For the fourth year running we were very pleased to be sponsoring in the Dulwich Festival, Artist Open House 2019.
 
Exhibiting a stunning selection of bespoke furniture from our workshop and hosting local artists, the space was a hive of chatter and creativity both weekends.
 
The preview night saw a wonderful mixture of old and new faces and thanks to everyone who came along to celebrate the opening with us. 

This year we were delighted to host Mara Sculpture and painter Janet Tod for the second consecutive year and welcomed new ceramic artist Chrissy Silver and photographer duo Anna and Alice from In the right light photography. 

​In the workshop we were able to display commissioned pieces imminent for installation. A kitchen island with completely handless-less drawers all on push to open runners, the drawer boxes sprayed finished in Farrow and Ball Vardo and the drawer fonts book matched veneered in the stunning specimen timber, Wych Elm, the worktop was a welsh slate. 

​For the second weekend we showcased some eye-catching wardrobes with a striking veneer design in quarter cut American Black walnut.

​New for 2019 we built a delightful double kitchen larder for our showroom, complete with marble worktop, internal shelves and drawers. The piece shows you what the possibilities are when it comes to designing your perfect kitchen larder. 

​The team worked hard this year to bring it all together and yet again it was great to work with the team or organise the Artist Open House and to be able to sponsor the local event.
 
If you missed visiting us this year, not to worry, our workshop and showroom is open Monday to Friday 9 – 5.30 and by appointment on Saturday. 

On the 8th of October Ian and Jacqui attended the Designer Kitchen & Bathroom Awards held in Great Queen Street. Our Idmiston Road kitchen was nominated as one of three finalists in the British Design & Manufacturing category.

Congratulations to Alice Poole Architects who won the award, however we take pride in knowing that we were the only finalists who designed and made the kitchen in house. It was an amazing experience and achievement to have our Idmiston kitchen recognised by the kitchen design community, and has left us in high spirits leaving 2018.

​We are all excited to see what 2019 brings! 

We've most recently been working on a project quite local at Lyndhurst Way creating beautiful hand painted cabinetry in Lamp Black Little Green Paint & Calke Green Farrow & Ball - we believe green is the new grey this year.

This project is a Framed Shaker style with drawers in American White Oak, dovetailed construction on full extension, soft close runners.

Hand painting is a fantastic way to create a more uniform finish and easy to touch up, however it is more costly than spray finish which we also do in our spray shop on site.

Our guys in the workshop are continuously working on new projects, sanding, painting and joining. Our workshop is fully equipt with a dovetail jointer, morticer jointer, panel saw and more.

We work with our clients to explore the types of wood which may work for their project. Above are pieces of Teak, Cherry and Iroko currently waiting for dovetailing for our drawer boxes.

We celebrated the 25th anniversary of Artists Open House during the 2 weeks of Dulwich Festival. This year we opened our gates to the general public much like the other 250 artists.

Eggs ‘Royale’ is a derivative of the classic American breakfast Eggs ‘Benedict’. There are many conflicting claims as to when and who created this dish, though New York has become synonymous with the name. It consists of toasted English muffin, poached egg and ham or bacon finished with Hollandaise sauce. There are many variations of this classic dish ranging from Florentine with spinach to Forestier with mushrooms. Eggs Royale simply swaps ham for smoked salmon.

With a slight twist, this dish will consist of curing fresh salmon with beetroot and dill to give a sweet, salty and earthy flavour as well as a lovely colour. Similar to ‘Gravadlax’, a Nordic dish consisting of fresh salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill.  The idea of curing fish stems from the need to preserve surplus food, coming under the same heading as smoking and pickling.

This dish is perfect for Mother’s day morning, soft toasted muffin, sweet and salty salmon, runny poached egg and a rich hollandaise sauce; luxurious and best suited with a glass of bubbles. A real treat for all the hard-working mothers out there.

500g fresh skinned salmon
200g coarse sea salt
300g caster sugar
150g beetroot diced
1tsp black peppercorns
5 juniper berries
2tsp lemon zest
1 bunch dill (reserve a few springs for garnish)
2tbsp gin

Begin by preparing the cure in a pestle and mortar. Combine the aromats (peppercorns, juniper, lemon zest and dill stalks) then grind into a paste and add the beetroot and half the salt as an abrasive. Continue grinding until a rough paste is formed. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Find a suitable dish that will not stain and place a layer of the cure on the base, layer the salmon on top and cover with the remaining cure and refrigerate. Depending on the level of cure you want, the salmon can be left anywhere between 6 to 24 hours, though a slightly lighter cure of around 8 hours is preferred, as the salmon can become overly salty for this dish if left for too long. If time is of the essence most supermarkets are known to sell cured and sliced salmon if preferred, the classic smoked salmon is the obvious choice. Once the salmon has cured to your liking remove the cure, wash and wrap in a dry jay cloth. Cured fish can be kept refrigerated without spoiling for much longer than regular fresh fish though to be safe 5 days should suffice.

2 English muffins halved and toasted
2 medium eggs
3 egg yolks
150g butter
1tsp water
1tsp white wine vinegar
1tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Next begin making the hollandaise sauce. Place the butter in a small saucepan and set over a low heat to melt. Make a ‘Bain Marie’ by bringing a separate saucepan of water to the boil, turning down to a gentle simmer and placing a heatproof bowl on top. Place the egg yolks in the bowl with lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Start by whisking till the yolks start to thicken. Remove from the heat occasionally or the eggs will scramble. Once the eggs are thick and fluffy slowly begin whisking in the clarified butter (top yellow layer), only a little at a time to allow the butter to emulsify or the eggs and butter will split. The result should be a lovely thick shiny sauce, if it is too thick add a little more lemon juice. Season and reserve somewhere warm.

The final jobs are poaching the eggs, toasting the muffins and slicing the salmon. Use the pan of boiling water from the Bain Marie and add a dash of white wine vinegar. Once the water is bubbling crack the eggs into the pan and turn the heat down slightly. If the eggs are fresh they will have no problem forming a perfect poached egg. If they are slightly older use a whisk and form a whirlpool in the middle of the pan and crack into it. The eggs should take a little over a minute to cook, at this time remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and allow to drain.

Slice the salmon with a long thin bladed knife and toast the muffins. Assemble the dish by placing the toasted muffins on your plates face up, layer with salmon and place the poached egg on top. Season with a little pepper and a spoon of the hollandaise. Finish with the remaining dill sprigs and serve immediately with a glass of bubbles as a breakfast in bed treat.

"Immer Besser" / "Forever Better" the motto Miele stand for! Miele are world-renowned manufacturers producing high quality appliances and providing a reliable service for over more than 100 years.

With premium quality products comes higher price brackets, however this isn't always the case. Miele consider all kitchen ranges and we have put together 3 price ranges to help with the daunting feeling of finding the right appliances - 15K, 25K and 35K. These are approximate costs which include cabinets, worktops and appliances.

Not only have we put together the perfect ranges, we have also implemented Miele's 3 fantastic lines - ContourLine, PureLine and introducing their new designer range, ArtLine.

ContourLine

• High proportion of stainless steel framing with glass fascia and solid handles
• Traditional style living

PureLine

• Available in 4 distinct colours Obsidian Black, Brilliant White, Clean Steel and Graphite Grey
• High proportion of glass with horizontal stainless steel
• Modern/contemporary style living

ArtLine
(Find out more below)

To learn more about ways to stack your appliances click here and scroll down or navigate to Miele's 3D visualiser - Design for Life.

Below is a selection of appliances best fitted for £15K kitchen range with a PureLine oven.

Below is a selection of appliances best fitted for £25K kitchen range with a PureLine oven and steam oven.

Below is a selection of appliances best fitted for £35K kitchen range with a PureLine oven, steam combination oven and warming drawer.

Entirely handleless, linear and now produced for modern living with Touch2Open and SoftOpen door technology, ArtLine is streamlined.

The Miele ArtLine designer range is genius to elegance integrated with Miele’s M Touch and sensor controls. The range comes in 4 colours, Clean Steel, Obsidian Black, Brilliant White and their newest, Graphite Grey.

Below is a selection of Miele's sleek Graphite Grey

To compliment the seamless design of the ArtLine range, we have included fully integrated 2 in 1 hob and extractor, fridge/freezer and dishwasher to complete the handleless kitchen design. Additionally, you can match with the SmartLine or ProLine hobs to create a bespoke cooking area - to learn more about hobs, click here.

Credits & Images
Miele

Crȇpe Suzette is a classical French dish and elevates the simple pancake into something special. With the addition of blood orange it really stands out as a Valentines dessert, whilst being relatively easy to make. A great tip is to make an excess of crȇpes on Shrove Tuesday, thus half the job of Valentines day dessert is already done.

​
Crȇpes
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 medium eggs
225ml milk
Zest of 1 bloody orange
2 teaspoon demerara
 
Sauce
50ml Gran Marnier
250g demerara sugar
50g butter
Zest and juice of 2 orange and 2 blood orange
Segments of 2 blood orange
​

To finish place a crȇpe to warm in the pan with the hot blood orange sauce, fold in half, then quarters and push to the corner of the pan. Continue in this fashion till you have enough hot crȇpes. Serve on a plate drizzled with sauce and segments, either on their own or with ice-cream.

Confit is a classic French method of cooking and means to slowly cook in fat (preferably duck). Although considered fairly unhealthy, once the leg is cooked it is roasted, removing a lot of the residual fat making the dish more palatable for those that are more health conscious.
 
A fusion of French and Asian cuisine may seem unusual but wonderfully complement each other, with every mouthful a burst of flavour. The dish takes a while to prepare but is worth the time and effort. If time is not on your side you may wish to skip the salting of the ducks legs, or even perhaps the entire duck leg, for duck breast would work well. Substituting may save a few hours, but the recipe works fantastically with the duck legs.

2 ducks legs
100g coarse sea salt
60g sugar (demerara works best)
1 bulb garlic
2 sticks rosemary
5 bay leaves
500g duck fat
1 bunch greens (purple sprouting broccoli or similar)
2 large potatoes
1 ripe pomegranate
200ml soy sauce
25ml toasted sesame oil
50ml lime juice
50ml rice wine/ white wine vinegar
50g grated ginger
25g toasted sesame seeds (white and black seeds give a lovely contrast)

Crush 2 cloves of garlic and mix with the salt, sugar and half rosemary. Lightly sprinkle the salt and sugar mixture over the duck legs and leave for 2-3 hours; this is done to draw out moisture making it less likely to fall apart whilst cooking as well as providing seasoning. After 3 hours wash the curing mix from the legs and submerge in the melted duck fat with the remaining garlic, bay leaves and rosemary. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 150c for around 4 hours or until a skewer passes through with no resistance.
 
Whilst the ducks are cooking, begin by preparing the dressing. Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, ginger and sesame seeds. A jam jar makes a quick cheat for making dressings, just place all ingredients in, put the lid on and give a shake. Check seasoning, you may prefer it saltier or sharper depending on your taste, a little honey can give an element of sweetness if desired.

The next steps can be left until the ducks are nearly cooked leaving you time to set a table or maybe just relax. When ready, half the pomegranate and remove seeds (hitting gently but firmly with the rolling pin works well). Save these to garnish.
 
Peel and coarsely grate the potato into a bowl (the longer the strands the better). Squeeze excess juice out of the grated potato for a crisp rösti. Season and mix with a few tablespoons of duck fat. At the ready, have a hot cast iron or non-stick pan and shape the röstis in a basic inch thick disc. Spoon the rösti into a pan and turn the heat down to stop from burning. Once coloured on one side, flip and place in the oven to dry out and finish cooking. Once the röstis go in, turn the oven up to 180c and remove the duck legs from the fat and place on a tray back in the oven to crisp.
 
Finally, oil and season the greens in preparation for grilling. Have a grill pan near smoking hot, place the greens into a pan and spread evenly, flip after a minute or so and begin plating.
 
The rösti is the first component followed by the grilled greens. Then place the crisp duck leg in an upwards angle on top of the greens and spoon the dressing over and around the dish. A final sprinkle of pomegranate and the dish is ready to serve. Chilli and coriander is an optional garnish depending on palate. Bon appetite.

Food Credit
Robert Willcox

Photo Credit
Anisha Chauhan

Ian Dunn Woodwork & Design have been working alongside BORA since summer of 2017 and are delighted with their innovative glass ceramic induction cooktop extraction.

BORA’s principles surround the elimination of ‘cooking vapours and odours’. The powerful extractor pulls these vapours using a cross flow before spreading. While grease finds itself trapped in the stainless steal filter, therefore eliminating those smells, leaving the kitchen smelling fresh.

They are proud to state their 7 benefits:

BORA Basic
With its intelligent touch to operate and automatic communication, the BORA Basic doesn’t fail in high-performance and attractiveness.
Ranging from induction and ceramic to exhaust and recirculation.

BORA Classic
Versatile and efficient, the BORA Classic combines high quality and power. It seamlessly allows six different domino style cooktops to work to your preferences. From a Tepan and gas to a ceramic hob.

BORA Professional
Winner of the 2017 Red Dot Award, the BORA Professional is the definition of functionality and design. Boasting all the benefits from the BORA Basic and Classic, the BORA Professional integrates smooth control knobs.

‘We moved from gas to induction and have had no issues with the transition. Boiling water is really quick and the zones work well.
The extraction is great – you get a sense of how effective it is when you see the deposits that are left inside – and the fact you can pull out and put in the dishwasher an added bonus. 
Overall we’re really pleased and the space saving by not having to fit an extractor hood or pop up is fantastic'  -  Lou

Everyone can now understand the BORA principle with their TV advert launched between now and the end of January 2018. For a sneak peak click here

Credit & Image
BORA

​Raw Material Received
-  Around 10 – 15 trucks around a day
-  Raw materials are received as coarse powder

Hoppers
-  Raw material enter hoppers
-  Feed into the production line

Quality Control
-  Control labs allow material to be evaluated and kept at high standards

Grinding Mills
-  Raw material is ground and crushed to a fine powder
-  Technological systems determine the particles into the wet mix with constant movement for 3 hours, guaranteeing properly mixed minerals
-  Kept constantly moving not to allow particle separation

Atomizer
-  Mix is added to the atomizer to dry at around 600°c, turning the wet mix to powder

Silo
-  Each colour is stored in 4 different silos

Volumetric Decoration
-  The powder is distributed along a machine in continuous strips, containing a pattern imitating selected designs

​Compact
-  Pre-compacted and cut to 1600mm W by 3500mm L
-  Each slab is pressed with a 25,000 ton weight, equivalent to 2 ½ Eiffel Towers

Drying
-  Slabs are dried at 180°c

Decoration Phase
-  High definition printed design onto the slabs

Organising
-  Slabs are organised using an automated system, these are robots specially made for Cosentino from Italy for the next process
 
Sintering Process
-  Each slab travels 200 meters while being baked at 1200°c, allowing all minerals to sinterise or fuse
-  These occur across 5 ovens

Quality Control
-  All slabs are finally classified and labeled before being sent off to logistics or worldwide

To view the process in further detail, please click here for the video.

Photo: Jan

​Once again we would like to thank all of Cosentino for the opportunity to visit their headquarters.
​

Credit & Image
Jan