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Is a Celebrity Lurking in Your Kitchen? |
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Author: India Cooper
The world's obsession with celebrity is as strong as ever. In fact it's growing with more and more celebrity endorsed products on the market. These include beauty products, homeware, designer diffusion clothing lines and now... kitchenware.
Ever since Fanny Craddock, the UK's first TV chef, appeared in the 1960s, dressed in a ballgown whipping up meringues, we have religiously followed celebrity chefs. She was followed by Jane Grigson, Elizabeth David and then the nation's most enduring kitchen darling, Delia Smith. Back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s we were restricted to buying celebrity cookbooks to enjoy a bit of their magic. But now things have moved on.
Celebrity chef status, in the UK at least, is up there with film and rock stars. And we all want a piece of their kitchen charisma. Well now you can improve your skills and the look of your kitchen with not only their recipe books but their cooking equipment as well.
So what's available?
Celebrity cookware ranges are offered by any number of TV chefs. Nigella Lawson has teamed up with Sebastian Conran of the Conran design dynasty to produce the Nigella Lawson Living Kitchen range. It is practical, helpful and elegant and will certainly enhance the look of your kitchen. The range includes tableware such as cups, saucers and mugs but also really useful cooking aids - mixing bowls, measuring spoons, cookie cutters and a pestle and mortar, and storage - including a large bread bin and a salt pig.
At 33, Marco Pierre White was the youngest Briton to be awarded three Michelin stars. He even trained Gordon Ramsay. He has produced a range of cookware with Beka cookware, called White Heat. Unlike Nigella he offers the essential cooking basics - saucepans, frying pans, casseroles, grill pans and woks. His range is beautiful - some of it copper and other pieces anodised steel. This is certainly kitchenware to show off with.
And guess what? The UK's current culinary genius Gordon Ramsay has his own range of copper cookware - pots and pans, or alternatively a stainless steel range. He also has a range of ceramic oven to tableware - casseroles, pie dishes and roasting dishes. His cookware is produced by Royal Doulton. It is part of Ramsay's culinary empire, with countless Michelin stars to his name and, at the last count, eighteen restaurants in the UK and worldwide.
Ken Hom is the king of Chinese cooking. He began working in his uncle's restaurant at the age of eleven and has had an illustrious celebrity chef career. Not surprisingly his range focuses on woks and Chinese cooking accessories, such as cleavers, bamboo steamers, sizzling dishes and of course chopsticks.
Jamie Oliver's rise to fame has been dazzling. He now runs several restaurants, trains disadvantaged young people to work in catering and has even campaigned for better school food for our children, with considerable success. His range is made by Tefal who have focused on his love of Italian cooking and also on his baking skills, producing a large range of silicone bakeware which does away with the need for baking parchment and greasing.
Jamie has also produced a range of tableware with Royal Worcester which is white, modern and practical. It can be transferred from microwave to table and can even be used in the freezer or oven, making it really versatile. Additionally he has, at the last count, twenty two mugs which build on his "cheeky chappie" image with slogans such as "Super Mum", "Top Tottie", "Big Fella" and "Boy Racer".
Celebrity endorsement is big business in consumer goods. And with kitchens being the hub of the home and people spending huge amounts on renovating them the finishing touches are increasingly important. The right pot or chopping board sets the tone and embellishes both the kitchen and your cooking. In kitchenware, as with many things, celebrity sells.
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