The Food and Restaurant Recommender is a machine learning project that uses Precision / recall evaluation and User-item interaction dataset, built and evaluated with FastAPI for serving. It follows a reproducible, modular workflow where data preparation, model training, evaluation, and serving stay clearly separated. The project emphasizes solid engineering alongside modelling, so it can be extended, retrained, and presented confidently as a final year capstone.
Existing approaches to this problem are often manual, inconsistent, and unable to scale with larger or noisier data. Without a data-driven system built on User-item interaction dataset and FastAPI for serving, decisions are slow and prone to bias, and there is no structured way to measure performance or adapt to changing patterns over time.
This project develops an end-to-end ML solution that ingests data through Precision / recall evaluation, builds and tunes a model with FastAPI for serving, and exposes results through Collaborative filtering model. The workflow is designed for reproducibility and easy retraining, with clear evaluation metrics and logging. It delivers faster, consistent, data-backed results and can be extended to related problems with minimal changes.
FastAPI for serving
SQLite / Postgres storage
Python 3.11+
Reproducible environment (requirements lock)
Structured logging and error handling
Configuration-driven settings
Surprise / implicit libraries
Pandas / NumPy
Reproducible pipeline around Precision / recall evaluation and User-item interaction dataset
Configurable model and evaluation settings
Clear metrics, plots, and logging
Modular, reusable components
Documented API or interface for results
Easy retraining with new data
The project is organized in layers: the data layer prepares and validates inputs through Precision / recall evaluation; the modelling layer trains and tunes the model with FastAPI for serving and User-item interaction dataset; and the serving layer exposes predictions via Collaborative filtering model. Shared configuration, evaluation, and logging modules support every layer, and the whole pipeline is version-controlled and reproducible. This structure makes the project easy to debug, benchmark, and extend.
Set up the Python environment, project structure, and configuration files.
Acquire and clean the dataset, building the data layer with Precision / recall evaluation.
Perform feature engineering and build the modelling pipeline with FastAPI for serving.
Train, tune, and evaluate the model, integrating User-item interaction dataset for validation.
Build the serving layer with Collaborative filtering model and connect end-to-end flows.
Write tests, add logging, and document results with visualizations.
Package the project and prepare the demo and viva report.
Master end-to-end machine learning project workflows
Apply Building recommendation APIs and Collaborative and content-based filtering on real data
Build reproducible and maintainable ML code
Evaluate models with the right metrics
Present and defend a complete ML project in viva
Serve the model as a REST API for real-time predictions
Add automated retraining and drift monitoring
Containerize and deploy with CI/CD
Integrate explainability for every prediction
The Food and Restaurant Recommender demonstrates a professional, end-to-end machine learning approach — from data and modelling to evaluation and serving. It is reproducible, practical, and easy to present, making it a strong final year ML project that stands out to examiners and recruiters alike.
