gumbo

Problem

Gumbo set out to solve a practical kitchen problem: people waste food and time because recipe sites assume you already know what to cook. Users needed a way to search by what is actually in their fridge and pantry, discover recipes from across the internet, and save collections without juggling bookmarks and scattered tabs.

Approach

I joined the team as a React developer and focused on a responsive interface that could handle fast ingredient search, smooth browsing, and clear calls to action on both desktop and mobile. The product leaned on custom APIs for search and curation, so the front end had to stay performant while integrating those services cleanly. We used Panda CSS and Ark UI to keep styling consistent and interactions polished without slowing delivery.

What I built

• A React, TypeScript, and Next.js interface for ingredient-based recipe search and discovery
• Collection flows so users could curate and revisit recipes from across the web
• Integrations with custom APIs that powered search, filtering, and content retrieval
• Motion and layout work with Framer to make browsing feel fluid and intentional
• Accessible UI patterns with Ark UI, styled with Panda CSS for a cohesive design system
• Cross-device responsive layouts tested for the hero, search, and ingredient-tag patterns

The live site was published at gumbo.kitchen in October 2024.

Outcome

Gumbo shipped as a responsive food search experience that made ingredient-led cooking feel approachable — helping users waste less, find recipes faster, and build collections they could return to. The stack gave the team a maintainable React foundation with a polished UI layer they could extend as the platform evolved.