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countlan entertaining globally // issue seven AROMATIC DELIGHT Palate awakening food FAMILY OF DESIGN Next generation successes and challenges CONVERSATION PLATES Dishes that command curiosity countlan.com

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Countlan is a quarterly digital publication dedicated to exploring how people around the world entertain at home.

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Page 1: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

countlanentertaining globally // issue seven

AROMATIC DELIGHTPalate awakening food

FAMILY OF DEsIGnNext generation successes and challenges

COnVERsATIOn PLATEsDishes that command curiosity

coun

tlan.

com

Page 2: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

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from the editor

Summer marks an exciting time of year. Mental gears shift into a slower pace and we do our best to enjoy the weather, the outdoors and the company of friends and family. Whether you are vacationing or stay-cationing, it’s time to visit that design studio you heard about, host a gathering or go the extra mile for a special ingredient. In other words, immerse yourself into something a bit out of the ordinary and expand your entertaining repertoire.

In Issue 04, we explore how the chocolate pendulum has shifted from mass produced to bean-to-bar. We also talk to some wonderfully opinionated entrepreneurs and industry experts who reveal how to train your chocolate tasting palate and appreciate a bar like a fine wine or a craft beer.

On the topic of ingredients, we’re rooting for sea salt from some rather un-expected and remote locations and introduce you to a few of our favourite brands. When it comes to outdoor entertaining, no one does it better than

the locals on the Amalfi Coast or the tranquil shores of Transcoso in Brazil. We talk about picturesque back-drops and table details with two highly experienced entertainers in each location.

Our design section considers the success of an in-dependent retailer in Copenhagen, and marvels at a colourful chintz collection in Toronto. Although we are endlessly fascinated with the tabletop vessels that keep our food interesting, we expand our definition of design to include flowers. You’ll find a dreamy comparison of floral arrangements from florists across the globe.

Finally, you’ll meet a few intrepid travelers and taste-makers who run some of the most creative travel sites around. They chime in on memorable meals, inspiring cities and where they are headed next.

If you would like to join Countlan’s growing dialogue on entertaining globally or have an article idea to pitch, we invite you to get in contact with us and inquire how you can contribute to future issues.

Sarah Lambersky

EDITOR: Sarah Lambersky (Denmark)

ART DIRECTOR: Stuart Woods (Czech Republic)

ILLUSTRATION: Claire Heffer (UK)Ryan Cole (Czech Republic)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Adam Goodman (Denmark)

CONTRIBUTORS: Mike Drach (Canada)Sarah Lee (USA)Giulia Mule (UK)Yaeri Song (South Korea)Pille Petersoo (Estonia)Marija Petrovic (Serbia)Taryn Lipschitz (Canada)

CORRESPONDENTS: Kathryn Sussman (Canada)Judith de Graaff (France)Geraldine Tan (UK)Linda Gaylard (Canada)Gretchen McCarthy (UK)Lee McCoy (UK)Emily Cohen (USA)

After returning from holidays in Toronto, it appears that the trees in my neigh-bourhood bloomed while I was away. The once golden-dry landscape is looking greener and richer than before. Even the produce at the farmers’ markets is inching towards an increasingly varied smorgasbord.

To celebrate the changes that come with spring, we searched far and wide for stories that awaken and stimulate the senses. We met designers and artists producing some spectacularly wild dishes, entrepreneurs captivating our pal-ettes with aromatic ingredients and new retail concepts that will heighten the experience of shopping and take the drudgery out a (sometimes) monotonous task.

If you have visited the Countlan website recently, you may have noticed that we redesigned and re-launched the site. Our goal was to improve how people navigate and consume our articles. I invite you to check out the new site and hope you enjoy what you see.

As always, each issue of Countlan is divided into three sections that provide a snapshot and the stories of people who entertain around the world. If you or some-one you know is interested in contributing to Countlan, please email [email protected].

However you spend your spring, I hope it is full of new discoveries, new experiences and a full table of chat-ter and good food.

Countries covered in this issue: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Argentina, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand, Denmark, Turkey, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden.

FROM THE EDITOR

EDITOR:SARAH LAMBERSKY {USA}

AssIsTAnT EDITOR:MiKE DRAcH {cAnADA}

ART DIRECTOR:BEnTE BARTH {GERMAnY}

PHOTOGRAPHER:ADAM GOODMAn {USA}

ILLUsTRATOR:BEnTE BARTH {GERMAnY}

COnTRIBUTORs:JOE GRAY (UK)FATiH GOKMEn (TURKEY)EvA KOSMAS FLORES (USA)STEpHAniE LE (cAnADA)KATY ROSE (SOUTH AFRicA)ELEnA SALA (iTALY)ULF SvAnE (DEnMARK)FiOnA SYMinGTOn (UK)JURGiTA vASKEL (LiTHUAniA)MOLLY YEH (USA)

COVER PHOTO:EvA KOSMAS FLORES, ADvEnTURES in cOOKinG

Sarah L amberSk yEditor, Co-Founder@countlan #countlan

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CONTENTScountlan

entertaining globally

FOODSweet Syrups 06Aromatic Delight 12Singapore Bakes 18Inspirational Salt 20Food Origin 22Urban Foraging 26What's Cooking: Jurgita Vaskel 32What's Cooking:Eva Kosmas Flores 34What's Cooking: Molly Yeh 36

DESIGNFamily of Design 40Designer Questions 42Made In: Wood 44Pop Up to Click and Collect: A look at retail 50

ENTERTAININGLittle Things 62Conversation Plates 66Take Stock: Vancouver 76

ISSUE seven

FOOD

ENTERTAINING

DESIGN

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//Food//Food

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//Food

Discover the bold fl avours of aromatics, try three new seasonal recipes that make the most of spring produce, learn from today's hunters and forragers and explore two bakeries in Singapore that will en-tice you to book a fl ight for a visit.

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Poor {HUDSOn vALLEY}

Inspired by the syrups he often purchased to mix artisanal cocktails at work, bartender George

Carney started making his own batches of syrups in his apartment in Brooklyn in order to realize a better return in quality and quantity. The first syrup he created was pumpkin spice and has gone on to develop eight other syrup flavours like date, chamomile, Chinese five spice, and cardamom that can be added to cocktails, soda, coffee or tea. “I usually approach the process of creating new flavors by imagining how they would work in a cocktail or how it would pair with a certain spirit” says Carney, owner of Poor Man’s Kitchen. He personalized the brand by incorporating images, stories and traditions from his family history. “The name ‘Poor Man’ stems from a translation of my mother’s maiden name, Poveromo, and all of the photos on the label are of my family, mainly my grandparents, who grew up in the Bronx. The project pays homage to my past while looking towards the future.”

www.poormanskitchen.com

Man’s Kitchen

--Sweet SyrupS--Fruit on itS own iS beSt, but there iS magic in the next

wave oF Fruit concoctionS being developed by Small

buSineSSeS around the globe.

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Page 7: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

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01 what iS Quince & apple about?Drawing on Matt’s experience making preserves for family and friends and coming from entrepreneurial families, we started Quince & Apple to create a product that can be enjoyed with all the great meats and cheeses in the area and. As for the name, both the quince and the apple have a lot of pectin in them which is the com-ponent that keeps together a preserve. Also, the name is sort of an homage to the quince which is the mother fruit of all preserves (or marmalades, really). The word “marmalade” derives from the Portuguese word for quince, “marmalo.” It felt natural to include the fruit in our preserves business.

02 what iS Quince & apple known For?Our Figs and Black Tea preserve has received the most recognition. It was one of our fi rst preserves. The fl avour is well-balanced and complements many cheeses and meats.

03 how did you move From preServeS to

SyrupS?Our cocktail syrups started while working on a recipe for a pre-serve. Matt was formulating a new recipe that ended up working out better as a simple syrup. The discovery took us into a new direction and we launched our cocktail syrups in May 2012. The recipes come from a lot of experimentation and testing the batches as a team. We work hard to achieve a good balance of ingredients and create a fi nal product with the right dimension of fl avors that we would enjoy in a cocktail.

04 how many t ypeS oF SyrupS do you pro-

duce?Five: Tart Cherry Grenadine, Rhubarb Hops, Citrus, Lime and Cu-cumber, and Honey Lemon.

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{MADiSOn}

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//Food

The co-owners of Quince & Apple, Matt and Clare Stoner Fehsenfeld, explain why producing preserves and syrups in Madison, Wisconsin, an area known for its agriculture, cheeses and meats is a good thing.

www.quinceandapple.com

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//Food

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C oCoCoCoHistorically, New Zealand has never

had any cultural ties to soda. But the climate is conducive to growing great fruit – a factor that resonated with business partners Joseph Slater and Mike Stewart, founders of Six Barrel Soda Co. in Wellington. For fi ve years, Joseph has been making and serving soda at his vintage Americana-style bar Monterey, which he co-owns with Mike. “People loved the fl avours. Over time, I improved my soda and thought we should step up and start supplying other places too,” says Joseph.

Intent on offering a local handmade al-ternative to big brand sodas, the guys opened a production kitchen that also serves as a factory and café where they make, bottle, distribute and serve their small-batch sodas, in both classic fl a-vours and exotic seasonal one-offs like feijoa, wild blackberry or grapefruit and hops. “We juice all of our fruit by hand, bottle one by one and hand-stamp la-bels,” says Joseph. “This means we

can make seasonal fl avours and one-off batches because we aren’t meeting huge production minimums. It allows us room to make some off-the-wall fl a-vours.” Six Barrel Soda Co. produces 10 soda fl avours and experiments with seasonal recipes as they see fi t – like when a family member’s ripe fruit tree needs picking.

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//Food

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P&H Soda Co, launched in 2009 by Anton Nocito, is part of a growing number of entre-preneurs who are passionate about improving the taste, quality and fl avours of bot-tled syrups on the market. Originally,

Anton wanted to open a soda fountain-luncheonette that served his own syrups and ice creams, so he started experi-menting with local, seasonal ingredients to make fruit syrups. Today, he sells six fl avours and continues to draw inspira-tion for new recipes from the foods and places around him.

www.pandhsodaco.com

{BROOKLYn}

P&H Soda Co

mOST POPUL ar SODa? Raspberry Lemon. “It’s a classic pink lemonade, which isn’t exactly common these days. We use real raspberries and freshly squeezed lemons, so it has a great fl avour.”

Page 12: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

A ghost town might not rank high on an ideal list of locations when set-

ting up a new business. But for Shae Whitney, owner of Dram Apothecary in

Silver Plume, Colorado, it fit the bill. Silver Plume is a former silver min-

ing town (pop. 169), located 45 minutes west of Denver. Much of the town re-

mains true to its late 19th-century con-ditions, when it was at the peak of its

population. Shae, who studied food sci-ence and herbalism in college, outgrew

her kitchen after one year in business, with Dram Apothecary often jammed

with eager customers each business day. Shae and partner Brady Becker

were instantly drawn to a town others might call unusual. “We chose to set up

shop here because we absolutely loved the building we found.”

People come for Shae’s handmade bit-ters, teas and syrups which are inspired

by the plants for which she forages sea-sonally. “This winter, the only plants to

forage on our trail hikes were largely pine, juniper berries and rosehips, so

I came up with two syrup recipes to make use of this harvest.” Her locally

sourced creations also received a boost from renewed interests in cocktail cul-

ture.

The store launches products twice a year, depending on what is being made.

“Teas are faster to launch because they are easy to blend and package,” Shae

explains. “Bitters and syrups take more time to produce, so we like to make

sure we have the time to commit. Most of the time we'll make a new product

and put it on the shelves at our shop to test how it’s received by our customers

before we take it to the public at large.” Shae’s thriving small-town business

is a success story in doing things your own way, and sourcing and serving lo-

cally. “Our friends and family thought we were insane at first,” Shae says.

“Setting up shop in a ghost town isn't exactly normal, but we haven't had a

hard time getting people to visit.”

dramapothecary.com

aromatic delight breathe deeply aS we diScover the ingredientS

and FoodS that ignite our SenSeS.

Photo Credit: Tremper Photography

//Food

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Page 13: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

A ghost town might not rank high on an ideal list of locations when set-

ting up a new business. But for Shae Whitney, owner of Dram Apothecary in

Silver Plume, Colorado, it fit the bill. Silver Plume is a former silver min-

ing town (pop. 169), located 45 minutes west of Denver. Much of the town re-

mains true to its late 19th-century con-ditions, when it was at the peak of its

population. Shae, who studied food sci-ence and herbalism in college, outgrew

her kitchen after one year in business, with Dram Apothecary often jammed

with eager customers each business day. Shae and partner Brady Becker

were instantly drawn to a town others might call unusual. “We chose to set up

shop here because we absolutely loved the building we found.”

People come for Shae’s handmade bit-ters, teas and syrups which are inspired

by the plants for which she forages sea-sonally. “This winter, the only plants to

forage on our trail hikes were largely pine, juniper berries and rosehips, so

I came up with two syrup recipes to make use of this harvest.” Her locally

sourced creations also received a boost from renewed interests in cocktail cul-

ture.

The store launches products twice a year, depending on what is being made.

“Teas are faster to launch because they are easy to blend and package,” Shae

explains. “Bitters and syrups take more time to produce, so we like to make

sure we have the time to commit. Most of the time we'll make a new product

and put it on the shelves at our shop to test how it’s received by our customers

before we take it to the public at large.” Shae’s thriving small-town business

is a success story in doing things your own way, and sourcing and serving lo-

cally. “Our friends and family thought we were insane at first,” Shae says.

“Setting up shop in a ghost town isn't exactly normal, but we haven't had a

hard time getting people to visit.”

dramapothecary.com

Ghost Town

Herbs

//Food

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Page 14: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

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Liquorice, a popular flavour  among Scandi-navian palates, is commonly consumed as

a sweet or salty candy. In recent years, this powerful aromatic has become a favourite spice in cooking and baking in Denmark add-ing dimension to a dish. 

Glycyrrhiza glabra, the plant where liquo-rice comes from, is native to several regions around the globe including central and west-ern Asia, the Caucasus, India, Pakistan and southern Europe and has been used medici-nally (eastern and western medicine) and in food (it contains a compound that is about 50 times sweeter than sugar) for thousands of years. Typically, liquorice is used in its extract or powder form. The extract is used in candies and syrups and is made by boiling the plant root until the water has evaporated leaving behind a concentrated syrup. The powder, on the other hand, comes from steaming, press-ing and granulating the liquorice root.  Bringing liquorice into the kitchen means em-barking on an experimental journey of flavors. ” In Denmark we eat a lot of licorice candies” says Anne. ”Only recently has liquorice be-come more mainstream and is being added to traditional desserts like ice cream or cakes and to salty dishes with fish and salads.”

{cOpEnHAGEn}

LIQUOrICe COOkIeS WITh WhITe ChOCOL aTe

• 100 g butter, softened• 75 g brown sugar• 75 g caster sugar• 1 egg• 125 g plain flour• 75 g oatmeal • 1/2 tsp baking powder • 1/3 tsp salt• 1  1/2 tbsp raw liquorice powder • 200 g white chocolate (Ivoire 35% from

Valrhona), chopped in chunks 

INSTrUCTIONS:Preheat the oven to 180C/350F In a bowl mix butter with brown sugar and caster sugar and whisp until a fluffy and light consistency. Add the egg.   Mix in the flour, oatmeal, bak-ing powder, salt and liquorice powder. Finally fold in the white chocolate. Make balls and put them on a baking tray lined with a bak-ing sheet and press the dough down a little to flatten them before baking. Bake in the oven for 10-12 mintues.

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//Food A photo essay explores the experi-mental quality of licorice with pho-tographer Ulf Svane, blogger Anne Moltke Hansen and liquorice en-trepreneur, Johan Bülow.

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Page 15: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

WOnDERsnACK

WOnDERsnACKW

OnDERsnACK

15countlanPhoto Credit: The Wondersnack Co.

Photo Credit:

WOnDERsnACK

{MELBO

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After leaving the world of cake and buttercream behind, Melbourne

based Christy Loekito is tackling the world of gourmet snacks. The Wondersnack Co., which Loekito launched in 2012, offers four small batch bar snacks with a twist. She pools together local ingredients to create her unusual blends with names like The Hangover, Bourbon & Bacon and Kamikaze.

Last year Loekito also collaborated on a summer seasonal snack with LuxeBite, a popular café and patis-serie in the city. To evoke the most iconic flavours of Australia and New Zealand in a bag, they developed a bag that combines sugared almonds and cashews, pineapple jubes, can-died ginger, strawberry marshmal-lows and lemon peel.

www.wondersnack.com.au

//Food

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Page 16: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

“I have always had incredible experi-ences with tea” says Jessica  Bonin, the owner of  Lady  Bonin’s Tea Par-lour in Cape Town. “I wanted to open a café, and use tea as a tool to provide people with a positive experience and a break from our divided world”. In-stead of starting with a permanent shop in Cape Town, Jessica crea-tively took her leaves to the road in a 1975 caravan. She spent two months transforming a vintage caravan into a suitable mobile tea room, outfi tted with bohemian accoutrement before launching  Lady  Bonin  in December 2010. “The caravan initially came about as a solution to fi nancial limita-tions. I did not have the resources to commit to a permanent location; the risk was too high” says Bonin.  From the caravan she serves 17 teas, hot or iced alongside other blended drinks, depending on the day, event or mar-ket. “My concept was brand new and I needed a way of getting the idea to the market instead of trying to get the market to me. Being mobile was the best option.” Today Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour still travels around in a mobile caravan but Jessica has also established a permanent tearoom in the Woodstock Exchange and tea dis-tribution through other outlets.

www.ladybonin.com

Caravan Tea{cApE TOwn}

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KNOW FOR:Lady Bonin’s uniquely blended Spiced Chai. It is my very own recipe inspired by my trav-els to India and containing. I blend it with Ceylon or Rooi-bos base and have my deca-dent option as the Red Spiced Choc Chili Chai, translated to Lady Bonin’s Rooibos Spiced Chai with chocolate and chili.

TEA SERVING MOTTO:Tea is experienced differently all over the world. Each culture has developed and per-fected their way of purveying the “perfect cup”. You will fi nd that these ceremonies, formal or informal, have been established in order to honour a moment or experience. Al-though guidelines exist around brewing and enhancing specifi c teas, tea is a personal ex-perience. My best advice is to apply the notion of Kung Fu to preparing tea – “Time, patience and diligence to perfect an art.”

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Page 17: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

When he was just ten years old, Jameel Lalani was ordering black tea directly from East Africa because he preferred it to the tea available in London. No surprise that today he runs his own tea business, Lalani & Co.

Despite London’s historical importance as an in-ternational tea-trading hub and its infl uence on drinking tea as a pastime, growing a loose leaf tea brand in London is no small feat. After all, this is a nation of tea drinkers where the addition of milk and sugar is both acceptable and often a must — the equivalent of nails on a blackboard to a tea purist’s ears. In an attempt to captivate London’s discerning tea drinking audience, Lalani & Co took a dif-ferent philosophy as a tea merchant. They call it Garden to Glass; an idea that affects their deci-

sion-making processes from sourcing and ship-ping to storing, selling and brewing their leaves. “We work with artisanal, family-run tea gardens to fi nd small-batch teas that are the fi nest in their region,” says Lalani. “Similar to wine, we consider a garden’s prime seasons; the eleva-tion, varietal, and optimal brewing style; as well as understanding how the fl avours of each gar-den’s teas develop over time.”

Only three years old, Lalani & Co’s philosophy of promoting tea education, traceability and prov-enance is resonating with consumers. Up next, Jaleel is working with restaurants and pairing his carefully cultivated teas with food. Japanese Sencha with goat cheese, anyone?

www.lalaniandco.com

From Garden to Glass {LOnDOn}

Photo Credit: Lalani & Co.

//Food

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//Food

Carpenter and Cook

Inspired by London’s quaint shops and eclectic neigh-bourhoods, Cordon Bleu-trained chef Sim Li-Shenn and

carpenter Phoebe Teo, together with friend Eunice Yeo, established Carpenter and Cook in June 2012. The quaint vintage café-boutique is a clear refl ection of the food and furniture passions of its three owners, where locals pop by to enjoy a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Shenn, the baker, works with her team to craft a daily assortment of tarts, cakes and viennoiseries. Phoebe, the carpenter, keeps C&C stocked with vintage conversa-tion pieces sourced from the UK and Europe. Eunice (the “and” of Carpenter and Cook) styles, bakes, and makes things look inviting, while also running an event styling and vintage prop rental company called Heaven in Wild Flowers.

The enterprising women of this part-bakery, part-café, part-vintage furniture shop, part-event space and all-round warm and inviting environment have recently opened a second location in the centre of the island, which includes a takeaway deli.

www.carpenterandcook.com

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Singapore bakeS thankS to a conFluence oF cultureS and inFluenceS, S ingapore

iS Full oF intereSting FoodS and Fl avourS. the bakery Scene

iS no leSS diverSe. meet two bakerieS who know a thing or two

about but tercream.

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Page 19: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

Song Meets

Cake

Singer, stage performer and baker, Juwanda Hassim was searching

for the perfect spot to open The Fabu-lous Baker Boy, a bakery he launched a year and a half ago in Singapore. Juwanda, who has been baking and singing together with his family since he was young, is known for his old fashion cakes (red velvet, salted cara-mel, apple cider and carrot), tarts and cookies. “Dorie Greenspan, Rose Levy Beranbaum and Pierre Hermes are my (baking) gods” says Hassim. He settled on a space by the Foothills of Fort Canning, a historic public swim-ming complex that was built by the Singapore City Council in the 1950s and closed in 2003 to be remade into a park for the arts and community.

INTereSTING Cake ON The meNU: Bitter Marmalade- Layers of butter-milk sponge fi lled with marmalade and a lemony cream cheese and cov-ered in puff pastry.

www.thefabulousbakerboy.com

//Food

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Photo Credit: Sung Linggun

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Page 20: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

INSP IRAT IONAL SALT {LOnDOn}

London based chef, Joe Gray, a graduate of Jamie Oliver’s

Fifteen training program, is all fired up about Slovenian salt. He speaks to us about his experience on shooting a tel-evision show on the country’s cuisine and why he decided to bring a bit of Slovenia home and launch a new business importing salt from the region of Piran.

//Food

02 which cit ieS did you

travel to in Slovenia?The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. A lot of the TV show was shot there, but we did get to some remote locations. We spent some time in and around Piran, where the sea salt originates. One of my favour-ite areas is Goriska Brda, an area in west-ern Slovenia that is nestled between the Alps and Adriatic Sea. It is often dubbed ‘little Tuscany’ as it is known for its wine, fruit and olives.

03 what iS uniQue about

the origin oF Slovenian

Sea Salt?The Piran saltpans, located in the west-ern part of the country, are among the rare saltpans of the world where salt is produced using 700 year old tradi-tions. There are many reasons for the salt's uniqueness, the most promi-nent being its natural, sustainable process. The region of Piran benefi ts from the amazing Mediterranean sun and beautiful Adriatic Sea. Tempera-tures in the region can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius in the summer meaning sea salt can be produced with little human input. The muds that form the base of the saltpans are also very mineral rich. All of these reasons mean a fresher, cleaner, more natural product and fl avour making a truly in-credible unique product.

01 what’S cooking in

Slovenia?Slovenia is bordered by Austria (north), Hungary (east), Croatia (south) and Italy (west). The food varies from hearty stews and Ital-ian inspired pasta to Croatian style seafood mixed grills.

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//Food

04 what are you cooking

theSe dayS?I use sea salt in my cooking. It is very versatile and can be used in numerous ways, such as seasoning meat, vegeta-bles and fi sh. I save the Fleur de Sel for more special occasions. It's perfect to heighten a dark chocolate mousse and used as a fi nishing salt.

Halve your peaches and remove the stone. Cut into wedges and marinate in a little oil and a Piran salt. Place the peaches on a hot grill and turn occasion-ally until they become soft, juicy and car-amelised. Break up the mozzarella and put on a plate, season the cheese with Piran salt, pepper and olive oil. Assem-ble your salad by adding the radicchio leaves, peaches, prosciutto and oregano fl owers.Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and bal-samic.

www.slovely.co.uk

GrILLeD PeaCh aND PrOSCIUT TO SaL aD• 2 ripe peaches• 4 slices of prosciutto• 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella• 1 small radicchio• A small handful of oregano

flowers• A pinch of Piran sea salt• Black pepper• Extra virgin olive oil• Balsamic reduction or balsamic

glaze

Photo Credit: Joe Gray

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A dish originating from the Balkans, Kokoreç (Turkish) is made from the intes-tines and internal organs of a young lamb. In Greece, kokoretsi, is a traditional ap-petizer served during Easter to break the Lenten fast. The dish was created as a way to not waste any part of the animal. In Turkey, Kokoreç is a snack and late night delicacy served with bread or on a plate. Istanbul vendors, Turgay Ağademir (48) and Ismail Güneş (50), sell kokoreç at the Kabataş pier and are busy from early even-ing until late at night. For Mr. Turgay, mak-ing Kokoreç is a family business. His family has been working at the pier for more than three decades.

Food OriginBeyond taste, do you ever wonder about the history of food? We delve into the origins of Kokorec and Cantucci.

22

To prepare Kokoreç, intes-tines are thoroughly cleaned,

threaded and wrapped around a large skewer of offal. Next,

the skewer cooked for several hours, then grilled horizontally

over a charcoal grill. When a hun-gry patron orders, the intestine-

sweetbread concoction is sliced off the spit, chopped into small pieces and seasoned with oregano, hot chili peppers, salt and served on bread. Fresh chopped tomatoes, green peppers or pickled peppers are also added to the mix.

//Foodw R i T T E n B Y FATiH GOKMEn

{iSTAnBUL}

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//Food

Photo Credit: Fatih Gokmen

FOOD?

Taste,

ever

WONDER ABOUT

the

HISTORY OF

Beyond

DO YOU

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reCIPe: CaNTUCCI WITh CheSTNUT FLOUr, haZeLNUTS aND ChOCOL aTe ChIPS

INGREDIENTS:• 3 eggs• 60 g butter, melted• 180 g of sugar• 1 pinch of salt• 200 g of fl our• 300 g chestnut fl our• 1 teaspoon baking powder• 130 g of hazelnuts• 100 g of dark chocolate chips

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Dish: Cantucci (biscotti)

//Food

25

Tuscan cuisine is known through-out the world for its simple, yet

rustic fl avours. However, many of the Tuscan fl avours we have come to love were born out of a population mired in poverty and lack of access to qual-ity ingredients; it’s no coincidence Tuscany is known for its soups, not pastas. One of the most celebrated culinary traditions of this region is the cantucci cookie, otherwise known as biscotti. Cantucci comes from the Latin word, cantellus, which means slice of bread.

CaNTUCCI TID-bITS:

• When cantucci are referred to as I cantucci or biscuits of Prato, it is a reference to the city in Tuscany that preserves the fi rst docu-mented mention of the cantucci in an old manuscript.

• The Romans ate a savoury version of this biscuit during their military campaigns and its sweeter ver-sion went into production during the second half of the 16th cen-tury in the Medici court.

• One of the best known producers of cantucci is Biscottifi cio Mattei, a family biscuit factory started in 1858 in Prato.

My recipe is a variation of the cantuc-ci. Traditionally they are made with regular fl our (not chestnut fl our) lem-on zest, and lots of shelled almonds. Variations of the cantucci include the addition of pine nuts, pistachios, uvetta (raisins). A cookie that allows for freedom of the imagination!

reCIPe INSTrUCTIONS:Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Sift fl ours with baking powder and set aside. Beat the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt until they become swol-len and foamy. Add the warm melted butter, to the egg and sugar mixture and keep stirring. At this point, add the fl our, mixing a little at a time until all the ingredients are combined (the dough will look soft and crumbly). Finally, incorporate hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Pour the mixture on a fl oured surface and work the dough together with your hands until you get a ball. At this stage, try to be quick so the dough does not warm up too much.

Divide the dough into two equal size balls. Shape them into two long loaves (approximately 30 cm long, and no more than 5 cm wide and 2 cm thick). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the two loaves on the baking sheet with ad-equate space between them so they do not stick while cooking. Brush the tops of each log with egg and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. Re-move the loaves from the oven and cut them diagonally into 1 cm cook-ies. Lower the oven temperature to 170C/340F and return the cookies to the oven arranging them on their sides and bake for another 15 min-utes until they appear golden. Make sure you do not overcook the cookies. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before enjoying them or storing them in a tin box.

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Hunting and Gathering

Growing up in Denmark on a small “hobby farm” left a mark on New York-based fashion photographer Danny Christensen. “We had eve-

rything: cows, horses, pigs, rabbits, chickens, goats, ducks, geese, cats and dogs,” says Danny. “As a kid, I understood where my food came from and the circle of life because I touched it, I was a part of it, I saw it, I felt it.” Mealtime was often a group effort that truly embodied the meaning of farm-to-table, rather than one that required a trip to the grocery store. “The chicken that I fed yesterday is now on the table to feed the family.”

Christensen splits his time between New York City and the greater state, where he has parlayed his passion for food, hunting and cooking into an educational website and video blog called the Urban Huntsman. Episodes and posts feature Danny and his friends and family hunting, fishing and preparing a meal from their daily catch. He offers recipes such as rustic venison pizza, as well as useful tips, including how to build a fish smoker from a flower pot.

Urbanization continues to widen the distance between consumers and their food. Despite urban horticulture starting to catch on, and in-creased interest in buying fruits and veggies local farmers’ markets or CSAs (Community Supported Agricultural groups), what about our connection to meat? Danny’s mission is to educate meat-eaters about the lifecycle of an animal, bird or fish from the wild to the plate, encour-aging a closer look than the butcher shop or supermarket shelves can offer. In terms of further education, Danny advocates actively hunting down information. “You’ve got to get out there. Reading about it means nothing, you have to feel it!”

www.theurbanhuntsman.com

//Food

{nEw YORK}

There is a new energy fueling foraging in urban areas. Curious? MeeT a few personali-T ies and resourCes To geT you sTarTed.

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Hunting and Gathering

Photo Credit: Danny Christensen

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//Food

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RENAISSANCE FORAGER {EDMOnTOn}

28

Renaissance man, Kevin Kossowan, is an Ed-monton based hunter, urban farmer, food

skills educator and holder of many more titles who fi rst embarked on a path exploring food cul-tivation and supply in 2005. Although Kevin was familiar with gardening, fi shing, hunting and for-aging, activities from his childhood and youth, it was his many trips to Europe that spawned his interest in localized food culture. “I did a lot of exploration of different regions, each with their own specialties and endowments, leaving me to question what our culture back at home re-ally could and should be” says Kossowan. He started a blog where he wrote about his fi nd-ings about how to access better produce in his kitchen. From produce he started researching meats, butchery, charcuterie, grains, fruits and the “food apex”, wild foods.

Almost a decade on, Kevin continues to share his commentary and video footage about his expe-rience becoming self-suffi cient in food. Today, he is the part owner of Lacutua Urban Farm, an urban agriculture gardening business that sup-plies local restaurants with sustainably farmed vegetable varietals, part owner of Shovel & Fork, a company that teaches foraging, butchery, ci-der making, gamer cookery, food preservation and other skills for the home cook and owner of Story Chaser Productions a production company that produces a hunting/fi shing/foraging series called, From the Wild.

www.kevinkossowan.com

//Food

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//Food

01 what iS edmon-

ton like aS a baSe For your Food

projectS?

Edmonton has an agrarian DNA, it is also surrounded by a ridiculously vast agricultural belt- literally surrounded by food, so it doesn't take long to

fi nd folks who either grew up on a farm, whose parents did, or whose grandpar-ents did. Anyone with that background typically has fond memories, or at the very

least, a respect for self-suffi ciency when it comes to food. Edmonton is also in an early but vigorous growth phase of culinary maturity. Looking at what is culinarily interesting

under your nose where you live is a natural extension of the exploration that chefs and home cooks are fi guring out. It feels like the city's market size is now large enough to sup-port specialists at the top of their game, and keep the talent that may have otherwise bled out to greener pastures in bigger markets.

02 why iS more at tention being paid to Foraging, hunting and urban

Farming?

Thankfully, I think there are a variety of reasons foraging, hunting, and urban farming are receiving new attention and energy. They span widely from health and wellness, the in-

creasing apparent need for more sustainable agricultural practices, climate change, a growth of interest in gastronomy and food quality, interest in better use of urban

spaces, and many more. The more folks are aware of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and genetically modifi ed organisms (GMOs),

the less they want to eat from that trough, and alternatives start to look pretty attractive. Huge world issues like climate change

also point to solutions in how we grow, transport, and eat food. You can't really extract food issues from the

majority of issues faced by humans.

Q+a WITh keVIN kOSSOWaN:

Photo Credit: Kevin Kossowan

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Photo Credit: Fiona Symington

{wRiTTEn BY F iOnA SYMin

GTOn}

//Food

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Blackberries in late summer. Elderfl owers for cor-dial and wild garlic for autumn feasting. Chest-

nuts in readiness for winter. Our cities’ waterways, parks and gardens are the new hedgerow. On any giv-en weekend, you're likely to fi nd a new generation of ‘rurbanites’ in search of city-grown fruit, wild greens, mushrooms and berries.

Urban foraging has never been so popular, a refl ec-tion of our interest in local foods and the intensity of fl avours and seasonality of wild edibles. Just ask Chef Mike Richardson of Mike + Ollie. This maverick forager routinely roams the streets of south Lon-don, seeking inspiration and produce for his street food and supper club. Depending on the season, you could be tasting quinces picked from Crystal Palace or green almonds from Ruskin Park. For Chef Rich-ardson, the appeal of foraging is the “unanticipated pleasure” of discovering food that grows in our cities and offers us a chance to appreciate the abundance of food around us rather than letting it go to waste.

San Francisco’s Forage SF shares a similar philoso-phy. Its foraging classes emphasises sustainability, while its roving supper club, Wild Kitchen, serves an eight-course menu based on ethically sourced local ingredients. While famed restaurants like Noma (Co-penhagen) and Coi (San Francisco) have popularised foraging, urban foragers like Invisible Food’s Ceri Buck celebrate the terroir of a city rather than the countryside one. Bruck likens foraging to a “treas-ure hunt” which explains the popularity of her walk-ing tours as those offered by Steve “Wildman” Brill in Central Park, New York.

Like many, Invisible Food has a strong community focus, bringing together Londoners to “create reci-pes made with unusual and yet common plants on everyone’s doorstep”. Forage Oakland redistributes surplus backyard fruit amongst neighbours using a barter network, whereas Hamburg-based Das Geld hängt an den Bäumen (money hangs from trees) em-ploys disabled and disadvantaged people to harvest apples from the city’s public gardens, which it then sells as apple juice.

On a more global scale, at Falling Fruit, local foragers post the location of fruit trees and gardens using an open-source website. Over half-a-million fruit trees have been mapped globally and the site is as much a celebration of the urban harvest as food for the ta-ble. So is urban foraging here to stay? It would appear so, given the number of foraging food walks, cookery classes, guides and even apps like the Foragers Ap-prentice available. Its appeal goes beyond wild gas-tronomy to a deep commitment to place, food prov-enance and seasonality.

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BOOKS TO GET YOU FORAGING

• The Wild Table: Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes by Connie Green and Sarah Scott

• The Forager’s Kitchen: Over 100 easy recipes from Savoury to Sweet by Fiona Bird

• Wild Food: Nature’s Harvest: How to Gather, Cook & Preserve by Biddy White-Lennon and Evan Doyle

• Dandelion Hunter: Foraging the Ur-ban Wilderness by Rebecca Lerner

• Hens of the Woods and Other Wild Foods and Medicines: A Guided Tour Including Folklore by Steve Brill

//Food

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inSTRUcTiOnS:cut the chicken into bite-size piec-es. wash and dry the salad leaves. cut the radishes into thin slices. peel the orange, divide into slices and remove the pith keeping the slices and juice intact the best you can.

To make the dressing, in a separate bowl, whisk together the juices of the small orange, lemon, honey and a good glug of olive oil.

To assemble the salad, in a large bowl, combine the salad leaves, chicken, orange slices, and radish-es. Sprinkle some salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix in-gredients together. Divide the sal-ad into two portions, and serve on deep plates. pour the dressing on the salad and serve immediately with some freshly baked bread.

//Food

What’s Cooking: J u r g i ta Va s k e lc H i c K E n, R A D i S H A n D O R A n G E S A L A D

300 g chicken meat from a leftover roast chicken cut into pieces1 large, juicy and sweet orange10-15 radishesmix of salad leaves (200 g)

dressing:1 small orange (juice only)some lemon juice and honeyextra virgin olive oilsaltfreshly ground black pepper

Photo Credit: Jurgita Vaskel

{viLniUS}

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In Lithuania, people can't imagine eating an early spring salad without radishes.

The most popular type of salad is made of spring onions, salad leaves, radishes, sometimes dill and huge spoonfuls of sour cream. To celebrate this seasonal staple food, I make a radish salad with a twist.

in viLniUS, iT iS iMpORTAnT TO TRY...

• Smoked pig ears as a beer snack• Vėdarai which is pork intestine stuffed with a filling made from a combination of smoked meat and potato• šaltibarščiai which is a cold and

refreshing beetroot soup

in viLniUS, DOnT MiSS A MEAL AT...LOKYS: I love the atmosphere of this old res-taurant in Vilnius. The food is good and you can try old Lithuanian cuisine with a twist along with other unusual dishes like beaver meat stew.

SOUL BOX: A place for young souls. Good food in the daytime, one of the best cocktail places in Vilnius at night.

FIORENTINO: An Italian restaurant on a charm-ing street in Old Town near the University of Vilnius. I love their bruschette, fagottini and cantucci with Vin Santo to end the meal.

//Food

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//Food

What’s Cooking: eVa kOsMas FlOres

Spring breathes life back into the earth after a long season’s rest. come March, many de-

licious vegetables begin to grow like the ramp (allium

tricoccum), also known as a wild leek or spring onion. native to the eastern north

American mountains, ramps can be found growing in patches in deciduous forests.

in early spring, ramps sprout smooth leaves and disappear

by summer. The fl avor of a ramp is reminiscent of sweet onion with a garlic aroma and

is worth the foraging effort.

In Los Angeles, it’s important to try...

Fish tacos: The seafood here is so fresh and the Mexican

food scene is delicious.

Sushi: A wide selection of high quality fresh fi sh and a large Japanese population

make for some of the best su-shi you'll have outside Japan.

Burgers: LA loves its ham-burgers, and you can get them in a dazzling array of sizes and

with some pretty crazy top-pings.

Photo Credits: Eva Kosmas Flores

{LOS AnGELES}

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i n G R E D i E n T S :1 cup diced leeks1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil2 cups fl our½ teaspoon baking powder½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon ground black pepper½ teaspoon thyme1/3 lb gouda cheese, grated3 ounces quality ham, diced½ cup milk

i n S T R U c T i O n S :

Begin by caramelizing the leeks. Mix to-gether the leeks and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium low heat. Continue cooking them for 25-35 minutes, stirring every 5 min-utes, or until the leeks have turned golden in color and are soft and aromatic. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahr-enheit. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and thyme until well blended. Add ¼ cup of the olive oil and mix until crumbs form in the dough. Stir in the ham, leeks, and gouda, then add the milk and mix until a dense dough forms.

Knead the dough gently for a few turns on a lightly floured surface, then pat it down into a roughly 3-icnh thick circle. Place the circle on a lightly greased backing sheet and use a pizza cutter to cut the circle into 8 wedges. Gently pull the wedges away from each other so they have about ½ inch of space between them. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with the remaining ta-blespoon of olive oil. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown on top and cooked all the way through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Ca r a M e l i Z e D l e e k & g O u Da s C O N e s

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//Food

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//Food

WHOLE WHEAT DUMPLINGS WI TH RAMPS, EGGS A ND B OK C HOY

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01 best Meal:

Blue Hill Stone Barns in New York. I had ricotta made from milk that was milked earlier that day from a cow named Bes-sie, stunningly fresh and simple vegeta-bles, and strawberries how strawberries should taste. It was so pure and good. No funny business.

02 what’s on your Table?

A few varieties of salt, often hot sauce, mismatched dishes, and silver forks and knives passed down from my mom that are in dire need of a good polishing at the moment.

What’s Cooking: M O l lY Y e H

{nORTH DAKOTA-MinnESOTA BORDER}

ingredientsdough:1/2 c whole wheat fl our 1/2 c all-purpose fl our, plus more for dusting1/2 tsp salt1/4 c boiling water1/4 c cold water

filling:3 tb olive oil1 bunch (about a dozen) ramps, fi nely chopped3 large stalks of bok choy, fi nely choppedsalt + pepper to taste1 large egg1 tsp sriracha (optional)soy sauce, for serving

(12 dumplings)

Ramps (wild leeks) are among my fa-vorite things, and I love the fact that you

can only fi nd them a few weeks of the year. When I lived in New York before moving to a farm on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota, I had a "ramp guy" who I would meet on a street corner, hand over a cou-ple of bills, and make the exchange. I am a little bit nervous for the upcoming ramp season because I haven't yet found a ramp hookup in the Midwest!

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//Food

i n S T R U c T i O n S :

To make the dough: Combine fl ours and salt in a medium bowl. Add boil-ing water and stir with a fork to form a mealy mixture. Add cold water to bring the dough together and form a ball. Turn onto a fl oured surface and kneed for fi ve minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rest while you make the fi lling.

To make the fi lling: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add ramps, bok choy, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately transfer to a me-dium bowl and stir in the egg (you want it to cook in the vegetables a bit). Stir in sriracha (if using).

Line a steamer with blanched cabbage or parchment paper poked with a few holes to let the steam through, set it aside. Set a large pot of wa-ter over medium high heat to come to a boil. While it's heating, form the dumplings.

Form the dumplings: Divide dough into 12 equal balls. Using a rolling pin, roll out balls until they're three-inch circles. Add a tablespoon of fi ll-ing to the center, fold, and crimp edges. Place fi nished dumplings in the steamer. Once water comes to a boil, place the steamer over the pot and steam for 10 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked through. Serve with soy sauce and enjoy!

inGREDiEnTS:

1/2 cup vegetable oil6 oz dark chocolate6 oz butter4 eggs1 ¼ cup brown sugar1 tablespoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon ground cardamom1 ½ cup all purpose fl our½ teaspoon baking powder3 medium pears

01 best Meal:

Blue Hill Stone Barns in New York. I had ricotta made from milk that was milked earlier that day from a cow named Bes-sie, stunningly fresh and simple vegeta-bles, and strawberries how strawberries should taste. It was so pure and good. No funny business.

02 what’s on your Table?

A few varieties of salt, often hot sauce, mismatched dishes, and silver forks and knives passed down from my mom that are in dire need of a good polishing at the moment.

1 tablespoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon ground cardamom1 ½ cup all purpose fl our½ teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon ground cardamom1 ½ cup all purpose fl our½ teaspoon baking powder

inGREDiEnTS:

1/2 cup vegetable oil6 oz dark chocolate6 oz butter

1 ¼ cup brown sugar1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Photo Credit: Molly Yeh

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//Design

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//Design

39

Catch a glimpse of the work of four woodcraft-ers whose objects stand for quality and bring delight, explore the challenges associated with carrying on a family design business and dis-cover fi ve new retail concepts who are success-fully drawing traffi c and curiosity.

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In the design world, it is one thing to have carte blanche to defi ne, communicate and evolve your works. For Nadia Lassen, director and owner of by Lassen in Copenhagen, her job comes with a different set of responsibilities and challenges: to carry forward the design legacy left by her great-grandfather and his brother (her great-grand-uncle), Mogens and Flemming Lassen.

Mogens Lassen (1901-1987) and Flemming Lassen (1902-1984) were famous Danish ar-chitects who were part of the modernist archi-tecture movement. During the era in which the brothers designed buildings, it was not uncom-mon to also have a hand in their interior de-sign. This led to the creation of chairs, tables, kitchens and accessories all in sync with their respective exteriors, leaving behind a legacy of iconic products. One such product is Mo-gen Lassen’s Kubus candlestick, launched in 1962. “I am proud to carry forth the legacy of

FAMILY OF DESIGN

//Design

40

{cOpEnHAGEn}

my great-grandfather and great-grand-uncle and I am sure that they would both appreciate by Lassen today,” says Nadia. “For this reason, I would never make the Kubus candelabra in pink. We try to be as authentic and true to their designs as possible.” Branded with a logo that pays homage to the city in which the company resides, the by Lassen line that Nadia oversees stays true to its roots and refl ects a Nordic de-sign aesthetic that is simple on the surface. Yet, there is nothing simple about their products. “No detail has been left to chance. Because Mogen and Flemming were architects and keen on designing great products that would last for generations, they were detail-oriented – some-thing we respect.”

It usually takes Nadia and her team 12 to 18 months to launch a new product when working from existing designs. “We have a designer who looks through all the old sketches before we

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choose which design we would like to pursue,” says Lassen. So far the company has focused more on Mogen’s products, including his ML42 stool, Frame box, Kubus candelabras and bowls and his ML33 chair. This year saw the launch of Flemming Lassen’s Mingle sofa, with plans

to produce more designs from Nadia’s great-grand-uncle. In keeping with tradition, the prod-ucts are made of steel and European wood. She is keen to keep production local, which is why the entire Kubus collection is still produced in Denmark.

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41www.bylassen.com

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Five Questions with Designer:Jessie PhiliPs AnDersen {OAKLAnD}

what iS a wobble bowl? It’s a bowl that reflects motion in a toy-like movement, similar to the ob-jects kids play with.

made in? I’d been making the Wobble Bowls myself, but I was having trouble pro-ducing enough to fulfill orders, and production was taking up most of my time, so I wanted to have some-one else take it over so I could spend more time designing—specifically someone in the US producing high-quality work. Now the Wobble Bowls are made by a small, craft-focused production studio in Portland, OR, which produces its own work as well as that of other designers.

material? Wobble bowls are currently slip-cast in porcelain. Most of my other work is cast in a buff stoneware. I try to use materials that are traditional but clean, which is why I usually choose smooth, white clays for ceramics.

deSigner oF: the wobble bowl

42

//Design

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do you entertain at

home? We host friends for dinners fairly often, as well as parties and holi-days—we even hosted our wedding in our home. Our style is very warm and personal, yet clean. It’s a blend of modern Scandinavian design with vintage American.

what iS on your table? My husband is Danish, so on our ta-ble, you’ll find my own work next to Georg Jensen serving pieces and Danish potter Birthe Sahl’s bowls. And there’s usually a quirky element, like our Little Joseph doll-head can-dleholders by Maxim Velcovsky, or, at Christmas, our 25 elf candleholders.

43Photo Credit: Switch Thomas, Jesper Andersenwww.jessicaphillips.net

//Design

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wood is the star mater ial of our Made-in section this spr ing. we meet four ar t isans who craft magical pieces for the table that are meant to last a l i fet ime.

//Design

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//Design

{SLOvEniA}Rollingpin-less

The best products are often solu-tions to personal frustrations.

Metod Burgar, a Slovenian designer, got the idea for his Wood’n’Roll roll-ing pin after he resorted to using a wine bottle as a stand-in to roll out dough. The rolling pin, a continuous-ly joined piece with no visible screws or glued parts, is made from locally sourced wood and Kerrock, a com-posite material similar to marble but non-porous, which is also made in Slovenia. He added pair of colour-ful rotating handles that connect to the body through a curved surface, to make rolling easier and more ergonomic. His first project with Wood’n’Roll? Potica, a traditional festive Slovenian pastry.

The Wood’n’Roll joins a growing list of objects produced by young

Slovenian designers who are show-ing an interest in expanding on Slo-venia’s history of craft. This re-en-

45

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ergized and contemporary approach to woodworking, glass blowing and ceramics has led to an onslaught of products helping to elevate Sloveni-an design around the world. Objects like the Ondu pinhole camera by Elvis Halilović, the Eclipse wall lamp by Tilen Sepič, the wFoil 18 Albatross hydrofoil two-seater by Wilsonic De-sign, Leis kitchenware by Gigode-sign, the Taste dining table by Luka Pirnat and other products by young Slovenian designers are just a few examples of design emerging from Slovenia at the moment.

www.woodnroll.com

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Latvian design student Jasmina Grase is in her fi nal year at the

Design Academy of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and she refers to her work as a modern, more practical version of what her family has done for generations: artistry. This young designer has developed an affi n-ity for creating conversation-worthy home and table accessories that allude to her Latvian heritage and playfully solve domestic problems with modern utensils.

Fresh Beat, a carpet beater, is Jas-mina’s take on a once-ubiquitous

tool that was used to clean carpets until the vacuum took its place. “I was trying to update an old-school activity like beating carpets outdoors with a tool for today,” says Grase. Similarly, her Broom of Luck bread board and knife set imaginatively incorporates a Latvian mythologi-cal symbol, Laima’s broom, to catch breadcrumbs on the board while paying tribute to the Baltic gastro-nomic staple: rye bread.

NEW IN DESIGN

//Design

{E inDHOvEn}

46

Laima is one of the three goddesses of fate appear-ing in Latvian mythology. As the deter miner of human fate and luck, she is symbol ized by the f ir and broom. Laima’s symbols are appl ied throughout Latvian design and craf t , and her broom of luck is used to save people from drowning.

Photo Credit: Jasmina Grase

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47

When a chef, a designer and a wood manufacturer team

up to create accessories for the kitchen and dining room, you know good things are to come. The trio, Cindy Lazarenko (chef), Geoffrey Lilge (designer) and Christopher Brandt (wood manufacturer), formed On Our Table, a St. Albert, Alberta based design outfi t that crafts beautiful wooden boards, butcher blocks and accessories out of walnut wood.

The company got its start by making serving boards for Cin-

dy's restaurant. “We couldn’t fi nd any that we liked, so I designed and made some” says Geoffrey, Cindy’s husband. For example, their Chisel board has an angled corner that was created to provide restaurant servers with the opti-mal wrist angle when presenting the board to the diner. In terms of new products, Geoffrey contin-ues to fi ll the design pipeline with objects that satisfy a need. “This year we will be doing more collab-orations, releasing furniture (fall 2014) and a cookbook; that will be enough.” 

www.onourtable.ca

{ST. ALBERT}

//Design

ON OUR TABLE

Laima is one of the three goddesses of fate appear-ing in Latvian mythology. As the deter miner of human fate and luck, she is symbol ized by the f ir and broom. Laima’s symbols are appl ied throughout Latvian design and craf t , and her broom of luck is used to save people from drowning.

Photo Cre

dit: O

n Our T

able

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SACRED OAK{TALLinn}

When over half the geography of a country is boreal forest, like it

is in Estonia, one might expect wood to feature prominently in design. For Tallinn based designer-craftsman, Karl Taul, he set up a small work-shop in the city and transformed his woodworking hobby into a pro-fession. “The aesthetics of my work is  grounded in  the old Estonian peasant way of life, a style which is known for its simplicity, even naivety, but also playfulness” says Taul.

He remains fl exible with his de-signs and letting the wood guide

the end product. Karl’s preference is to work with local reclaimed wood (spruce and pine are common) and only uses oak, a tree with a sacred status in Estonia, for his cutting boards and salad forks. “Despite the fact that oak would be the best wood

to use in certain pieces, cutting down oak trees to make furniture does not feel right. Oak has a mythical status in Estonia. The trees are believed to be wise creatures and thus should be treated with respect.”

shop.malin-workshop.com/

//Design

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KARL TAU

//Design

49

Photo Credit: Karl Taul, Anna-Liisa Liiver

KARL TAUL

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//Design

to Stay competit ive in the ever evolv-

ing retail l andScape, merchantS have

to Stay on their toeS and raiSe the bar

to at tract a loyal Following oF cuS-

tomerS. our retail Section exploreS

Five Shop conceptS, both online and

on the Street, that are get ting the mix

and experience right.

◊TH E R E TA I L S PECTRU M◊

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//Design

NEW INRETAIL

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//Design

In a creative effort to support London’s small homeware and fashion businesses, StreetHub, based in East Lon-

don, launched its click and collect website in November 2013. The site (and soon to launch iPhone app), founded by Alex Loizou, Maxim Berglund, and Mandeep Singh, enables shoppers to buy online from independent shops like Homage in Stoke Newington, Volte Face in Blooms-bury, Family Tree in Clerkenwell and Fabrications in Hackney, and collect their purchases in-store, thereby driving much needed foot traffi c into local communities. Out of the gate, StreetHub started with a list of over 100 independent shops in London and are adding approxi-mately 20 shops a month in Central London, in areas such as Shoreditch, Chelsea, Notting Hill and Islington.

www.streethub.com

{LOnDOn}

Photo Credit: Luke Archer

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//Design

Clippings.com, part online home store, part design maga-zine, draws from its neighbours in the design and tech

industries, which surrounds its office located in the Clerk-enwell district in London. “We launched over a year ago and have been quietly growing our community and range of products” says Co-Founder of Clippings.com, Tom Mallory. The site provides a platform for young designers to show-case their work and gain access to a wider audience. So far, hundreds of designers have signed on bringing the shopping spectrum to close to 10,000 products. “We want to build a community that is excited about design and who want to help push design further!” 

NEW INRETAIL

{LOnDOn}

Designers We Like:

Fundamental Berlin: Furniture, lighting and accessories make up the mix of products that

manage to be fun, sophisticated and reasonably priced all at the same time, I’d recommend you check them out.

Marina Dragomirova: Royal College of Art graduate, Marina Dragomirova creates one-of-a-kind, up-cycled vintage glass-

ware, where the stems and cups are connected by magnets. All the glasses are sourced from antique and vintage shops around London.

 Kaymet:

A classic British brand that keeps evolving its designs and is celebrated for its superb quality. They spe-cialize in making aluminum trays that will last you a lifetime.

www.clippings.com

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//Design

RE

54

Photo Credit: RE

{cORBRiDGE}

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//Design

Hadrian’s Wall is a nod to the power and vastness of the Roman Em-pire. It stretches 80 miles from the Sol-way Coast in the west to Tynemouth in the east, and it took 15,000 men six years to build. The Wall, a UN-ESCO World Her-itage Site, is the best known and preserved frontier of the empire.

Corbridge, a Roman village set along a portion of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, may seem an unlikely spot for an eclectic design

shop like RE. After spending years working in the fashion industry, own-ers Jenny Vaughan and Simon Young opened RE in 2003 in a small con-verted workshop in a village far from the bustle of London, but closer to home. RE is a showcase for a wide scope of unique merchandise, as well as Jenny and Simon’s multitude of skills in design, planning, styling and building collections. “There’s no set formula or logic to the style of RE,” says Jenny. “It’s purely about things we like mixed together: old, new, reworked, mass-produced or handcrafted one-offs.” Despite being five hours northeast of London, RE has found its way to the city in the form of pop-up shops and a permanent concession in the venerable department store Liberty of London.

NEW INRETAIL

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First thursdays //Design

{cApE TOwn}

Photo Credit: Katy Rose

Joining the likes of other First Thursdays art-culture-

retail based community events around the world, Cape Town’s has launched its own version of First Thursdays, an initiative taking advantage of the city’s title as World Capital of Design 2014. The monthly event en-courages Capetonians and visi-tors alike to walk the streets of the city, visit its galleries and art venues, while tasting, sip-ping and celebrating local tal-ent late into the night. Here are a few highlights:

S p i e r S e c r e t c o u r t-ya r d – 6 4 a Wa l e S t r e e tAn established force in the South African wine industry, and a longtime patron of the arts, Spier has opened a pop-up summer time restaurant-bar-gallery tucked away in this →

→ rustic courtyard. Art exhibi-tions rotate regularly, weekly Secret Suppers feature well-known local chefs and then there is always Spier wine at cellar door prices.

wRiTTEn BY: KATY ROSE

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S k i n n y l a M i n x – 2 0 1 B r e e S t r e e tHeather Moore of local fabric and interiors brand, Skin-ny La Minx, has long been at the cutting edge of design in the small Cape Town community. Thinking outside the city, Heather was one of the first startups to market internationally and online. Using blogging and social media, Skinny La Minx quickly built up a strong follow-ing for its geometric screen prints, which adorn every-thing from tea towels, lampshades, throw covers and accessories. Their first retail space is located on Bree Street.

//Design

57

H o n e S t c H o c o l at e – 6 6 Wa l e S t r e e tProving that ‘raw’ and ‘vegan’ can also be devilishly tempting, Anthony and Michael of Honest Chocolate supply all of the indul-gence with none of the guilt. Handmade, organic, dairy free and low GI – you’ll be left asking “But is this chocolate?” Their Honest Chocolate is available in slabs in a variety of flavours, and luscious bonbons in mint, ginger, rose geranium and honey. Dark, velvety, healthy and local – do we need more excuses?

NEW INRETAIL

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u a S H M a M a pa p e r B a G S : We are using these for holding candles or indoor plants, breadsticks. They are made from paper but feel like leather and washes like fabric! Love! 

a l c H e M y c H e M i S t r y c a n d l e S : A cluster of beakers/fl asks with hand poured soy candle wax in scents like ginger ale, co-conut & lime or mandarin oil & rosemary.

t H e k i n F o l k ta B l e - This book is ace for inspiration for what to cook and present on your table. 

M a S o n d r i n k i n G J a r S W i t H r e t-

r o S t r aW S : Perfect for that hipster green juice or handmade sangria! 

lu M i e r e a r t & c o l i M i t e d e d i -

t i o n p l at e S - These designer plates are like works of art! Who doesn't want cool crockery to eat off? 

www.thesupercool.com

{MELBOURnE}

//Design

Mobile shop, The Supercool aims to shake up predictable retail experi-

ences in Melbourne with its story-wor-thy, eclectic and independent home-wares. “We always liked the idea of being nomadic and going to the people rather than waiting for them to come to us” says Kate Vandermeer, co-founder of The Supercool. Together with her husband, David Nunez (Noonie), the pair will set up The Supercool in a location in the city anywhere from one day, or over a long weekend, to six weeks or as long as seven months.

F i v e C o n v e r s a t i o n P i e C e s @ t h e s u P e r C o o l

SUPERCOOL

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//Design

F i v e C o n v e r s a t i o n P i e C e s @ t h e s u P e r C o o l

NEW INRETAIL

Pho

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uper

cool

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//Entertaining

ENTERTAININGENTERTAINING

entertaining

entertaining

entertaining

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//Entertaining

Plates with a point of view, design and a story become the next conversation pieces for the ta-ble. Don't shy away from colour and pattern the next time you consider growing your dish collec-tion. We also share four items that make enter-taining fun.

Pho

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Violraviol{BUEnOS AiRES}

In the vibrant barrio of Palermo in Buenos Aires, is where you will fi nd Ce-cilia Sonzini and Javier Gomez Dodero's shop, Violraviol. Cecilia and Javier's

granny trolleys and shopping accessories blend right into the neighbourhood's colourful landscape. “We make products to help you bring your groceries from the market, like shopping trolleys, reusable bags, and baskets” says Cecilia. “They are the objects used by our grandmothers, but we make them super functional.”  Violraviol’s market baskets are made from discarded material found at fruit and vegetable markets, making each basket unique. As far as materials go, the company operates on the whim of what is in season and import regulations on food products coming into Argentina. “The colours you see in a basket are impacted by seasonal produce. For example, if it’s banana season, the zunchos (straps) are yellow be-cause that’s how the banana company packages their bananas. It’s amusing to depend on such a random factor but we have learned that those obstacles are a starting point, so we create based on what we are missing.” says Sonzini.

Photo Credit: Violraviol

The Name: Violraviol is a play on words. When Cecilia's daughter, Violeta, was young, she loved to eat ravioli. Cecilia's sister, an excellent storyteller, would tell Violeta stories about a character named violraviol, a contraction of 'Violeta' and 'ravioli'.

//Entertaining

as materials go, the company operates on the whim of what is in season and import regulations on food products coming into Argentina. “The colours you see in a basket are impacted by seasonal produce. For example, if it’s banana season, the zunchos (straps) are yellow be-cause that’s how the banana company packages their bananas. It’s amusing to depend on such a random factor but we have learned that those obstacles are a starting point, so we create based on

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entertaining: the lit tle thingS SOMETIMES IT ’S THE LIT TLE THINGS WE HAVE THAT HELP MAKE A GATHERING RUN SMOOTHLY. THIS SPRING WE ARE ALL ABOUT SUPPORTING SERVICES THAT MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER AND PRODUCTS THAT DO THE JOB RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. MEET FOUR COMPANIES THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO SAY “THIS IS AWESOME!”

//Entertaining

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Richard Sparrenhök and Sara Edhäll are on a mission to

keep Iris Hantverk – Stock-holm’s beloved traditional brush-manufacturing company – alive. “Iris refers to the iris of the eye and hantverk means craft or handcraft in Swedish,” says Sara. “The reference to the eye comes naturally from our company’s history, as it has strong ties to SRF, a visu-

ally impaired organization in Sweden.” Iris Hantverk’s roots date back to 1889 when a group of visually impaired craftsmen founded De blindas förening (DBF), an independent politi-cal organization charged to en-courage and empower individu-als with visual impairments to actively participate in society and gain equal access to em-ployment in order to live gain-fully. Near the beginning of the 20th century, the group pur-chased brush-binding materi-als and set up a factory and a shop on Majorsgatan 12. Until 2012, the company relied on

government subsidies from the Socialdepartementet to assist with the cost of materials, a main source of support for the company since the 1950s.

Now based in the suburbs of Stockholm, Iris Hantverk em-ploys 14 people, fi ve of whom have visual impairments, and continues to make brushes according to Swedish tradi-tion. The brushes, made from natural materials like Swed-ish birch, beech and oak, and bristles from horsehair and Tampico, are complemented by a new range of accessories for the kitchen and bathroom.

Richard and Sara have their work cut out for them, but they are on the way to keeping the brand afl oat. “We want to con-tinue to highlight the excellent craftsmanship of the artisans who work with us,” says Sara. “It is also important to grow our markets outside of the country so more people can enjoy the Swedish traditions associated with brush-making, and make it so that we are in a position to hire more visually impaired craftsmen, a testament to our past and support for the com-munity.”

www.irishantverk.se

In Maniago, Italy’s center for steel blades, knife and cutlery

manufacturers fi ll orders for clients around the world. The small town, which is located in north eastern Italy, is not only famous for its knives, it is also famous for its fresh, mild Mon-tasio cheese (used in the Friu-lan cheese crisp called frico). The origin of the prized Monta-sio cheese can be traced back to a 17th century monastery in the mountains in the Friuli Ven-ezia Giulia region. It is no won-der that Due Ancore, a Maniago family knife manufacturer that is currently run by fourth gen-eration, Andrea Girolami, de-signed its Lamami line with over eight sets devoted to cut-ting, chopping and slicing vari-ous cheeses. As an expression of Italian lifestyle, each set pro-vides context about the food it is meant to be used with and is packaged in an elegant re-cycled cardboard book that is perfect for storing knives.

Cleaning Up

{ST

Oc

KH

OL

M}

//Entertaining

Cut the Cheese

{MA

niA

GO

}

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BLADE MATERIAL: Stainless steel with molybde-num vanadium

HANDLE MATERIAL: Olive wood and Paperstone (a 100% post-consumer paper with petro-free resin)

FAMILY HISTORY: Due Ancore dates back to the XIX Century when the Beltrame family started manufacturing farming tools.

FAVOURITE KNIFE SETS: Honey Cheese and Nuts, Brandy Chocolate and Cigar, Soft Cheeses and Cheese and Wine.

{nEw YORK}

//Entertaining

On The Sill Stumped on where to buy a plant in the city that has everything,

Eliza Bank founded The Sill, a service that brings people to plants that suit their lifestyle. When she fi rst moved to New York City, Eliza noticed the lack of green space and fresh air around her. She made her fi rst apartment feel more like home, a one-window, 200 square foot walk up, with plants. The Sill offers a range of mini plants, table top plants, and fl oor plants along with plant maintenance, gardening and plant design services. For the time pressed knowledge depraved, Eliza and her team focus on supplying easy-care plants in ceramic planters that can withstand a wide range of environments (think New York’s pre-war overheated buildings).

www.thesill.com

Pho

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idne

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ensi

mon

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//Entertaining

Conversation Plates plateS are tranSFormative. while Serving Food on a plain white plate may do a better job at highlighting your ingredientS, a plate with character, a Story and colour can take a meal or a tableScape to another level. we Speak with Four deSignerS whoSe plateS will kick Start your dinner party converSation in t he right direction.

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//Entertaining

Conversation Plates plateS are tranSFormative. while Serving Food on a plain white plate may do a better job at highlighting your ingredientS, a plate with character, a Story and colour can take a meal or a tableScape to another level. we Speak with Four deSignerS whoSe plateS will kick Start your dinner party converSation in t he right direction.

Illus

trat

ion

Art N

o. 1

1 by

Nyn

ne R

osen

ving

e

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01

//Entertaining

Louise WiLkinson

{LOnDOn}

68Photo Credit: Louise Wilkinson

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These days, Yorkshire born Louise Wilkinson calls bone china her canvas. After studying illustration,

Wilkinson got her start designing prints, patterns and characters for children’s clothes before moving into fashion when she moved to London over 10 years ago.

She launched her own design studio in 2012 and settled on designing whimsical tableware on bone china which is hand decorated in Stoke on Trent. “I love the qual-ity of fi ne bone china, particularly its fl at surface area which is like a blank canvas” says Louise. “I wanted to create special cups and saucers that were playful and illustrative, with witty details.” Her Maple Collection includes a mix and match illustrated series of plates, cups, saucers, jugs trays and teapots. It is a refl ection of her love of the traditional decorative arts and the in-spiration she draws from nature, fantasy and animals.

www.louisewilkinson.co.uk

//Entertaining

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//Entertaining

{SAn FRAnciScO}

Lisa neiMeth Clay has always been an integral part of life for cer-amist Lisa Neimeth. Although her career began in

a different direction, she maintained a connection to pottery by working in private studios, attending annual workshops in New Mexico and immersing herself in folk art and local ceramic works through extensive travel in Central and South America. After her children were born, she set up her own stu-dio behind her home, a 19th-century dairy farmhouse in the inner Sunset District where she worked on sculp-tural pieces. It wasn’t until she ate at a restaurant that served on handmade plates that Lisa was motivated to transition her sculptural work toward something more functional. “I wanted to bridge the concept of a ‘work of art’ with something useable (and dishwasher-friendly),” explains Lisa. “I started creating one-of-a-kind handmade tableware using impressed objects and hand-etched design elements.”

Photo Credit: Joe Smooke, M

arshall Gordon

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//Entertaining

what t ype oF cl ay do you

work with?Rich, dark, California clay.

how would you deScribe the

St yle oF your work? My style is about combining things in new and unusual ways. It is rustic-contemporary and de-liberate in terms of the colours and matte fi nish-es that I use. An example could be colour combi-nations, or design elements that are juxtaposed to amuse or encourage further observation. My tableware is meant to fi t in a farmhouse country style home as well as in a stark and modern set-ting.

what’S next?People crave something special, not machine made and I feel fortunate to be in this area of tableware design in such a ripe time and ap-preciation for handmade work. The spring and summer will see new work presented at Anthro-pologie, Terrain, Sundance and Silver Oak Vine-yards in Napa. I am also working on a couple of new restaurant deals to do their plates, which I always love to do.

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//Entertaining

Charged with providing context and represen-tation for under-recognized Canadian design,

Julie Nicholson and Shaun Moore combined their international experience in design, art and mer-chandising and set up MADE in 2005, a retail store located on Dundas Street West among a hub of other independent businesses in Toronto. Re-cently the pair partnered with Aaron Nelson, the Artistic Director of Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District in southern Alberta to launch the Redesigned Medalta plate series dur-ing the Toronto Design Offsite Festival in January 2014. “The Redesigned Medalta project invited makers, designers and artists to create new de-signs for plates from the stock found abandoned at the Hycroft China Factory, a site part of the his-toric district in Aaron’s title” says Shaun. The current series shows the work of Canadian

Made 03

{TOROnTO/MEDicinE HAT}

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//Entertaining

artists, Aaron Nelson, Jenna Stanton, Jenn Demke Lange, Laura McKibbon, Noriko Masuda, Tobie La-liberté, Alyssa Nuhas and Elizabeth Burritt. “The designers were tasked with creatively illustrating the goals of the now Historic District in Medicine Hat with the goal of offering a new cultural context for its output.” The series is comprised of eight limited edition plates each by a different designer. The project intends to introduce new designs over time as new designers are invited to participate. At one time, Medicine Hat was a major production hub for pottery, producing approximately 75% of Canada’s pottery in the 1920s. Ceramic production started in the 1880s as it was geographically rich in two important resources: clay and (cheap) natural gas. Famous Canadian potteries like Medalta and Hycroft China used these natural resources to cre-ate all sorts of everyday items which they shipped on the Canadian Pacific Railway across the country to customers. The Depression, war and increased competition negatively impacted the Medicine Hat ceramic industry, which led to its demise. “The Redesigned Medalta plate series hopes to reach a wider audience while also leveraging and ac-knowledging the significant industrial past of the area” says Moore.

madedesign.goodsie.com

MEDALTA iS A cEnTURY-OLD

nATiOnAL HiSTORic S iTE

( iT OpEnED in 1912) wHicH

cLOSED iTS DOORS AS An Op-

ERATinG FAcTORY in 1954 DUE

TO DEcLininG SALES AnD nEw

cOMpETiTiOn LOcALLY AnD

inTERnATiOnALLY. TODAY iT

HAS BEEn REiMAGinED AS A

cOnTEMpORARY cERAMic ARTS

STUDiO, inDUSTRiAL HERiTAGE

MUSEUM, A L ivE inDUSTRiAL

ARcHAEOLOGicAL S iTE AnD

pRODUcTiOn pOTTERY STUDiO.

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sarah Cihat 04

{BROOKLYn}

//Entertaining

After four years in Parsons School of Design’s furniture design program, Brooklyn, New York based Sarah Cihat was tired of designing products that

used new or raw materials. For her thesis, she turned her attention to thrift shops and started experimenting with glazes that would allow her to augment and update the façade of discarded, unwanted dishes. “Not everything I find can be rehabbed, but I find all types of ceramic wares that I attempt to make work” says Sarah.

Armed with positive feedback, she set up her studio in Clinton Hill the summer after graduation and got to work expanding her concept. She officially launched Rehabilitated Dishware last fall and sells exclusively at Barneys on Madison Avenue in Manhattan and online.

www.sarahcihat.com

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//Entertaining

Photo Credit: Sarah Cihat, Aaron Joseph

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vancouvermap

//EntertainingTHOMAS HAAS 2539 WEST BROADWAy

GANACHE PATISSERIE1262 HOMER ST

MARkET MEATS 2326 W 4TH AvE

HOMEWERx1053 DAvIE ST

BEAuCOuP BAkERy 2150 FIR STREET

OllA uRBAN FlOWER PROjECT235 CAMBIE ST

BARBARA jO'S BOOkS TO COOkS 1740 WEST 2ND AvE

lEGACy lIquOR STORE1633 MANITOBA ST

GRANvIllE ISlAND PuBlIC MARkET 1689 jOHNSTON ST

SWISS BAkERy143 E 3RD AvE

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//EntertainingTHOMAS HAAS 2539 WEST BROADWAy

MARkET MEATS 2326 W 4TH AvE

BEAuCOuP BAkERy 2150 FIR STREET

BARBARA jO'S BOOkS TO COOkS 1740 WEST 2ND AvE

GRANvIllE ISlAND PuBlIC MARkET 1689 jOHNSTON ST

Page 78: Countlan Magazine Issue 07

vancouvermap

01 where iS the beSt pl ace For meat?

If I'm looking for special order meat, I'll go to  Market Meats on 4th Avenue. They're great if you're looking for a particular cut that isn't usually carried at the supermar-ket. Even if they don't have it in store, they'll source it for you. They carry a lot of local meat as well, which is a bo-nus. (Market Meats 2326 W 4th Ave)

02 where iS the beSt pl ace For Flow-

erS?

I love, love, love Olla Flowers in Gastown. They have, hands down, the prettiest bouquets and arrangements I have seen in this city. I love their minimalist design and their terrariums or planters fi lled with moss and succulents. (Olla Flowers 235 Cambie Street)

03 where iS the beSt pl ace For deS-

SertS/baked goodS

If I'm not making dessert myself, the place I'd defi nite-ly head to is Ganache Pâtisserie  in Yaletown. I love their fl avour combinations . I also like Thomas Haas  for twice baked almond croissants and  Beaucoup Bakery  for their  kouign amann, a buttery, sugary delicious treat. (Thomas Haas  2539 West Broadway; Beaucoup Bak-ery 2150 Fir Street)

04 where iS the beSt pl ace For

bread?

I like bread from either  Swiss Bakery  or  Terra Breads. Swiss Bakery supplies bread to quite a few restaurants around town - I especially like their ciabatta. Terra Breads has a large selection of loaves fi lled with cheese, olives, nuts, seeds and fruit. They go wonderfully with charcuterie. (Swiss Bakery 143 East 3rd Avenue; Terra Breads 53 West 5th Ave)

//Entertaining

STEPHANIE LE IS A VANCOUVER BASED FOOD BLOGGER WHO L AUNCHED HER SEC-OND BLOG, IAMAFOOD-BLOG.COM, IN 2012 AFTER COOKING, EATING AND BLOGGING HER WAY THROUGH THE MOMOFUKU COOKBOOK IN 2010.

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05 where iS the beSt pl ace For table-

ware/diSheS?

I like to visit Homewerx on Davie Street for tableware and dishes. They have a lot of simple, white modern pieces that take a backseat to the food and really let it shine. I like their modern colour palette when it comes to table lin-ens as well - full of neutrals, but with fantastic textures. (Homewerx 1053 Davie St.)

06 where iS the beSt pl ace veggieS?

For veggies, I go to a bunch of places, depending on what looks fresh. The Vancouver Farmers Markets (various lo-cations) run almost year round and feature lots of fresh BC produce. For a more grocery store type place, Kin's Farm Market  is generally a good bet - they have a lot of local produce as well as organics.

07 where iS the beSt pl ace For wine

(or) beer (or) l iQuor

Generally, in Vancouver, people head to BC Liquor for their go-to alcohol needs, due to strict liquor laws. There are a few independent licensed shops though. One of my favour-ites is Legacy Liquor Store in Olympic Village. They have a massive selection of beer, wine and liquor. I especially like their large craft beer selection. (Legacy Liquor Store 1633 Manitoba St)

08 where iS the beSt pl ace to buy a

new cookbook?

I love browsing the cookbooks at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks. It's super well stocked and they have a full kitchen where they host events where authors cook from their books. Also, if you're a cookbook fanatic and you're look-ing for signed copies, Books to Cooks is most likely to have one. (Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks 1740 West 2nd Ave)

//Entertaining

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Next ISSUE: July 2014VISIT US AT WWW.COUNTLAN.COM