07/10/2009 UPDATE: Harrods no longer stock FACES, however House of Frasers do seem to stock part of the range online and in some stores)Wandering through my partners
favourite haunt, Knightbridges finest, Harrod's this evening I was
pleasantly surprised to run into an unexpected face in the kitchen
department. None other than the gastronomic genius Ferran Adria.
That
is a bit of an exaggeration, I did not come face to face with Senior El
Bulli himself, but rather his new range of table and cookwares called FACES by Ferran Adria.
I'm
not generally a huge fan of 'Chef' branded cookware, utensils and
gadgets, but I am in love. In my opinion most 'Chef' branded lines
appear to have no real assimilation the the chef that is lending their
name. There are a few exceptions to this, but generally I avoid the
celebrity chef products. But it this case , I am in L. O. V. E. LOVE!
As
a chef I admire and respect Ferran's dedication and attention to every
detail at every level of the dining experience. This this dedication
can easily be spotted in the FACES range, a range that is filled with
little touches of genius that makes the whole collection a must have!
My
personal favourites include the 'Frankie' cutlery collection. The
pieces sit beautifully n your hand, perfectly weighted, making you
wonder what everyday cutlery felt like. It is sold in a 18 piece set,
consisting of 6 place setting of knife, fork & spoon. There is a
dessert cutlery set, which is the same as the Frankie but in smaller
proportions. Each set is priced at £169.00, given the designer is an
excellent value.
The
'Meat' Cutlery collection (left) as it's called (Read Steak Knives) is
pure genius. The meat fork has only two elongated tines that easily
spear the meat with glee and little force. The meat the knife is large,
weighty and very sharp, with cleverly located groves to support your
fingers when slicing through the perfectly grilled wagyu beef.
Away
from what I would consider the 'everyday pieces' in the collection are
a group of more task specific utensils in the collection. When I was
fawning the packaging I was perplexed by some of the potential use of
the pieces.
The one piece that through me for a loop was the
spoon with the 'clothespin' attached. Then like Nancy Drew, I realised
that it was for appealing to all of the senses. Where as the enjoyment
of wine has relied on both the taste and smell, this was Ferran's way
to inject an addition of scent to the dining experience. How about
serving a lemon sorbet with an orange blossom attached? Or even a
butternut risotto with a sprig of sage attached?
I could go on and blog all the other pieces with glee, but I'll wait till purchase the pieces and give them a spin in the home.
Chef Ferran Adria = Food Genius!
Ferran Adria FACES Range = Pure Genius!
