4 December 2011

EDGY DESIGN

Pictured here; Gingernut tea being poured for morning tea, accompanied by an Earl Grey biscuit. Yes, you read that right! An innovative twist by an innovative company.

The Guild of Food Writers were invited to Fisher & Paykel's head office and factory in East Tamaki for a visit and update on their product development. Fascinating. The way products seem to be developing is in the SMART direction, and it occurred to me some machines may already be smarter then me. I had no idea a washing machine could sense when I put delicate undergarments in the wash and adjust the cycle to look after them. Or when dirty jeans are flung in the washer senses exactly that and turns on a rigorous performance to get them clean!

And turning to cooking, the 'Roast' function on the latest ovens means you can fling in a leg of lamb, and for the initial cooking period the temperature will be high to seal the meat, then adjust down to a lower heat to gently roast the meat through. Wow.

So, I expect there are a ton of people out there who will be relieved to know all this, and may cook and wash better than ever. For me it's bit scary as I have spent my life writing recipes and trying to explain techniques. Will this mean less work for me or a change in direction in the future?

What I discovered to my delight however, was that there's a team of employees at F&P who run a fabulous little kitchen blog. Lots of great recipes. Have a look. http://ourkitchen.fisherpaykel.com/