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15-Minute Chef: Snap, Cook, Eat

📅 Published: January 29, 2026

Introduction: The “What’s for Dinner?” Dilemma

We’ve all been there: it’s 7 PM, you’re exhausted, and you’re staring blankly into an open refrigerator. You see ingredients—spinach, half a block of cheese, some eggs—but your brain is too tired to connect the dots. This is “decision fatigue,” and it’s the enemy of healthy eating.

I built 15-Minute Chef to solve exactly this problem. It’s an AI-powered web application that removes the friction of meal planning. No complex inventory management, no grocery lists, no searching through ad-filled recipe blogs. Just Snap -> Cook.

How It Works: The “Magic” Moment

The core experience is designed to be frictionless:

  1. Snap: You take a photo of your open fridge or pantry.
  2. Analyze: The app uses Google Gemini 1.5 Pro Vision to identify ingredients visible in the image.
  3. Generate: It instantly generates a healthy, 15-minute recipe tailored to what you actually have.
  4. Cook: You get a beautiful, easy-to-read recipe card with macros, instructions, and a “Save to Photos” option.

The Stack: Built for Speed and Simplicity

The project was architected for speed—both in terms of user experience and development velocity.

  • Frontend: Next.js 14 (App Router) ensures fast performance and SEO readiness.
  • Styling: Tailwind CSS + Lucide Icons for a clean, professional “SaaS” aesthetic.
  • Intelligence: Google Gemini 1.5 Pro Vision provides best-in-class image understanding with low latency.
  • Backend/Auth: Supabase handles secure authentication (Magic Links) with a “Zero-Retention” policy—we don’t store your fridge photos, respecting your privacy.
  • Hosting: Netlify for global CDN distribution.

Key Features

1. Visual Recipe Generation

Unlike traditional recipe apps that require you to type in ingredients (“I have chicken, rice
”), 15-Minute Chef uses computer vision. It “sees” the ingredients just like a chef would.

2. The “Recipe Card”

The output isn’t just text; it’s a beautifully designed digital card.

  • Smart Titles: Catchy names like “The ‘Save-the-Spinach’ Omelet”.
  • Macro Estimation: AI-generated estimates for Calories, Protein, Carbs, and Fat.
  • Downloadable: Users can download the recipe card as an image to keep on their phone.

3. Witty AI Persona

To make the waiting time entertaining, the loading state features a witty AI persona (“Judging your vegetable choices
”, “Consulting with Gordon Ramsay’s nice twin
”).

Why This Matters

This project explores the intersection of Computer Vision and everyday utility. It proves that AI doesn’t have to be complicated to be useful. By leveraging multimodal models like Gemini, we can build tools that understand the real world and provide immediate, actionable value.

Future Roadmap

  • Dietary Preferences: Adding filters for Vegan, Keto, or Gluten-Free.
  • “Missing Ingredient” Mode: Suggesting recipes that are almost possible, with a quick link to order the one missing item (Instacart integration).
  • History & Tracking: Premium features to track macros over time.

Try it out: 15-minute-chef.netlify.app View Repository: 15-Minute Chef on GitHub