YesChef! App

I worked with a team of four on a project to design an app for young adults to learn how to cook. As the researcher, I was responsible for gathering research and mapping out ideas for the design.

Healthy eating on a budget is difficult for young adults

Many struggle to cook affordable meals at home due to limited experience, time, or resources.

Allergies, cultural practices, and health conditions make it hard to find safe, personalized food options.

People with dietary restrictions lack control over their meals

Beginner cooks feel overwhelmed by the cooking process

A lack of organization, guidance, and accessible instruction makes learning to cook intimidating.

44% of people

either rarely cooked or did not cooked at all

84%

Of those people

said that they would be willing to learn how to cook

93% of people

wished that cooking apps would have a recipe suggestion feature

81% of people

desired to see a digital fridge/food tracker feature on a cooking app

75% of people

desired to see a feature suggesting recipes based on the items in a digital inventory

72% of people

wished to see a feature that saves recipes to a favorites folder

68% of people

wished to see a search feature for recipes

Strengths:

Supports multiple languages and voice-activated ingredient input.
Suggests recipes you could make with just one or two more ingredients, helping with near-complete pantry use.

Weaknesses:

Limited ingredient library; niche items like picanha may be inaccurately matched.
Doesn’t account for ingredient quantity, potentially leading to inaccurate recipe suggestions.

Strengths:

Personalized recommendations based on user’s cooking priorities and dietary preferences.
Detailed search filters including time, difficulty, occasion, and cuisine.

Weaknesses:

Forces users to pick recipes during onboarding, which may feel limiting or biased.
No pantry or ingredient inventory system to suggest recipes based on available items.