Development Log
Entry 01 — March 2026
Prototype: AI Cooking Assistant
The Idea
RUE was inspired by a philosophy at the heart of the Disney Pixar film Ratatouille: “anyone can cook.”
In the film, Remy - a talented rat with a gift for cooking - quietly guides the aspiring chef Linguini step-by-step, acting as his hands, reacting to what’s happening in the kitchen.
Watching that dynamic made me wonder: what if recipes worked the same way? Instead of static instructions on a page, what if cooking guidance could respond to what’s actually happening in the kitchen?
RUE is an experiment exploring whether conversational AI can play the role of Remy — offering real-time cooking guidance like a true sous chef.
First Prototype
The first version of RUE started as a locally hosted web interface connected to OpenAI, to test the core interaction loop.
Early prompt frameworks focused on AI analyzing dishes and their ingredients and guiding users through sequential steps while allowing interruptions like “What should I prep next?” or “How long should this cook?”
Once the basic interaction worked, I deployed the prototype using Vercel to create a lightweight beta environment for testing.
Beta Launch
RUE is now in its first round of beta testing as a web application. At this stage, the goal is to understand how people actually interact with conversational cooking guidance.
What I'm Testing
Some early questions I'm exploring:
How much structure should the AI maintain during a recipe?
When should RUE provide proactive instructions vs waiting for prompts?
How conversational should cooking guidance feel compared to traditional recipes?
These questions will shape how the interaction model evolves in future versions.
Development Stack (Current)
OpenAI — conversational cooking guidance
Web interface — beta testing environment
Vercel — deployment
GitHub — version control
VS Code — backend configurations