Proposal Revisited

I didn’t re-write too much of this. I just went through and tried to clean up some of the extra fluff.

Executive Summary:
Are you a picky eater? Do you want to broaden your culinary experience but don’t know where to start? Pick-E-Recipe is the tool for you. Designed with adventurous picky eaters in mind, Pick-E-Recipe is an interactive search app whose main feature is a weekly video blog (vlog) that showcases holistic recipes requested by other subscribers.

Type in the natural food or foods you like – or would like to try – and Pick-E-Recipe will provide you with a list of recipes that include those items. You can also save your favorites for later use. For visual learners, the built-in vlog will feature a new recipe each week – either from a professional chef or users’ own home videos. Or, if you’re shopping and something new piques your interest, look it up and compare it to other items then decide if it’s worth the purchase. Consider Pick-E-Recipe a free and easy way to become more adventurous in eating and cooking.

Problem Statement:
Online you find sites like foodnetwork.com or cookingtutorials.com that provide users with recipes and health options. Recipes are often offered in written step-by-step format. But it seems that there is a shortage of video tutorials. While more experienced cooks may know what a “pinch of salt” looks like, beginning cooks (like me) want that visual aid for reference. While you can find numerous how-to videos on YouTube, wouldn’t it be great to have an experienced chef accessible anytime, anywhere showing you the ropes through your smart phone?

There are apps that help you count calories and manage your weight. There are apps that compare nutritional value of different foods and apps that compare prices. But what about picky eaters wanting to try more at their own pace with ingredients they know they like? Pick-E-Recipe is the one-stop answer without the embarrassment of having to explain yourself to others. No more asking “will there be anything there for me to eat?”

Project Description:
Pick-E-Recipe is free to download and can be installed on your smart phone, tablet or computer. Subscribers use their email as a username and can access their account through any device that has the app installed.

The app provides three main tabs: recipe search, compare and recipe vlog.

Recipe Search: This is for picky eaters looking to gain more experience in the kitchen. The recipe tab allows you to type in a list of food items you want to cook with and will provide you with a list of recipes. These recipes can vary in expertise levels (beginner to difficult) and will be available for use all at once – giving you the option to choose based on your own comfort level. Within this tab you can save favorite recipes in a personalized “recipe box.”

Compare:This feature is for the picky shopper who’s looking to try something new. Use this tab as a food thesaurus. Look up specific food(s) and find out its food group, taste, texture and best preparation methods. You can also find out what other foods it is similar to.

This will be exceptionally handy in the fruits and vegetables department where many leafy greens may look the same but differ greatly in taste and texture once cooked i.e. kale versus lettuce or basil versus baby spinach.

Because this tool gives a side by side comparison, it could reduce unnecessary buying or increase someone’s willingness to try something new because they know ahead of time what it may taste like.

Vlog: This is the most highlighted feature of Pick-E-Recipe.
Here you can watch video tutorials on the most requested recipes and other kitchen “how-to.” The tutorials are presented by a myriad of culinary professionals. A new recipe will be featured each week. Older videos will be kept in an archive and can be accessed at any time. Or, users can have the option of uploading their own videos showing first-person accounts of successes and/or failures.

Subscribers will also have an opportunity to write to the featured chefs and request recipes or other culinary how-to for future videos. Beginner cooks need a reference when learning proper technique of using kitchen tools and preparing foods. This app will provide that.

Pick-E-Recipe will work with farmers, butchers and professional chefs that specialize in holistic and all natural foods in order to provide subscribers with top information on the best fruits and vegetables, prime cuts of meat and how to best prepare it all.

About PickyFoodLover:
The name says it all. I am a food lover and novice cook with a palate that is hard to satisfy. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find recipes worth making; since most of the time I only like one or two of the ingredients. I often ask “what is it similar to that I actually eat?” Most of the time the person I ask couldn’t give a solid or satisfactory answer. However, I am willing to try (almost) anything once – as long as I know ahead of time what I can expect.

I don’t consider myself a “real” cook. I know a couple of recipes that I use quite often. But I am forcing myself to become braver in the kitchen by slowly branching out and trying foods similar to those I already enjoy. Through my own experiences, I want to show other picky eaters that they aren’t alone and that it is OK to learn at your own pace.