Hardware/software advice from the hardware addicts

I’m placing this here because this is where I first heard of the idea; from listening to Hardware Addicts.
I’ve got the idea to make a kitchen computer using a raspberry pi and a 10" touch screen. I’m wanting to create a touch friendly interface to add quick access to recipe cards, timers, and things like that. I’m not really sure what else would even go into a kitchen system, but I love the idea conceptually; just lacking the practical knowledge as to how to create and optimize. So I’m wondering, is there a desktop environment that I could optimize for the purpose (thinking maybe plasma, or if MATE has any kind of desktop widget) and is there a distro I may be able to use for this that could run well on a pi 3b+ or should I stick to 4? Looking for any suggestions to make this happen, thanks!

If it’s not going to connect to the Internet and there’s no battery it won’t matter much. Just as long as you can launch your interface in full screen/kiosk mode reliably you’re good to go.

If it will be using the Internet you’d want a distro you’re comfortable with setting up auto-updates on and confident that won’t break the device till the release is EOL. I’m not sure what the best option for Pi hardware is.

I’ll definitely want Internet connectivity, and I’m planning on running it off of a power adapter, not battery. My biggest concern is what DE would be most touch-friendly and lightweight.