apps assume you have everything. You don't. You have half a fridge, 20 minutes, and three dietary filters nobody designed for.
DishFinder is an AI-powered cooking companion that ranks recipes by what you can actually make — right now, with what you have. It parses your pantry, scores cookability, and surfaces smart ingredient substitutions so you never hit a dead end mid-recipe.
This was a solo concept project built to explore how AI can reduce decision fatigue in everyday domestic life — not with more features, but with better defaults.
Most recipe apps assume you have everything. You don't. You have half a fridge, 20 minutes, and three dietary filters nobody designed for.
DishFinder is an AI-powered cooking companion that ranks recipes by what you can actually make — right now, with what you have. It parses your pantry, scores cookability, and surfaces smart ingredient substitutions so you never hit a dead end mid-recipe.
This was a solo concept project built to explore how AI can reduce decision fatigue in everyday domestic life — not with more features, but with better defaults.
Home cooks waste time scrolling recipes only to realize they're missing 2–3 key ingredients at step 4.
Existing apps optimize for inspiration, not execution — they show you what looks good, not what you can actually cook tonight.
Substitution logic is buried in comment sections, Reddit threads, or just missing entirely.
Dietary filters exist, but combining them with time constraints and ingredient availability is still a manual process.
Home cooks waste time scrolling recipes only to realize they're missing 2–3 key ingredients at step 4.
Existing apps optimize for inspiration, not execution — they show you what looks good, not what you can actually cook tonight.
Substitution logic is buried in comment sections, Reddit threads, or just missing entirely.
Dietary filters exist, but combining them with time constraints and ingredient availability is still a manual process.
Home cooks waste time scrolling recipes only to realize they're missing 2–3 key ingredients at step 4.
Existing apps optimize for inspiration, not execution — they show you what looks good, not what you can actually cook tonight.
Substitution logic is buried in comment sections, Reddit threads, or just missing entirely.
Dietary filters exist, but combining them with time constraints and ingredient availability is still a manual process.
(02)
Problem
Problem
(02)
Problem
(03)
Process
Process
Research
Interviewed 6 home cooks across experience levels. The consistent pattern: frustration happens at the moment of commitment — when you've mentally decided to cook something, then discover you can't. That's the gap DishFinder targets.
Define
Two primary users emerged.
Kate: time-constrained, hates waste, needs speed.
David: allergy-aware, needs predictability, distrusts complex recipes. The design had to serve both without compromise.
Design decisions
Cookability score was the core UX bet — ranking recipes by percentage of ingredients you own turned out to be more motivating than a match/no-match binary. Users felt progress, not failure. The substitution engine surfaces at exactly the right moment: when you're one ingredient short, not before.
Research
Interviewed 6 home cooks across experience levels. The consistent pattern: frustration happens at the moment of commitment — when you've mentally decided to cook something, then discover you can't. That's the gap DishFinder targets.
Define
Two primary users emerged.
Kate: time-constrained, hates waste, needs speed.
David: allergy-aware, needs predictability, distrusts complex recipes. The design had to serve both without compromise.
Design decisions
Cookability score was the core UX bet — ranking recipes by percentage of ingredients you own turned out to be more motivating than a match/no-match binary. Users felt progress, not failure. The substitution engine surfaces at exactly the right moment: when you're one ingredient short, not before.
(03)
Process
Research
Interviewed 6 home cooks across experience levels. The consistent pattern: frustration happens at the moment of commitment — when you've mentally decided to cook something, then discover you can't. That's the gap DishFinder targets.
Define
Two primary users emerged.
Kate: time-constrained, hates waste, needs speed.
David: allergy-aware, needs predictability, distrusts complex recipes. The design had to serve both without compromise.
Design decisions
Cookability score was the core UX bet — ranking recipes by percentage of ingredients you own turned out to be more motivating than a match/no-match binary. Users felt progress, not failure. The substitution engine surfaces at exactly the right moment: when you're one ingredient short, not before.
(04)
(04)
Solution
Solution
Solution
Cookability ranking —
recipes are scored in real time based on what's in your pantry. 100% match surfaces first. 80%+ shows with a clear substitution path.
Smart substitution engine —
missing an ingredient doesn't kill the recipe. DishFinder maps 4,000+ substitution pairs and surfaces the closest alternative with a confidence score.
Dietary + time filtering —
filter by allergy, diet type, and cook time simultaneously. Not three separate filters bolted together — one unified constraint layer.
Guided cooking mode —
step-by-step with timers baked in. No switching apps mid-cook.
Cookability ranking —
recipes are scored in real time based on what's in your pantry. 100% match surfaces first. 80%+ shows with a clear substitution path.
Smart substitution engine —
missing an ingredient doesn't kill the recipe. DishFinder maps 4,000+ substitution pairs and surfaces the closest alternative with a confidence score.
Dietary + time filtering —
filter by allergy, diet type, and cook time simultaneously. Not three separate filters bolted together — one unified constraint layer.
Guided cooking mode —
step-by-step with timers baked in. No switching apps mid-cook.
Cookability ranking —
recipes are scored in real time based on what's in your pantry. 100% match surfaces first. 80%+ shows with a clear substitution path.
Smart substitution engine —
missing an ingredient doesn't kill the recipe. DishFinder maps 4,000+ substitution pairs and surfaces the closest alternative with a confidence score.
Dietary + time filtering —
filter by allergy, diet type, and cook time simultaneously. Not three separate filters bolted together — one unified constraint layer.
Guided cooking mode —
step-by-step with timers baked in. No switching apps mid-cook.
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