🍳 SousChef – Gamify Cooking For Your Pet

SousChef is a modern, interactive recipe and meal planning application that brings fun to cooking! SousChef gamifies the cooking process, tracks culinary progress, and makes grocery shopping effortless.

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🎯 Key Features

✅ Core Functionality

• Recipe Management (Full CRUD)

  • Create, update, delete, and browse recipes.
  • Auto-generate shopping lists from recipes.
  • Upload recipe images using AWS S3.

• Shopping List Management (Full CRUD)

  • Create, update, and share shopping lists.
  • Generate ingredient lists automatically from selected recipes.

• XP & SousChef Evolution System

  • Earn XP by engaging with the app (adding recipes, completing cooking tasks).
  • Level up your SousChef pet avatar based on progress.

🔥 Upcoming Features

• Ratings & Reviews for recipes
• Favorites & Following (social features)
• Achievements & Badges for culinary milestones
• Real-time notifications
• AI-powered smart recipe suggestions
• Grocery delivery integration

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend:

• Node.js with Express.js
• Sequelize ORM for database management
• PostgreSQL (Production) / SQLite3 (Development)
• Authentication: bcryptjs, JWT
• File Uploads: AWS S3 + Multer
• Security: csurf, helmet
• OAuth Integration: Google, Facebook, Discord, Apple

Frontend:

• React with Vite
• Redux for state management
• Framer Motion for animations
• React Beautiful DnD (Drag & Drop UI)
• React Toastify for notifications

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🏗️ Installation & Setup

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/heykatie/SousChef.git
cd souschef

2️⃣ Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
npm run dev

3️⃣ Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

4️⃣ Database Setup

npx sequelize db:create
npx sequelize db:migrate
npx sequelize db:seed:all

5️⃣ Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend directory with:

PORT=8000
DATABASE_URL=your_postgres_url
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_aws_key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_aws_secret
AWS_BUCKET_NAME=your_s3_bucket

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📖 API Documentation

• SousChef API Docs (Coming Soon)
• RESTful API with authentication and protected routes

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🎨 UI/UX Design

• Wireframes & UI Mockups
• Navigation:
  • Top Navbar – Quick actions
  • Left Sidebar – Primary navigation
  • Right Sidebar – XP tracking & notifications
• Dark Mode Support (Planned)

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🚀 Deployment

• Backend: Hosted on Render
• Database: PostgreSQL

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📜 License

SousChef is licensed under the MIT License.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch (feature-branch).
3. Commit your changes.
4. Open a pull request.

For major changes, please open an issue to discuss before proceeding.

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🛠️ Issues & Support

If you encounter any issues or have feature requests, please open an issue.

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