Snap2Serve

Inspiration

Living on campus, we got tired of eating the same school food. As university students on a tight budget, we often have some ingredients in our hall pantry but don’t know what to cook with them. Searching for recipes online is time-consuming and usually requires buying extra ingredients. We built Snap2Serve to help students decide what to cook using what they already have, so they can save money and enjoy a simple home-cooked meal.

What it does

Snap2Serve is a web app that helps users decide what to cook using their existing ingredients. Users upload a photo of their ingredients, and the app identifies them and suggests suitable recipes. Users can also set their dietary preferences, allergies, or health conditions, so the recipes are safe and suitable for them. This makes cooking easier and helps reduce food waste.

How we built it

We built the frontend using JavaScript and React, and the backend using Python and FastAPI. AI models like Gemini and Claude were used for ingredient detection and recipe generation. We also used tools such as MediaPipe, Docker, and experimented with Go and Rust during development.

Challenges we ran into

One of our main challenges was learning and working with an unfamiliar tech stack. Integrating the frontend and backend and handling API communication took time and effort. Debugging issues across multiple systems was challenging, but it helped us better understand full-stack development.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that we built a working end-to-end application that solves a real problem faced by students. Integrating AI image detection with personalised recipe recommendations within a short time frame was a big achievement for us.

What we learned

We learned how to build a full-stack web application and integrate AI models into a real product. This project also taught us the importance of designing solutions that are simple, practical, and user-focused.

What’s next for Snap2Serve

We plan to implement a digital fridge feature in the web app. This fridge will allow users to view and manually add the ingredients they have at home. When users select a recipe and decide to cook it, the app will automatically remove the used ingredients from the fridge. Users will also be able to personalise and decorate their digital fridge, making the experience more fun and engaging while helping them better track what they have.

Built With

• claude
• docker
• fastapi
• gemini
• go
• google-cloud
• javascript
• mediapipe
• python
• react
• rust
• vercel