Hi, I'm
Emmeline
Software developer. Built HomeBites as a side project to practice full-stack engineering and scratch a real itch: finding good home-cooked food that isn't overwhelmingly sweet.
Why I built this
Honestly? Two reasons. First, I wanted a real project to build with — something with enough surface area to touch full-stack engineering end-to-end: auth, database design, maps, payments, real-time messaging, file uploads, moderation. The kind of thing you can't get from tutorials.
Second, a genuine frustration: so much food in the US is way too sweet. Store-bought everything — bread, sauces, pastries — is loaded with sugar in a way that makes it hard to find food that actually tastes like food. Home cooks don't do that. People cooking for themselves and their neighbors tend to make things they actually want to eat.
"There are incredible home cooks in every neighborhood. They just have no way to reach their neighbors."
Beyond the food itself — local communities in the US are pretty fragmented. People live near each other for years without ever really connecting. Food is one of the most natural ways to change that. A marketplace where neighbors cook for each other is also just a reason to talk.
What HomeBites is
A peer-to-peer platform for home-cooked food. Cooks list what they're making; neighbors browse, request, and pick up. No commercial kitchen required — just good food, fairly priced, with real people behind it.
I'm building this solo right now — design, engineering, product. It's a learning project that I think could become something real. The technical side is nearly there. What's harder is community: getting the first cooks on, building trust, making the network actually useful.
If that sounds interesting to you in any way, reach out.
Built with
Plus TypeScript strict mode, Row Level Security everywhere, and a lot of PostHog funnels I anxiously check on weekends.
What I'm looking for
This is early-stage. If any of it sounds interesting, I'm easy to reach.
Someone to build with
A co-founder or collaborator — design, ops, community building, or engineering. The hard part right now is less technical than it is human.
Early cooks
Home cooks in any city who want to try listing what they make. You don't need a commercial kitchen — just food you're proud of.
Community connectors
People already embedded in local communities — neighborhood groups, cultural orgs, local events — who see the value in this.
Anyone with thoughts
If you have feedback, ideas, or just want to poke holes in the concept — that's genuinely useful too.
Let's talk
Whether you're a potential collaborator, a home cook with an idea, or just someone who wants to say hi — my inbox is open.
Send me a messageemmelinexu23@gmail.com