平日在網上觀看烹調教學等的影片時，焦點總是會落在他們偌大的廚房上（特別是歐美的），寬闊的雲石檯面能包容所有需要的食材，主持人在講解時能在洗手盤與焗爐之間隨意遊走……就算我不是一個常下廚的人，卻還是會幻想擁有這樣的空間去孕育美食，甚至覺得如果擁有這樣的廚房，好像就會突然愛上做菜。
然後最近，丹麥的設計品牌HAY在香港舉行了HAY KITCHEN的Pop-up店，我就迫不及待地去逛了。相信大家對HAY簡約的設計和溫暖柔和的配色並不陌生，但是這個由創意總監Mette Hay和丹麥主廚Frederik Bille Brache的廚具系列毫無懸念地會比以往的產品更能帶出HAY的生活哲學。
就如夏天的微風，開朗的Lisbet Kristensen（HAY的代表）雀躍地分享他們與Frederik的創作過程。這系列的產品包括了由零開始創作的廚具，也有他們從世界各地挑選出來的選物，注重實用性的Frederik為HAY的設計加入了一點工業風，你可以看到某幾件銀色的餐具在大部分以彩虹為主題的配色下格外顯眼，「實用性是很重要的，你可以想像這些在真實的餐廳廚房裏都可以找到，因為Frederik是專業的大廚；而他的餐廳現在也真的在使用我們HAY KITCHEN的系列，可以說你看到的都已經實在地通過了試煉。」Lisbet扮作嚴肅後眨了一下眼，微笑了一下，再把目光放到了咖啡壺上。「它們的配色比我們平常的鮮豔，充滿夏日的感覺。其實只是在我們在某一間討論設計的時候，抬頭看見了這些顏色的容器……我們團隊就同時覺得，為什麼不嘗試把這些配色放到咖啡壺上呢？然後它們就產生了。」
看著Lisbet活潑生動的分享著，我的腦袋卻總是不爭氣的想到狹窄的廚房，跟眼前的有著某一種不協調，是因為空間的限制，還是產品的使用頻率，我一時也說不上來。可能是我的臉上透露了一絲懷疑，Lisbet續說：「我們知道誰也不會花一大筆錢把本來已經擁有的廚房用具全部換掉，也未必有那樣的空間把這些都購入。所以大可以只購入你家裡廚房缺少的、或者是需要更換的單品。我們有信心他們每一個設計都可以完美的融入本來的廚房裡去，都可以從細微的地方令大家的生活更快樂。」
最後，我偷瞄了價錢的牌子。那些宗旨啊理念啊，化為數字後，就是最好的證明，廚房裡的風景，或許沒有我們以為的奢侈。
HAY Kitchen Market
Kapok PMQ
4th May – 27th May
Whenever I’m watching cooking shows on the internet, I’m usually drawn to the spaciousness of the kitchen environment (especially cooking shows in Western countries). The plethora of ingredients seem to fit comfortably on their expansive marble kitchen tops. The program’s host or cook appear to freely glide between the sink and stove as they explain each step in the process. Frankly speaking, I’m someone who seldom spends time in the kitchen, but even I found myself daydreaming about preparing gourmet food in such magnificent cooking spaces. After all, with a kitchen as spacious and decked out as those in these cooking shows, who wouldn’t fall in love with cooking?
When Danish design brand HAY opened up their pop-up store HAY KITCHEN in Hong Kong, I couldn’t wait to visit their store in person. I trust many of you are no strangers to HAY’s minimalist designs, which often feature soft, warm color palettes. HAY Creative Director Mette Hay and Danish chef Frederik Bille Brache have recently come out with a series of cooking utensils which boldly manifest HAY’s minimalist philosophy, more so than any other HAY product.
I was personally able to speak with the bright and sunny HAY representative Lisbet Kristensen, who was more than happy to talk about Frederik’s creative process. She focused on how function-oriented Frederik infused industrial elements in the designs of the pieces in this series. Some of the cooking utensils were made from original designs while others were meticulously selected from all around the world. As I looked at the ensemble of cooking utensils, many of the silver pieces were paired with colorful palettes. They were clearly a delight to the eyes. “Functionality is very important,” Lisbet pointed out, “You can easily imagine any of these items being used in your kitchen. Frederik is, after all, a professional chef. In fact, his restaurant’s currently using our HAY KITCHEN series. You can say that all these utensils have been tried and tested in a real environment.” At that moment, Lisbet’s seemingly solemn expression was broken by a few blinks and a slight smile. She turned to look at the coffee pot and continued to elaborate, “The bright colors on this coffee pot is unconventional, is it not? It has a summery aura to it. We came up with this concept when a group of us were talking about design one day. Amidst our discussion, these colorful utensils caught our eyes. We looked at them, and all of us felt the same. Why couldn’t we take these bright color schemes and apply them to coffee pots?”
After listening to Lisbet’s animated and energetic explanation, I couldn’t help but think how awkward these colorful HAY products would have looked in my small cramped kitchen. Was it a space problem? Or was it because I seldom used cooking utensils to begin with. I couldn’t really say for sure at the time. My bemusement must have been obvious because at that moment Lisbet suddenly commented, “We are aware that customers will probably not spend a large sum of money to replace all of their cooking utensils, nor will they necessarily have the kitchen space for all of the pieces in this series. But perhaps they will purchase the utensils they are missing or replacement utensil . Regardless, we are confident that every one of our products is perfectly compatible with any kitchen. I believe they will enrich people’s lives in subtle ways.”
Before I left, I took a peek at the price tags, and let’s just say that the numbers I saw faithfully reflect the company’s mission statement and ideals. Moreover, it’s proof that beautifying your kitchenscape does not necessarily have to be an extravagance.
HAY Kitchen Market
Kapok PMQ
4th May – 27th May
