Redesign of Gastronomixs
“How can we guide chefs in their search of inspiration and support Gastronomixs’ international growth?”
Gastronomixs is a platform with inspiration and knowlegde for chefs. They offer recipes that chefs can use as building blocks for their own recipes. Since its launch in 2012, it has grown to over 28,000 subscribers in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK. However, its ambition is much larger—expanding internationally.
Our challenge was to redesign the platform to support this growth while improving the user experience and increasing conversion rates from trial to paid memberships.
PERIOD
September - November 2020
PROJECT GOALS
Rebuild the platform with improved data structure and technology
Improve the user experience
Increase the conversion rate from trial to paid membership
MY ROLE
UX Lead, UX Research and Interaction Design
Background
I led the user research and interaction design from discovery to launch, ensuring the platform better supported chefs’ inspiration journey. My key responsibilities included:
Conducting user research to understand how chefs seek inspiration and navigate the platform
Designing and testing new features to better support the inspiration journey and improve usability
Collaborating with development to optimize the platform’s taxonomy and data structure
The process
We used the Triple Diamond process for this project up to the first release.
Understanding the chefs: UX Research approach & key insights
To ensure the platform was grounded in real user needs, we combined existing user data with new interviews. To gain a deeper understanding of the creative process and routines of professional chefs, we interviewed seven chefs about their daily workflow and sources of inspiration.
Research methods
📊 Data Analysis: Reviewed platform analytics, user feedback, and survey results
🎤 User Interviews: Spoke with 7 professional chefs to explore their inspiration process
Key insights & identified problems
1. The Chef’s Daily Workflow
Chefs have long, high-paced workdays with little time for experiment.
During service, they need to find alternative components for allergies or missing ingredients.
After service, they explore new inspiration—often with colleagues over drinks.
💡 Problem: The platform didn’t support allergy-friendly searches, making quick alternatives difficult.
2. The Inspiration Journey
Chefs aim to create unique, signature dishes, rather than directly copying recipes.
Their inspiration starts with seasonal availability, often planning one season ahead.
They need a responsive seasonal calendar to help guide their ingredient choices.
💡 Problems Identified:
The seasonal calendar wasn’t mobile-friendly, making it difficult to use in kitchens.
Chefs had to go back to the homepage to search for recipes linked to seasonal ingredients.
User stories
Based on our research, we had a list of the most important user stories and criteria. I listed a few below.
Examples of user stories
I quickly need an egg-free alternative to mayonnaise
I have a lot of X left over, and am looking for ideas of what I can do with it.
I am looking for inspiration for fish menu for next season.
Design & test
Design
We ideated on the user scenarios, created a first high-level interaction design with the most important user flows and features and created a new branding.
Prototyping & testing
To test if we were on the right track, we tested our designs early with a low-fidelity prototype
Goal: Validate new navigation, branding, and core user flows
Prototype: Created a low-fidelity prototype in Axure, tested remotely via Google Meet
Participants: 7 professional chefs
Findings from the user tests:
New navigation was described as intuitive
Branding was well received and aligned with Gastronomixs' values
Chefs with expired trials were still using search but not opening recipes—this led to our paywall strategy
““I use the search to find inspiration what I can do with a certain ingredient. I never open the recipe itself, because I know how to make it. Seeing all the recipes in one overview is enough for me to get inspired.””
Next design iteration: hypothesis driven designs
To ensure the new platform design and features effectively met our goals, we formulated clear hypotheses and defined the key metrics needed to validate them. This approach allowed us to test assumptions systematically and make data-informed design decisions.
Collaboration with Development:
To ensure a future-proof structure, I worked closely with the lead developer and architect to create a scalable taxonomy and data model, allowing:
Allergen filters to be automatically applied based on ingredients
Interlinked content to enable dynamic filtering and search improvements
Streamlined content management, reducing duplicate entries
The final design
For new users
a visual attractive homepage that guides them through the possibilities and benefits of Gastronomixs
highlight ‘free’ components to showcase the professional and detailed level of content
a frictionless free trial signup
For logged-in users
The search bar is always on top of the page, because chefs should be able to use it as quick as possible.
New filters for allergies & dietary restrictions
The new design supports the chef in organizing inspiration in so called ‘collections’.
A redesigned mobile-friendly seasonal calendar
For expired account users
A targeted paywall that increased upgrades by 20%
A simplified upgrade process to convert users faster
Impact & key results
20% increase in paid memberships after implementing the paywall
Improved search experience with filtering options, reducing time to find relevant recipes
A smooth user experience on mobile
My learnings
Testing early leads to better prioritization: By validating with chefs upfront, we avoided costly rework.
Data-driven design decisions are powerful: We removed low-value features based on user data, focusing on high-impact improvements.
Technical collaboration is crucial: Working closely with development from the start helped avoid limitations later.
Conclusion
This project reinforced my belief in the power of early UX research and iterative testing. By deeply understanding chefs' workflows, we were able to redesign Gastronomixs to be more intuitive, inspiring, and conversion-focused—while also setting up a solid technical foundation for future growth.