Virtual Booth

CULINEC: Culinary Learning Intelligent Ecosystem

The rapid digital transformation in higher education has created a growing need for innovative learning tools that enhance students' competency development and support self-directed learning, particularly in practical disciplines such as culinary arts. Traditional teaching methods often limit individualized guidance during practical sessions, resulting in challenges related to recipe comprehension, food costing, culinary problem-solving, food safety, and reflective learning. To address these challenges, this project introduces CULINEC, an artificial intelligence-powered learning ecosystem designed to function as a 24/7 virtual mentor for culinary and hospitality students.

The system integrates multiple educational modules, including an AI Recipe Assistant, Food Cost Calculator, Culinary Troubleshooting, Knife Skills Guide, Food Safety Mentor, Menu Innovation Generator, Reflection Assistant, and Assessment Rubric Guide. These features provide students with personalized learning support before, during, and after practical classes while promoting independent learning and reducing reliance on instructor supervision. The platform also incorporates QR code-enabled learning resources, microlearning videos, standardized recipe databases, reflective journals, and competency-based assessment tools to create a comprehensive digital learning ecosystem.

CULINEC is expected to improve students' confidence, technical competency, problem-solving ability, and industry readiness while assisting lecturers in delivering more efficient, technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Beyond its educational benefits, the innovation supports sustainable practices through reduced paper usage, aligns with institutional digital transformation initiatives, and demonstrates strong commercialization potential through institutional licensing, subscription-based services, and mobile application development. As a scalable educational innovation, CULINEC has the potential to transform culinary education by bridging the gap between classroom instruction and industry expectations, thereby producing more competent, adaptive, and work-ready hospitality graduates.

Keywords: Culinary Learning Ecosystem, AI Assisted Learning, Culinary Art Module