CookTopia

The Problem

Most cooking apps today focus on recipes alone, treating food as a solo activity for the chef only. Platforms don’t center the person behind the dish, the one who grew up making it, the one with the story and context behind it. Food-curious individuals have no easy way to find people who can genuinely teach them something new, and cooks have no place to share what they know.

What CookTopia Does

CookTopia is a community-building mobile app that connects people through their shared hobby of cooking and culture. Users explore a world of cuisine-based “lands,” discovering recipes and techniques shared by homecooks from that culture. Every dish you cook and post to the app earns a stamp in your personal passport, building a living record of everywhere your cooking has taken you. Along the way, you can share your own recipes, follow cooks from cultures you want to explore, and connect with friends through shared dishes. CookTopia works simultaneously as a skill-sharing platform and a social space, making it easy to learn new cooking techniques and meet people who want to show you how.

Who We Designed For

CookTopia was designed for food-curious individuals who want to expand their cooking skills beyond their own cultural background but lack access to real people who can teach them. By focusing the app on a single shared hobby of cooking, the app defines a community at download, ensuring every user shares this same core interest.

Our Design Decisions

CookTopia was built to directly address the prompt to cover both skills and learning goals. During onboarding, users identify which cuisines they share knowledge about, establishing the teaching aspect and their role as a Local from that land. On the home page, users can explore different cultures through lands, establishing the learning aspect and their role as a Traveler to that land. CookTopia’s most innovative feature is the passport profile system. Users can collect stamps representing cuisines they have explored and lands they have contributed to. This gives users a living record of their culinary growth, making the learning journey the center of the social experience.