Hi everyone!

I am industrial design student working on diploma work, and I need a
little bit of your help. I would like you to answer some questions
regarding your cooking habits.
The topic of my diploma work is "TWO IN THE KITCHEN". We all know that
cooking isn't only purely need but also occasion for people to
socialize and have fun together, and that cooking shouldn't be a
torture for one person but rather teamwork. In order to be effective
and pleasurable kitchen teamwork has to be well organized.
What I would like to know is:
Do you usually cook in company or alone?
If cooking in company, are those your family, friends, kids, partner…
In which occasions – daily (breakfast, lunch…), parties, special
occasions…
Are there only some special meals that you cook in company, like for
holidays, or maybe pancakes and cocktails?
What do you like and dislike cooking with someone and cooking alone?
Do you find your kitchen and working top to small for several persons
to work on?
Do you need some special organization and additional utensils when
cooking with someone? For example bigger cutting board, more different
spatulas and knives, more practical storage bowls…
Do you think that kitchen and kitchenware should be better adapted for
those kind activities?

All other opinions and suggestions are veeeeeeeery welcome.
…I very much thank to all of you who took the time to answer me, and
help me design better environment for all of us.

Many thanks,
Una

Una wrote:
>
> Hi everyone!
>
> I am industrial design student working on diploma work, and I need a
> little bit of your help. I would like you to answer some questions
> regarding your cooking habits.
> The topic of my diploma work is "TWO IN THE KITCHEN". We all know that
> cooking isn't only purely need but also occasion for people to
> socialize and have fun together, and that cooking shouldn't be a
> torture for one person but rather teamwork. In order to be effective
> and pleasurable kitchen teamwork has to be well organized.

No it doesn't! It ca be chaotic and still work well!

> What I would like to know is:
> Do you usually cook in company or alone?

Alone for the 3 of us here.

> If cooking in company, are those your family, friends, kids, partner…

Yes.

> In which occasions – daily (breakfast, lunch…), parties, special
> occasions…

Yes, though mostly for house parties.

> Are there only some special meals that you cook in company, like for
> holidays, or maybe pancakes and cocktails?

Oh, no: I can cook anything from a boiled egg for one to a 4 course
meal for 24 in company!

> What do you like and dislike cooking with someone and cooking alone?

When cooking alone I like to be left to get on with it: if cooking in
and for company, the person who owns the house and orchestrates the meal
is in charge, and I'll skivvi quite happily for them. If it's my house,
I get to be in charge, and the company skivvies quite happily for me. I
have a large group of friends who meet in various combinations, in
various parts of the country at various times of the year, and we all
(men and women and kids) enjoy cooking with each other. We've been
doing it since university days in the 70's, so we're kinda used to each
other... It works very much the same way when I cook with either of my
sisters or my mum. Brother usually only gets involved in cooking on
BBQ's, and supervises wine. He collects wine, so I am happy to let him
work his passage in the wine cellar!

My next one will be 9 folk in the house for the May Bank Holiday
weekend.

There's nowt to dislike about cooking, is there? Alone OR in company.

> Do you find your kitchen and working top to small for several persons
> to work on?

No: I recently had the kitchen re-fitted, and have a total of nearly 7m
of worktop... It's floor space I lack! Long narrow kitchen with no
passing places!

> Do you need some special organization and additional utensils when
> cooking with someone? For example bigger cutting board, more different
> spatulas and knives, more practical storage bowls…

As I've been doing this for so long, no. I have 3 large chopping boards
and two small ones, large and small mixing bowls (one too big for the
sink! Over a dozen smaller ones... ), large and small pots, fish
kettle... wooden spoons by the dozen... 29 dinner plates... What I lack
is storage space for them all!

For the bank holiday weekend, I'll get DH to bring his filter coffee
machine home from work. That's the only extra I shall need.

> Do you think that kitchen and kitchenware should be better adapted for
> those kind activities?

If you do it often, and have the space, buy commercial catering
equipment: domestic stuff isn't really designed for it. I use a mix of
heavy domestic stuff (Magimix 5100 food processor) and professional
(Bamix magic wand blender) and so on. I do this for sewing too
(professional dressmaker these days). Heavy domestic machinery because
I don't have room for industrial stuff. I suppose the kitchen
equivalent of my Lily 550 sewing machine and the 910 serger would be the
professional Kenwood Chef and the Magimix 5100. All big butch
multi-function machines for heavy domestic use, but not of the type for
commercial kitchens/garment factories where single use specialist
machines are more the requirement.
>
> All other opinions and suggestions are veeeeeeeery welcome.
> …I very much thank to all of you who took the time to answer me, and
> help me design better environment for all of us.
>
> Many thanks,
> Una

BEST OF LUCK!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
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