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NelsonLAN
NelsonLAN

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How a non-CS student approaches the topic of "A menu translator for a local restaurant that handles their specific dishes better than a generic tool"

#devchallenge #hf26challenge #noncsstudent #lowcode

Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 2: Side Hustle Submission 💸

This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 2: Side Hustle

What I Built

Topic:

A menu translator for a local restaurant that handles their specific dishes better than a generic tool.

Research Aim:

  • To examine how a non-CS student (Digital Media, with a low-code background) can implement this topic.

Why Does Open Innovation Matter?

【A. Pain Points / Why Generic Translators Fall Short】

  1. Literal Naming: Tools like Google Translate convert regional slang, or speciality cooking methods word-by-word, leaving you with confusing names like "husband and wife lung slices" or parts that make no sense.

  2. No Preparation Info: Generic apps rarely explain how a dish is cooked (e.g., braised, stir-fried, clay-pot) or what flavour profile to expect (sour, numbing-spicy, sweet-and-sour).

【B. What Specialised Menu Tools Do Differently】

Users and owners have UX concerns.

  1. Dish-Level Context: Apps built for food translation explain the actual ingredients, regional background, and flavour profiles.

  2. Allergy and Dietary Filters: Dedicated tools let you flag common allergens (shellfish, peanuts, gluten, dairy) or dietary restrictions to warn you or fade out unsafe options.

  3. Restaurant-Facing Publishing Tools: If you are a restaurant owner looking to publish your own custom menu, specialised workflows.

【Creative Coding Technologies】

  1. Applied some JSON structure to structure it to indicate how the dish is prepared, what animal (+parts) is in it, actual allergy flags, etc other concerns.

  2. Used minimal HTML, CSS, and JS as local web-based apps; can be expanded into Server-Client hosting by exporting into HTML and JSON structure storage.

Artefact / Demo / Code

GitHub logo nelsonlan01 / Hacktoberfest-2026-Project-Menu

Hacktoberfest 2026 Menu Translator Demonstration Repo

Topic : [Example Topic] A menu translator for a local restaurant that handles their specific dishes better than a generic tool.

【Why Generic Translators Fall Short】

  1. Literal Naming: Tools like Google Translate convert regional slang, local protein cuts, or speciality cooking methods word-by-word, leaving you with confusing names like "husband and wife lung slices" or literal animal parts that make no sense.

  2. No Preparation Info: Generic apps rarely explain how a dish is cooked (e.g., braised, stir-fried, clay-pot) or what flavour profile to expect (sour, numbing-spicy, sweet-and-sour).

【What Specialised Menu Tools Do Differently】

  1. Dish-Level Context: Apps built for food translation explain the actual ingredients, regional background, and flavour profiles.

  2. Allergy and Dietary Filters: Dedicated tools let you flag common allergens (shellfish, peanuts, gluten, dairy) or dietary restrictions to warn you or fade out unsafe options.

  3. Restaurant-Facing Publishing Tools: If you are a restaurant owner looking to publish your own custom…

View on GitHub

https://nelsonlan01.github.io/Hacktoberfest-2026-Project-Menu/

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