A community-driven recipe sharing platform built for food lovers. Users can upload their favorite dishes, explore new recipes, and interact with other cooking enthusiasts. This project helped me strengthen full-stack development skills, especially around user-generated content, image uploads, and building social interactions.
🍽️ Features
- Post Recipes — Share dishes with ingredients, instructions, and images.
- Discover Recipes — Search by cuisine, category, or specific ingredients.
- User Profiles — Personalized profiles showcasing posted and saved recipes.
- Likes & Comments — Engage with the community through reactions and feedback.
- Favorites — Save recipes for quick access later.
🛠 Tech Stack
Frontend
- React for a modular, responsive interface
- React Router for multi-page navigation
- UI styled using CSS and Styled Components
Backend
- Node.js + Express REST API
- Secure authentication with JWT
- Image upload system using Multer + Cloudinary
- Endpoints for recipes, users, comments, and engagement features
Database
- MongoDB for structured storage:
- user profiles
- recipes
- comments
- likes/favorites
- Indexed queries for fast search
Deployment
- Frontend deployed on Vercel
- Backend deployed on Heroku, AWS, or Render
- Containerization support via Docker
🔧 Implementation Details
Frontend Architecture
- Reusable React components for forms, lists, and detail pages
- Axios used for API communication
- Responsive layout optimized for mobile browsing
Backend Workflows
- CRUD operations for recipes and user interactions
- Secure session handling with JWT
- Image processing and upload via Cloudinary
Data Modeling
- Relationships between users, recipes, and comments
- Optimized schema design for feed and search performance
🧭 How It Works
- Register / Log In — Create a profile to start exploring
- Post a Recipe — Upload images, ingredients, and step-by-step instructions
- Discover Dishes — Browse curated lists or search by preference
- Engage with Community — Like, comment, follow favorite creators
- Save Recipes — Bookmark dishes to revisit them later
⚠️ Challenges Faced
- Handling large, high-quality image uploads efficiently
- Ensuring fast filtering and search within user-generated content
- Designing a clean, intuitive UX for diverse mobile and desktop users
🔮 Future Enhancements
- Meal planning tools for weekly recipe scheduling
- Video recipe tutorials for richer content
- AI-powered personalized recipe recommendations