ChefBible

Overview

ChefBible is a self-hosted, mobile-friendly recipe and menu management tool designed for real-world kitchen use.
It is optimized for speed, simplicity, and offline-friendly workflows so cooks can find, read, and add recipes in under 10 seconds.

The app is built with:

• SvelteKit for UI and server logic
• TailwindCSS for responsive, kitchen-friendly design
• Prisma as the ORM
• PostgreSQL as the database

This repo is intentionally structured to make onboarding both humans and LLMs easy, so all core context is documented here.

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Purpose

ChefBible aims to replace clunky recipe binders, scattered Google Docs, and slow web apps with something built for the kitchen.
It focuses on:

1. Storing and organizing recipes
2. Tracking ingredients and allergens
3. Building menus from recipes
4. Displaying everything in a fast, easy-to-read format on tablets or phones

MVP Rule:
If a feature isn’t needed for a cook to find, read, or add a recipe in <10 seconds, it is not part of Phase 1–2.

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Core Features

Recipes

• Name, description, instructions, optional photo
• Linked ingredients (with quantity/unit/prep notes)
• Automatic allergen mapping from ingredients
• “Kitchen Mode” for step-by-step cooking view

Ingredients

• Unique name
• Linked allergens
• Linked to recipes via RecipeIngredient

Allergens

• Name + optional description
• Linked to ingredients

Menus

• Name + optional season
• Contains recipes in sortable order

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Data Model Summary

Recipe --(RecipeIngredient)--> Ingredient --(IngredientAllergens)--> Allergen
Menu --(MenuRecipe)--> Recipe
Tables:
Recipe: Core recipe info

Ingredient: Basic ingredient info + allergens

Allergen: Common allergen definitions

Menu: Collection of recipes

RecipeIngredient: Join table with quantity/unit/prep

MenuRecipe: Join table with position

UI Patterns
List + Detail
Recipes, ingredients, and menus use a consistent split layout: search/filter on one side, detail view on the other.

Form with Inline Add
Add missing ingredients without leaving the recipe form.

Tag/Chip Display
Allergens and prep notes shown as color-coded chips.

Kitchen Mode
Large font, high contrast, step-by-step cooking instructions.

Menu Builder
Drag-and-drop ordering of recipes in a menu.

Global Search
Accessible from anywhere with / key shortcut.

Development Phases
Phase 1 — Core Foundation
Local dev setup with repeatable builds

Postgres + Prisma migration & seed

Direct Prisma usage in +page.server.ts actions

Phase 2 — Minimum Usable UI
CRUD for recipes, ingredients, menus

Recipe form with ingredient selector + allergen auto-mapping

Phase 3 — Internal Dogfooding
Fast search

Menu builder

Mobile-first adjustments

Phase 4 — Stability & Shareability
JSON export/import for recipes

Refined allergen mapping

Search & filtering enhancements

Local Development
Prerequisites
Node.js 20+

PostgreSQL 16+ (local or Docker)

npm

Setup
bash
Copy
Edit
git clone <repo-url>
cd chefbible

npm install

# Start Postgres (example using Docker)
docker compose up -d

# Run migrations & seed
npx prisma migrate dev --name init
npx prisma db seed

# Start dev server
npm run dev
Notes for LLMs
Framework: SvelteKit with Node adapter

DB Layer: Prisma (/src/lib/server/db/*.ts contains reusable queries)

Routing: Use +page.server.ts and form actions for now; no dedicated API routes until external consumers are needed

UI: TailwindCSS utility-first design, mobile-first sizing

Performance Requirement: All page loads & actions <500ms on LAN

Design Priority: Minimal clicks, fast search, allergen visibility