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Overview

The menu management system allows admins and chefs to create, update, and organize food items with comprehensive details including nutritional information, pricing, and categorization.

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Food Model

The Food model represents individual menu items with all their attributes.
app/Models/Food.php
class Food extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;

    protected $table = 'food';

    protected $fillable = [
        'title',
        'price',
        'image',
        'description',
        'ingredients',
        'proteins',
        'calories',
        'size',
        'category_id'
    ];

    // Relationship: A food belongs to a category
    public function category()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Category::class);
    }
}

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Food Attributes

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title
string
required
The name of the food item displayed on menus
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price
decimal
Price of the food item
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image
string
Path to the food item image stored in storage
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description
text
Detailed description of the food item
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ingredients
text
List of ingredients used in the dish
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proteins
decimal
Protein content in grams for nutritional information
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calories
integer
Caloric content of the dish
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size
string
Serving size (e.g., “Regular”, “Large”, “500g”)
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category_id
integer
Foreign key linking to the categories table

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Category System

Food items are organized into categories for better navigation and filtering.
app/Models/Category.php
class Category extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;

    protected $table = 'categories';
    protected $fillable = ['name'];

    // Relationship: A category has many foods
    public function foods()
    {
        return $this->hasMany(Food::class);
    }
}
Categories help organize menu items (e.g., “Appetizers”, “Main Courses”, “Desserts”, “Beverages”) and enable filtered browsing for customers.

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Food Controller

The FoodController handles all CRUD operations for menu items with role-based access control.

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List All Foods

app/Http/Controllers/Admin/FoodController.php
public function index()
{
    $foods = Food::with('category')
        ->orderBy('id', 'desc')
        ->paginate(12);
    $categories = Category::all();
    
    return view('admin.foods', compact('foods','categories'));
}
The with('category') method uses eager loading to prevent N+1 query problems. This loads all related categories in a single query, significantly improving performance when displaying multiple food items.

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Create New Food Item

app/Http/Controllers/Admin/FoodController.php
public function store(StoreFoodRequest $request)
{
    $data = $request->validated();

    if ($request->hasFile('image')) {
        $data['image'] = $this->images->store(
            $request->file('image'), 
            'foods'
        );
    }

    Food::create($data);

    return redirect()
        ->route('admin.foods.index')
        ->with('success', 'Menú agregado con éxito.');
}

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Update Existing Food Item

app/Http/Controllers/Admin/FoodController.php
public function update(UpdateFoodRequest $request, Food $food)
{
    $data = $request->validated();

    if ($request->hasFile('image')) {
        // Delete old image
        $this->images->delete($food->image);
        // Store new image
        $data['image'] = $this->images->store(
            $request->file('image'), 
            'foods'
        );
    }

    $food->update($data);

    return redirect()
        ->route('admin.foods.index')
        ->with('success', 'Menú actualizado con éxito.');
}
Image Management: The system automatically deletes old images when updating to prevent storage bloat. The ImageService handles secure file storage and deletion.

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Delete Food Item

app/Http/Controllers/Admin/FoodController.php
public function destroy(Food $food)
{
    // Delete image from storage
    $this->images->delete($food->image);
    
    // Delete database record
    $food->delete();

    return redirect()
        ->back()
        ->with('success', 'Menú eliminado correctamente.');
}

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Image Service

The system uses a dedicated ImageService for consistent image handling: 
protected ImageService $images;

public function __construct(ImageService $images)
{
    $this->images = $images;
}

$path = $this->images->store($file, 'foods');
// Stores in: storage/app/public/foods/

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Public Menu Display

Customers can browse the menu without authentication:
app/Http/Controllers/HomeController.php
public function index()
{
    // Paginate to avoid loading everything in memory
    $foods = Food::with('category')->latest()->paginate(12);
    $chefs = Chef::all();
    $user = Auth::user();
    $count = $user ? Cart::where('user_id', $user->id)->count() : 0;
    $categories = Category::withCount('foods')->get();

    return view('home', compact('foods','chefs','count','categories'));
}

public function comidaview()
{
    $foods = Food::with('category')->paginate(24);
    $user = Auth::user();
    $count = $user ? Cart::where('user_id', $user->id)->count() : 0;

    return view('comidaview', compact('foods','count'));
}

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Food Detail View

app/Http/Controllers/HomeController.php
public function infocomida(Food $food)
{
    return view('infocomida', compact('food'));
}
Route model binding automatically fetches the Food model: Route::get('/infocomida/{food}', ...)

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Access Control

Menu management routes are protected by role middleware:
routes/web.php
Route::middleware('role:admin,chef')->group(function () {
    Route::resource('foods', AdminFoodController::class)->names('foods');
});
Who Can Manage Menus:
  • ✅ Admin: Full access (create, read, update, delete)
  • ✅ Chef: Full access (create, read, update, delete)
  • ❌ Mesero: No access to food management
  • ❌ Customers: Read-only access through public routes

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Form Validation

The system uses Form Request classes for validation:
Custom validation rules for creating new food items:
  • title: required, string, max 255 characters
  • price: required, numeric, min 0
  • image: required, image file, max 2MB
  • category_id: required, exists in categories table
  • proteins: nullable, numeric
  • calories: nullable, integer
Similar to StoreFoodRequest but with optional image:
  • All fields same as create
  • image: nullable (only required if changing)

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Best Practices

  1. Always Use Eager Loading: Load categories with ->with('category') to avoid N+1 queries
  2. Image Cleanup: Delete old images before storing new ones to manage storage
  3. Pagination: Use paginate() for large menus to improve performance
  4. Category Organization: Group similar items together for better UX
  5. Nutritional Data: Include proteins and calories for health-conscious customers
  6. Validation: Use Form Requests for consistent validation rules

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Common Queries

// Get all foods in a specific category
$foods = Food::where('category_id', $categoryId)->get();

// Get foods with category count
$categories = Category::withCount('foods')->get();

// Search foods by title
$foods = Food::where('title', 'LIKE', "%{$search}%")->get();

// Get foods sorted by price
$foods = Food::orderBy('price', 'asc')->get();

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