OpenAI 2026 hackathon

Master Meals

Master Meals is the meal-planning app built around recipes you already love, with AI on hand to tailor every dish to the way you cook.

Solo project by Jeremy C Pack · 0 likes · 0 comments

Archive position — measured, not model output

0 likes on Devpost

2,264 of the 7,856 archived projects have more likes, and 5,592 share exactly 0 — so this project's #5,170 place in the like-ranked listing is a tie-break inside that group, not a ranking.

Projects (log scale)

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1k
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Likes on Devpost. ▲ marks this project's group.

Show the figures
LikesProjectsShare of archive
05,59271.2%
11,75822.4%
22853.6%
3–41321.7%
5–9751.0%
10+140.2%
Devpost like counts for all 7,856 archived projects, captured when this archive was built.

Executive Summary

What the company appears to be: Master Meals is a personal recipe and meal-planning app built around users’ own collections of recipes, with AI assistance for tailoring dishes to individual cooking preferences. It was independently developed by one person (Jeremy C Pack) as a solution to a personal problem—organizing family meals without relying on scattered bookmarks or notes.

What changed: The project evolved from a simple list in a notes app into a structured workflow that includes recipe import, meal planning, scaling, and shopping list generation. AI is used for interaction with an assistant named Chef Remy, but the core functionality remains centered on personal use rather than public or commercial features.

Single most important open question: Is there evidence of user adoption or engagement beyond the founder’s own experience? The description does not indicate any users outside of the developer, nor does it show traction, revenue, or customer data. This is a critical gap in understanding whether this is a product with real market demand or an experimental tool.

Analysis basis: Self-reported and unverified. No third-party sources, archived history, or independent corroboration. All claims are from the author’s own account.

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What The Product Actually Is

The description states that Master Meals is a personal recipe and meal-planning app built around users’ own collections—not a large catalog of recipes to browse. It allows users to import recipes from supported websites, Instagram, TikTok, or add them manually. Users can organize and search their cookbook, create flexible weekly meal plans, scale recipes for different serving sizes, and automatically generate one consolidated shopping list.

Chef Remy is described as an AI assistant available to answer questions and update recipes according to user preferences or cooking style.

Inference: The app appears to be a personal productivity tool focused on simplifying home cooking workflows. It is not a marketplace or platform for sharing recipes with others, nor does it appear to have monetization features.

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Positioning & Claim Evolution

The author positions Master Meals as a replacement for scattered bookmarks, screenshots, and notes. The core idea is to centralize one’s favorite recipes into a coherent workflow: saving what you love, planning when to cook it, and knowing what to buy.

It evolved from a personal need (organizing family meals) into a tool that supports a more structured approach to meal planning and grocery shopping.

Claim: The app aims to streamline the process of managing personal recipes and meal plans using AI.

Inference: It is positioned as a utility for individuals, not a scalable SaaS product or marketplace.

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Target Customer & ICP

The description does not identify specific target customers or personas. However, it implies that the app is intended for people who cook regularly for themselves or their families and want to avoid the chaos of managing recipes across multiple sources.

It is described as being built around “recipes you already love,” suggesting a user base that values personalization and control over content.

Inference: The primary audience likely includes home cooks, especially parents or individuals with regular meal-planning needs. No segmentation beyond this general group is evident.

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Business Model & Pricing Evidence

There is no mention of pricing models, monetization strategies, or business model in the description. The app appears to be a personal tool without any indication of commercial intent or revenue streams.

Not evidenced: No data on pricing, subscriptions, transactions, or monetization methods.

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Technical & Delivery Signals

The project was built using:

  • FastAPI (backend)
  • Flutter (frontend/mobile)
  • PostgreSQL (database)
  • Python (programming language)

Development tools included Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, and Codex with GPT-5.6 for iterative improvements in UI/UX, recipe editing, AI interactions, and onboarding.

Inference: The technical stack suggests a modern, cross-platform mobile application built with open-source and AI-enhanced development practices. However, no evidence of scalability, infrastructure, or production deployment is provided.

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Traction & Maturity Signals

The description states that this is the first app Jeremy C Pack has built independently from start to finish. It also mentions that he removed several ambitious ideas during development to keep the product focused and useful.

There is no mention of:

  • Users
  • Downloads
  • Engagement metrics
  • Revenue
  • Customer feedback or retention

Not evidenced: No traction, adoption, or user behavior data is available.

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Competitive Context

The description does not reference existing competitors or market positioning. It focuses on the founder’s personal experience and problem-solving process rather than comparing against other tools in the space.

Inference: While similar apps may exist (e.g., meal-planning or recipe management tools), there is no evidence of competitive analysis, differentiation strategy, or awareness of the broader marketplace.

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Key Risks & Red Flags

  • Lack of external validation: The app has no users beyond the founder.
  • No monetization strategy: No indication of how the product will generate revenue.
  • Single-founder development: Limited team capacity may constrain growth and feature expansion.
  • AI dependency without clarity on AI integration: While AI is mentioned, there’s no detail on how it functions or whether it’s a core differentiator.
  • No scalability or infrastructure evidence: No mention of hosting, data handling, or performance considerations.

Inference: The risk of building a product that solves a personal problem but lacks broader market appeal is high. Without traction or feedback, the app may not meet real-world needs beyond its creator’s use case.

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Diligence Questions To Ask The Founders

  1. How many people are currently using Master Meals outside of yourself?
  2. What specific problems do users face that this tool solves?
  3. Have you tested the app with others or gathered feedback from potential users?
  4. Are there plans to monetize the product, and if so, what model are you considering?
  5. What is your roadmap for expanding beyond personal use into a more scalable platform?
  6. How do you plan to handle recipe consistency when importing from various sources?
  7. What role does AI play in actual user workflows, and how reliable is it?

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Investment/Partnership Verdict

At this stage, Master Meals appears to be an experimental tool developed by one person to solve a personal problem. There is no evidence of traction, revenue, or customer engagement beyond the founder’s own experience.

Verdict: Not ready for investment or partnership at this time. The product lacks commercial viability indicators and user validation. It may evolve into something valuable, but current evidence does not support a conclusion that it has reached a stage where it can be evaluated as a business opportunity.

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Source

Submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon on Devpost. Project home on DevPost.

The analysis above was generated by a language model from the project's own one-line description. It is not independent research and contains no verified traction, revenue or customer data.