All Steamed Up

In my book, there's nothing like a sauna to help displace any post-prandial pounds that may have accumulated over the recent holiday. But going cold turkey isn't my style—I like the beverage center that's conveniently integrated into this design. tylo.com

Happy Thanksgiving

No three-fan convection oven, temperature probes, or non-stick roasting rack in the kitchen of the Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. Just fire, and a rather impressive spit-turning apparatus. history.org

Hands-On Cooking

The design of the Molteni range is conducive to theatrical cooking. Rather than individual burners, the flattop is essentially a large griddle; it's hottest in the center, and surrounded by progressively cooler areas. Sliding pans around the surface—with a dramatic flourish, to be sure—controls cooking temperatures. A coordinating rotisserie unit completes the set. molteni.com

Good Taste

Roll up the Green Seasoning Trolley to bring a fresh flavor—not to mention sight—to the groaning board. Garden herbs are stored in root-shaped water reservoirs and can be snipped, plucked or picked right at the table. rolandpietersmit.com

Custom Cooking

Here in the US, it's Thanksgiving week—when gluttonous quantities of good food and good company dominate the domestic agenda. The kitchen-centric holiday will serve as an anchor point for this week's posts. I'll kick it off with the CombiSet series of sleek, modular cooking elements. Deep fryer, steamer, radiant and induction burners, even a tepan yaki grill—these and more can be installed any way you like. miele.com

Then and Now

This week's flashback is a two-fer; in a roundabout, ironic way, there is a linkage between the two scenes.

In 1949, the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel was bustling with dozens of finalists in the inaugural Pillsbury Bake-Off. Sixty years after No-Knead Water-Rising Twists captured first prize, the cooking competition is still going strong.


Not so with the setting of our second photo. It's a shot of the now-deserted test kitchen of Gourmet, a fine publication that did not deserve to die. Kevin DeMaria, associate art director of the magazine, made a series of elegiac images of the office during its final days.

Design Current/s

There's a paradox presented by this prototype. 'Panay: The Bath-Island', is a promising study for a self-contained washing station, replete with tub, sink and shower. But an island is surrounded by water; this concept is a vessel to hold water. I hope to see more from the designers, an Austrian duo called undpartner[punkt]at. undpartner.at