Research
Finding people already living the problem
Research was designed to capture authentic perspectives from both sides of the marketplace. Rather than recruiting participants who might only approximate the target user, I sought out people already embedded in the problem space — real clients who had navigated informal personal chef arrangements and working chefs who had built independent practices outside of restaurant kitchens.
Six participants were involved across the research phase, recruited through a combination of peer networks and a critical real-world access point: a supper club discovered through a faculty connection.
What we heard
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Stuck in a rotation of the same delivery apps with diminishing satisfaction
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Dietary restrictions rarely accommodated well by standard food services
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Desire for fresh, personal food without the time to cook it themselves
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Perceived cost and complexity of hiring a chef felt prohibitive
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Coordinating informal chef arrangements required too much manual effort
Client Frustrations
Chef Frustrations
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Client acquisition relied entirely on word of mouth — inconsistent and unpredictable
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Payment collection was unstructured with no standard process or protection
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Scheduling across multiple clients required constant manual coordination
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Restaurant work offered financial instability and creative constraint
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No platform existed that treated private chefs as professional service providers
Role
Timeline
UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UI Designer
6 weeks
Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, and Miro
Tools
Who's cooking tonight?
Seven out of ten Americans say they'd rather eat a home-cooked meal than takeout. Yet rising work demands, packed schedules, and the steep learning curve of cooking make that preference increasingly hard to act on. At the same time, a quiet exodus is happening in professional kitchens — trained chefs leaving restaurant jobs in search of more flexible, creatively fulfilling work.
Roux is an MVP app concept that connects these two groups: clients craving fresh, chef-prepared meals at home, and independent chefs building businesses on their own terms. The design challenge was to make this exchange feel as intuitive and accessible as opening a delivery app , while solving the trust, logistics, and discovery problems that make the personal chef market inaccessible today.
7 out of 10 Americans would rather eat a homemade meal than takeout. However due to increase in professional responsibility and work hours less and less have the time or skills to prepare these meals.
American food culture has become more focused on health benefits. Many view homemade meals as a healthier option over restaurants.
Global food culture has also become more expansive with consumers seeking to expand their palate and being more open to a wider range of cuisines.
Define
Two people. One platform.
Roux is a two-sided marketplace, which means every design decision has to hold up for two fundamentally different users with different goals, different frustrations, and different definitions of success. Personas were developed to keep both perspectives present throughout every design decision.
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Self Actualization
Many chefs and cooks are moving away from traditional restaurant work due to burnout, financial uncertainties, and a desire for more control over their work-life balance.
Implications for design:
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Consider functionalities that empower chefs to have greater control over their culinary careers.
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Address burnout concerns by designing features that prioritize a healthy work-life balance.
The central tension in designing Roux: optimizing for the client experience at the expense of the chef experience would destroy the supply side of the marketplace. A platform that doesn't genuinely serve Sarah will never attract the chefs that make Zola's experience possible.
Creative Freedom and Low Overhead
Selling meals through Instagram provides chefs with creative freedom and lower overhead costs compared to traditional restaurants.
Implications for design:
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Emphasize features that support creative expression.
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Ensure the app minimizes operational complexities, allowing chefs to focus on their craft.
Direct Creator-Consumer Connection
Interpersonal connections are formed between chefs and their customers.
Implications for Design:
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Prioritize features that facilitate direct interaction between chefs and consumers.
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Consider implementing communication channels that enhance the sense of community within the app.
Cultural and Personal Connection
The chefs expressed a strong desire to share their cultural and personal identities through their culinary creations.
Implications for Design:
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Explore features that enable chefs to showcase their culinary heritage.
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Foster a deeper connection between chefs and customers who appreciate diverse and authentic cuisines.
Low-Fidelity Mock-ups
Hi-Fidelity Mock-ups
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Home Page
The goal of the homepage is to connect clients with chefs as quickly as possible. The optimum path for users is to select the "find chef" function where they will be directed to enter service needs that will then filter out chefs who cannot meet their needs.
Chef Profile & Menu
It was important to have customers review and ratings clearly presented to build trust clients have in chefs. Chefs are also required to list ingredients for meals incase clients have special dietary needs.
Item Page
The item page will be available for users to read a short description of the meal and review the ingredients used in the meal in order to check for any to that conflict with dietary restriction.
Chats
Chat function was designed as a means to build rapport between client and chef. It also provides an opportunity to discuss dietary and preparation needs that cannot be accounted for in the design process.
Order History
The order history page is where users will be able to review their past and future services. Users will be able to reorder a previous service without having to go through the hassle of having to remember the name of the chef an meal.
Chats
What's next?
Next phases for this project will should be focused toward designing a chef side interface. This will provide an opportunity to dive deeper into the user needs of service providers. Though chefs were consulted on what would kinds of services would be viable for the app and customer needs, my research was not focused on what would be the most efficient process on the chefs end.
