Inspiration
I’ve always loved cooking and I get a lot of inspiration from creators on TikTok and YouTube. But every time I tried to recreate those recipes, the process was frustrating, I had to pause and rewind the video over and over, write everything down by hand, and still worry I missed key details like ingredient amounts or timing.
When I saw Eitan’s video and the core idea behind it, it clicked for me: this should be much easier. I started thinking, “Why not build an app for this?” If I was struggling this much, a lot of other people probably were too.
That’s how the idea for Orubu started: solve the real friction of following recipes from videos. Then the vision expanded, recipe websites are often cluttered, and sometimes you just want to cook with what you already have at home. The goal became clear: create one app that removes recipe friction wherever the recipe starts: video, website, or pantry.
What it does
- Extract complete recipes from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and any recipe website
- Generate original recipes from ingredients you already have
- Smart shopping lists organized by category
- Dynamic serving size scaling with real-time quantity updates
- Pantry tracking to skip what you already own
- Save and organize your favorite recipes
- Voice input for hands-free ingredient selection
- Swipe to delete recipes and shopping items
- Supports metric and imperial measurements
- Beautiful dark mode
- Works offline for saved recipes
How we built it
This is a native iOS app built in Xcode. I also used Claude Code to assist with code generation.
Challenges we ran into
Since this is my first native iOS app, it was also very time-consuming to complete all the required fields, confirmations, and other submission requirements. Also it was very challenging to make video parsing work reliably across multiple platforms.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Recipe video parsing works! It may not always be very fast, but I managed to build a robust system. RevenueCat integration also worked on the first try, I’m very impressed with the platform.
What we learned
Building this app taught me a lot, both technically and in terms of product execution.
I learned how much time real iOS development in Xcode takes, especially when moving from idea to a production-ready app. I got hands-on experience with app structure, debugging, simulator/device testing, signing, and all the small but important details required for App Store submission.
I also learned how to design and implement in-app animations that make the user experience feel smoother and more polished, instead of just functional.
On the monetization side, I learned how to integrate and work with the RevenueCat SDK, including setting up subscriptions, validating purchase flows, and connecting paywall behavior to app logic.
What's next for Orubu: Modern Recipe Manager
I’m planning to submit the app to the App Store immediately after this application. The next step is to get real user feedback as quickly as possible and learn how people actually use Orubu in everyday cooking.
From there, I’ll iterate fast, improving performance, refining recipe parsing quality, and simplifying the overall user flow based on what users say matters most.
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