Expensive kitchenware hits British markets

The newest items on bridal gift registries in Britain are diamond encrusted cutlery sets and pots ranging from $200,000 to $400,000. Two retailers, Selfridges and Harrods, are tapping into the newly discovered high-end market -- Selfridges with a diamond-encrusted cutlery set priced at $411,872.58 and Harrods with a "show-stopping" gold and diamond-studded cooking pan costing $205,924.29, The Scotsman reported Monday. Harrods department store said their pot, which contains 200 diamonds of various sizes, is "probably the most precious pot in the world."Selfridges' 144-piece solid-silver cutlery set was made with 4,000 diamonds weighing 74 carats and is made-to-order.

"This wonderful cutlery set is catering to customers who have a passion for craftsmanship of the highest order where money is no object," said Kit Li-Perry, the head of Selfridges' home department. "We know this is exactly what some of our customers want from Selfridges and we are delighted to be able to satisfy their expectations."
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Why your kitchen sink might be dirtier than your loo

A new study from a group of environmental scientists suggests the average family kitchen can contain more harmful germs than the bathroom, according to the news agency Associated Press.The scientists, working on behalf of a cleaning products manufacturer, took samples from 20 family homes in seven regions including the UK - and their findings were alarming. Internationally, 90 per cent of kitchen cloths, 46 per cent of kitchen sinks, 38 per cent of bathroom sinks and 14 per cent of children’s toys had a total bacteria count of more than 100,000 per square centimetre.Professor John Oxford, a virologist at St Bartholemew’s and the Royal London Hospital, led the study. He is also chairman of the UK’s Hygiene Council - read its recommendations here.

He warned that families put great effort into cleaning toilets but not nearly as much time into keeping their kitchens clean: “You could eat your dinner in a US toilet but there is a lack of appreciation that kitchen sinks can be contaminated with faecal organisms, either coming in with fruit and vegetables or from pets and children.”The moral of this tale? Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. Disinfect high-risk areas. Dispense with all your horrible old cleaning cloths and replace them, as this is where many of the nasties live.
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Kitchenware bargains at the fair

LOOKING for some assistance in the kitchen? Come to The Star Property & Home Fair 2008 where Sterling Store Sdn Bhd might be able to provide just what you need.It is offering among others a multi-functional mixer, the Kitchen Aid Artisan KSM150 stand mixer, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, hobhood ovens, microwave ovens and gas stoves from various brands at the fair.
Store manager Ong Seok Heng said the company would be selling the mixer at a pro-motional price of RM2,488 in-stead of its normal price of RM2,690.“It comes with all the acces-sories. We’ll also be demons- trating its use at the fair,” she said.The store will be giving away free gifts along with every purchase. It will also provide free deliver. Customers on the first day are entitled to free installation of the kitchenware.

Check out also the refrigerators at the RiTech Audio and Electronic Sdn Bhd’s booths at the fair where newly released re-frigerators by Mitsubishi Electric, called Folio, would be showcased.Mitsubishi Electric’s Ivan Teoh said the refrigerators came with attractive features like soft free-zing, auto shelf and the paten-ted technology — Vitamin Facto-ry.A total of three Folio models with colours like platinum brown, titanium, deep stainles and Urushi are available.The company will also sell other electronic goods like air-conditioners and fans by Mitsu-bishi Electric and customers will get free gifts.
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Chopping board health slur ad banned

A television advertisement claiming that chopping boards hold 50 times more bacteria than toilet seats has been banned. Announcing its adjudication today, the Advertising Standards Authority said that Reckitt Benckiser's ad for Dettol Surface Cleanser "misleadingly exaggerated the dangers posed by the bacteria on chopping boards".The ad showed pieces of fruit and a knife on a toilet seat and was accompanied by a voice-over saying: "Fact: your chopping board harbours 50 times more bacteria than your toilet seat. But Dettol Surface Cleanser kills 99.9% of bacteria, including MRSA, E Coli, salmonella and even the flu virus."

However, three viewers complained about the ad and challenged the truth of the "50 times more bacteria" claim.Reckitt Benckiser said the statement had been based on the findings of an independent study in 2004. RB said they recognized that levels of bacteria on kitchen and toilet surfaces would vary according to individual homes' hygiene practices, but a body of evidence supported the fact that harmful bacteria could be found in food preparation areas in particular.They said that chopping boards could be contaminated with micro-organisms that could survive for four hours.
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A store that gives new life to old kitchenware

Those who venture into Cookin', a second-hand kitchenware store in San Francisco, may feel like they've stumbled onto a scene from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Vintage blenders sit quietly on the floor in front of the counter.Deeper into the dark, almost windowless shop, cast-iron Dutch ovens in all the colors of a Rubik's cube stand in high, heavy towers. Delicate pieces of rare French clayware teeter in a far-off corner.It's easy to imagine that later, after the shop closed, all these objects will come to life, dance a riotous dance, settling back into their places when daylight comes.While some pay homage to a favorite used-book or record store, dedicated cooks worship in the store's crowded, cluttered aisles, drifting through the decades among Bundt pans and Pyrex casseroles in avocado or sky blue.

Though some objects, like a pre-microwave Campbell's soup warmer with a plug-in pitcher, are for collectors, most are tools for real cooks. Owner Judith Kaminsky constantly scrambles to keep the store stocked with customers' favorite equipment, stopping at trade shows to buy samples, visiting estate sales and taking buying trips to Europe as often as she can."Certain things sell out faster than we can get them," she says. Anything larger than a 4-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven in good shape, for example. Cast- iron frying pans and saute pans of various types are always in demand.