SmartChef
Building a production AI cooking app around the food you already have
A production iOS cooking app that turns the ingredients you already have — including ingredients detected from a photo — into personalised recipes using AI. Built end to end with authentication, backend services, subscriptions and App Store distribution.
View SmartChef on the App Store(opens in a new tab)
My role
Independent product designer and engineer
I designed and built the product, user experience and core architecture.
The problem
Traditional recipe applications usually begin with a catalogue. SmartChef begins with the food a person already has and generates a recipe around their ingredients, preferences, available time and kitchen equipment.
What I built
- Product concept and user experience
- React Native and Expo mobile application
- AI integration
- Firebase backend and authentication
- User-data storage
- Usage controls
- Subscription state
- RevenueCat and in-app purchases
- Production configuration
- App Store release and continued maintenance
Main technical challenge
Turn AI generation into a reliable production mobile feature: keep API access secure, persist user data, control usage and cost, synchronise subscription state and connect the mobile frontend to backend services.
Current product
SmartChef is live on the App Store and continues to be maintained.
Lessons learned
- Taking an AI product from idea to production
- Mobile and backend architecture
- Secure AI API integration
- Subscriptions and entitlements
- App Store release and production configuration
- Usage and cost considerations