n°1 – SOUL KITCHEN

This is URBAN
It’s roled in Hamburg. The city itself is part of the story. The food become from the inner soul of the city, due to its buildings, its cultural stratification, its economical background through the centuries. I would like to run the Soul Kitchen… any partner?

n°2 – Julie & Julia

This is FICTION (as americans live design)
Is the beginning of kitchens staged up in a TV set as we are used to see nowadays on broadcasting networks. Here comes out the american concept of design as a fetish, in a particular scene there’re all the tools of Julia Child exhibited like if we are inside the Goethe’s House in Weimar.

n°3 – LE GRAND RESTAURANT

This is HOUSEWIFE
It represents the idea of “grand restaurant” that each housewife still holds in their minds. Is a old-school image of luxury and quality, the perfect paired to our nowadays extreme minimal and sophisticated horeca design “apparels” we are seeking today. Louis de Funès makes fun of this… I adore this man!!!!

n°4 – THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE & HER LOVER

This is THEATRE
We are on a stage, food are on stage, customers are on stage, I think is exactly how has been conceived horeca architecture in the ’80 and early ’90. An approach that inspired dozen of famous interiors designer for well known horeca icons around the globe (most of Philippe Stark projects follow this path.).

n°5 – Ratatouille

This is CARTOON
Of course it is… what else? This is how we would like to see the entire world. It’s what we think Paris is… a CARTOON. How we (as customer) think a kitchen could be…. where also the schmuck is lovely, the dirtyness has a bean of ray, the weird stuffs in a stove or in a sink are…. a CARTOON!!!  But really, pay attention when you go out to eat…. a rat-trap cannot be a restaurant. Never.

One week before the Salone del Mobile di Milano. This is the greatest event about design on the whole planet earth. No kidding. As every year I’m ready to dig in. The funny thing about this fair is discovering what sticks together all this people from all over the world beside design itself: food & beverage. No matter if you are a student, a designer, a producer, a buyer, a saleman or a journalist, the pole of gravitation is eating and drinking indeed. Restaurants of any category are packed of people, all bodegas in each corner of the town sell food, drinks, water, alcool, sandwiches, all you can eat, no matter what. There’s a war at each opening to get the biggest amount of fingerfoods and booze for free. Esclusive parties, night clubs, showrooms, lofts, shops, special events, vernissage, disco, badabam badabom… design all over… yeah, yeah…. but the core business in town is food and drink. Catering facilities were invented at Salone del Mobile, I betcha! As always I’ll be at Bar Basso to drink my lovely cocktail named Fragolino (not to mistake with the sparkling wine!!!). There’s a product from Droog (Peter van der Jagt = genius!!!) that fits perfectly in my idea of Salone del Mobile: Bottoms Up. Is a doorbell made out of two wine glasses. Driin Driin, there’s a designer at your door….Oops…. better say: Ciiin Ciiin!!!

Yeah!!! Women belong to kitchen… or better says the opposite? I would like to thanks Settimio Benedusi who gently gave us this pic of Tanya Gervasi to use it for our latest cover of USCIRE. For me is such an honour: Settimio is one of the best italian photographer in the world of fashion. Tanya was so kind to answer to few questions about food&wine, of course she’s beautiful but she’s so focused on the matter of food!!! She has been called as the “slow model” for her work in fashion establishment and her studies in food culture at Pollenzo University (Cuneo – Italy). She’s an icon for women cause she says: beautyness is a feeling that comes from your inner values and not at all a question of size! Go Tanya!!!!

The article talks about her but most of all about the great female Chefs: from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse  (California – USA) and Denise Pardini (now at Castello di Sinio – CN – Italy) to some old school mamas in Piedmont (like Gemma in Roddino -CN- Italy).

Enjoy it: www.uscire.net

More on Settimio Benedusi: www.benedusi.it

Usually I do not talk about politics or politicians but in this case I couldn’t touch the matter.
McDonald’s is boosting on the market this brand new sandwich (panino) made out of selected ingredient by italian producers. The Agricoltural Minister of Italy put under sponsorship this panino in partnership with the american fast food company. The idea of the Minister is to give a taste of Italy’s flavour and food culture to all the young people aroung the world. The argue between the Italian politician and a quite known english columnits and gourmet is on:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jan/28/mcdonalds-launch-mcitaly-burger
I’m asking myself: is that a good idea or not? I still don’t have any clue. I’m still wondering….
Actually I got only one problem with it: there’s no visible certification of provenience about the ingredients on the reference website, just an advertisment statement. I gotta admit: as senior copywriter….I don’t buy statements.

Santiago Calatrava did this incredible winery for Ysios in Logrono – Rioja, Spain.
The shape of the building itself became the logo on the label of each bottles. That’s marketing for sure!!! There is another thing quite interesting talking about architecture, I’m wondering how happened to build that St. Honoré Cake house on the slope just behind the winery. That’s so hilarious!!! Look at the last pic I posted. It’s unbelievable!!!

www.domecqbodegas.com/ysios/

Christian Mouiex from Libourne (owner of Petrus at Pomerol and lately of Chateau Belair in Saint Emillion) done this incredible architecture for his winery in Yountville, Napa Valley – USA. Dominus Estate has been established in 1983 and the project of  its winery has been done in 1997 belong the work of swiss architect firm Herzog & de Meuron. The skin of the building is made out of cages filled with basalt rocks from nearby canyon. This winery could be called as reference mark of latest wine’s architecture. 

www.dominusestate.com

Juicy Salif, the citrus squeezer by Philippe Starck for Alessi is remarkable.
It’s the icon of food design. It’s the “object”. Could be a sculpture. A portable sculpture. Of course is a tool to keep in your kitchen but at the same time it could be happily useless even if is usefull. You can leave it on the dining room’s table or in your bathroom and it has the same appeal. Always. This project totally revolutioned the idea of designing tools for cocking. Ain’t no doubt Philips eletrical tools were since the beginning a new path of design by forms belong technical skills and necessities satisfaction, but with Juicy Salif a new wave has been celebrated. The revolution has began. A new story in late ’90 has been written, a page from history of design. The other milestone are the glasses named Smoke designed earlier (1964) by Joe Colombo for Anrnolfo Di Cambio, but this is another story…

www.alessi.com/en/2/110/kitchen-accessories/psjs-juicy-salif-citrus-squeezer

Envy

Gluttony

Greed

Lust

Pride

Sloth

Wrath

Which kind of sinner are you? I already published on paper the work of Kacper Hamilton. He designed theese wonderful samples now on the market. Each glass represent one of the seven deadly sins in a theatrical fashionable way. I have in my cellar the whole pack. Notice that my cellar is undergroung in a dark side of my mansion already furnished with ropes, cages, whips and so. Wine & bondage work perfectly together… Let’s sin a little, shall we?

http://www.kacperhamilton.com/Kacper_Hamilton/Deadly_Glasses.html

Alfa Romeo promotes the responsible enjoyment of wine. And also of driving.
To enjoy both, please never mix the two.

I just love this ADV! A common corkscrewer open arms, with tears of red wine as blood, laid down on the ground as a human body silhouette run over by a car. Drive responsible is a matter and Alfa Romeo take a side. French people calls this kind of corkscrewers Charles De Gaulle, their very first president of “France Libre” after the 2nd World War. The reason why is he was used to cheers masses during his speeches moving his arms like a corkscrewer, straight long in the air up and down. 
Libertè, Roulez, Buvez. Don’t mess the order!!! 

Years ago I was already impressed by the work of Johannes Torpe. When I was in Copenhagen this drummer was already one of the most talented danish designers. At the time one the coolest nightclub in town was the NASA-Club (image below) projected by him. With its total white look and round shapes the Nasa for me was something really new. I knew in few years Johannes Torpe Studio would be called on the international scene. So it is. Lately in Beijing he designed SUBU restaurant with a gesamtkunstwerk approach: chairs and also a gang of glass for Subu has been designed indeed. I’m so happy to see this scandinavian new wave of design conquer new frontier. Easy when you live in such an ispirational place as Copenhagen. As a matter of fact I left my heart in Vesterbronx!!!

http://www.johannestorpe.com/