An Excel file at its limit
Wankas is the brand of an independent caterer who belongs to a collective of independent caterers.
A discovery interview helped define the need. She walked me through her day-to-day work, the Excel file she had built herself, and how it made her life easier despite its limitations: hidden errors, such as incorrectly grouped ingredients and mixed units, and a level of complexity it could no longer handle.
She built the file on her own. No one else in the collective has anything like it: the other caterers do everything by hand.
The cost is tangible. A forgotten shopping item means a round trip to the wholesaler in the middle of production. Half a day lost.
Delivered in 4 days
The goal: a simple interface with a production page that automatically calculates ingredient quantities based on the order. This would let kitchen assistants work independently, simply by following the instructions on the document.
I built a first version with Lovable and Supabase and delivered it 4 days after the interview. Four screens: ingredients, dishes, catering jobs and production.
Checked before the real-world test
Before handing it over, I checked the calculation engine against 5 of her recipe specification sheets and a real order run through the tool. The totals match.
The test that matters
The real-world test is under way: entering a recipe specification sheet, checking her shopping list and production schedule, on her own, without me beside her.
A follow-up interview is planned to identify any adjustments needed.
If it holds up, the next step is to offer it to the other caterers in the collective.