For this project, we were challenged to design a service or product that celebrates a personal experience.
Before the start of CIID, the students who arrived early in Italy gathered at Lake Iseo. Immersed in the stunning landscape and the richness of Italian cuisine, we shared one of our first experiences as a cohort. The food photos we posted in our WhatsApp group sparked a great deal of interest from the team members who had yet to arrive. When our teammate Andres finally joined us, he was captivated by a specific photo of a bruschetta, and we were determined to recreate it for him. However, we quickly ran into obstacles: the unfamiliarity of the local ingredient names and the difficulty of locating affordable shopping options nearby.
To solve this and bridge the gap between inspiration and reality, we began working on Sous Chef, a digital companion that translates restaurant level inspiration into a home cooking reality. Designed for food enthusiasts and travelers, the app bridges the gap between culinary ambition and ingredient availability by helping users master complex recipes while pinpointing exactly where to find the necessary items in their local supermarkets. Our research showed that the biggest barrier to cooking isn't just skill, but the "treasure hunt" for specialized ingredients. By solving this logistics problem for students and immigrants, Sous Chef provides the value of confidence, turning every kitchen into a place of discovery. Ultimately, we learned that a culinary experience isn’t just about the final plate; it is about the entire journey of sourcing, preparing, and sharing.
"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." -James Beard
