Technologies
Overview
Round Table is a capstone project which was required by the HTD Talent bootcamp. I spent two months going through this bootcamp with intentions of skilling up and connecting with others in the industry. In this project I worked alongside 3 other engineers where we were tasked with creating a functioning full stack CRUD application of our choosing with a deliverable timeline of only 3 days.
Problem
Cooking can be intimidating for beginners, and while countless recipes exist online, many platforms fail to offer intuitive filtering by dietary needs, skill level, or preferences. Additionally, home cooks who want to share personal recipes often face friction—whether through overly formal submission processes or the barrier of starting and maintaining a blog. There's a need for a simple, community-driven platform that welcomes contributions and helps users find relevant recipes with ease.
Solution
Round Table is a full-stack recipe-sharing app designed to empower both seasoned home chefs and first-time cooks. Users can sign up, create and edit recipes, leave comments, upvote their favorites, and filter recipes based on categories like "vegetarian" or "beginner-friendly." Admins can manage categories, feature recipes on the homepage, and moderate content. The app includes role-based access, a PostgreSQL schema with normalized entities, and file storage with AWS S3. Search functionality is powered by ElasticSearch for dynamic, relevant discovery.
Key Highlights
Built in 3 days by a 4-person team as a full-stack capstone project
Implemented role-based access with JWT and Spring Security
CRUD support for users, recipes, ingredients, comments, favorites
ElasticSearch-powered search and category filtering
Admin dashboard for moderation, featured content, and category curation
Image upload and storage via AWS S3 buckets
Services Delivered
Full-Stack Application Development
Backend Architecture & API Design
Relational Database Modeling
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Search & Filtering System Integration
Admin Dashboard & Content Moderation Tools
Cloud Storage Integration (AWS S3)
Collaborative Git Workflow & Agile Delivery
Learnings & Reflections
This project sharpened my ability to scope and execute a full-stack application under tight time constraints. I practiced team collaboration across Git workflows, implemented multi-role access logic, and worked extensively with Spring Boot’s MVC pattern and PostgreSQL relationships. It also gave me confidence integrating external services like ElasticSearch and AWS S3, while deepening my understanding of building scalable, secure CRUD applications from scratch.
Previous Project
Gorillageddon
A fast-paced VR brawler where you play as a superpowered gorilla taking on 100 human combatants in a dystopian showdown.
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