Countlan Issue 05

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entertaining globally // issue five

AUTUMn EnTERTAInInG a Moroccan Harvest Dinner

THE RIsE Of URBAn APIARIEs Honey in its current state

MUsEUM sHOPs a source for conversation pieces

FROM THE EDITOR As fall arrives, it seems like the number of guests passing through our door for a meal increases. A coffee and dessert here, a dinner there - on a weekly basis there is always something to plan, organize and prepare. Autumn is a great season to entertain and catch up with people you may have missed over the summer or want to see before the ensuing holiday season. The produce is plentiful, and shorter days and cooler nights make for a great motivator to cook at home and create a cosy atmosphere.

The fifth issue of Countlan Magazine focuses on the theme of connection. When we entertain, the innate desire to connect with people in our lives fuels our desire to invite, shop, spruce, primp and cook.

Thanks to this driving force, we make time in our busy schedules to contemplate what will bring pleasure and entertainment to the guests seated at our table.

In the following pages, we focus on the four main areas of entertaining that help facilitate connection: ingredients, tableware, technology and resources.

As always, I hope Countlan’s collection of stories from around the world inspires you to entertain at home and to establish new traditions with family and friends this season.

Sarah Lambersky Editor and Co-Founder

EDITOR:

SARAH LAMBERSKY {DENMARK}

Assistant Editor:

Mike Drach {Canada}

ART DIRECTOR:

BENTE BARTH {GERMANY}

PHOTOGRAPHER:

ADAM GOODMAN {DENMARK} Tina Brok Hansen {Denmark}

ILLUSTRATORS:

Philip Kennedy {UK} Anna Kovecses {Cyprus} Lukas Chladek {Czech Republic} Andrea Davalos {Czech Republic}

CONTRIBUTORS:

Kristin Pedroja {Australia} Emily Baillie {Canada} Antonia Cafati {Chile} Lisa Nieschlag {Germany} Julia Cawley {United States} Eva Kosmas {United States} Cosima Opartan {Romania} Carla Isidoro {Portugal} Erin Souder {United States} Birgitte Brondsted {Italy} 2

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COVER PHOTO:

Normann Copenhagen

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CONTENTS entertaining globally

ISSUE FIVE FOOD

DESIGN

The Need for Bees and Urban Honey

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Bringing Consumers Closer to Food

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Designing Cuppacakes The Melbourne

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Microcosm of Coffee

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Magical Marrakesh

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Liquid Art

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What's Cooking: Beetroot Cacao Cake 28

Tabletop Hip Shops

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Made In:

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Pop Up Retail Food Museum

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Discovering Conversation Pieces 46 The Return of Bordallo

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Soup Presentation

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Material: Resin

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ENTERTAINING Notes on Entertaining with Erin Souder

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The Autumn Moroccan Harvest

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Entertaining Tech

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Page Worthy Books

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Take Stock: Florence

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What's Cooking: Chestnut Soup with Mushrooms and Thyme 30 A Taste of Autumn in Southern California

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From Mexico City to Beirut, you will meet a handful of individuals who are doing their part to better connect consumers with food.

Take San Francisco based, Good Eggs, an e-commerce site that enables you to order food directly from the farm to your door, or Souk el Tayeb, a Beirut based farmers’ market and food education organization that is bridging cultural and religious gaps in Lebanon through its local food events.

Food travels from the land to our tables one way or another; these are the people keeping things interesting.

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Photo Credit: Julia Cawley

Passionate foodies and social entrepreneurs take the limelight of our food section this season.

Illustrations by: Lukáš Chládek

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The Need for Bees and Urban Honey Ever since it was reported that bees in North America and Europe were increasingly threatened by what is known as colony collapse disorder (CCD), a situation where strong bee colonies can lose their entire workforce in a matter of weeks, beekeepers from all walks of life have stepped up in rural and urban settings to join the crusade and reverse the trend of dying bees.

Countlan speaks to the newest generation of apiarists who have taken on the plight of caring for bees and producing honey in the most unusual settings. The relationship between bees and global food production becomes a bit clearer as does why we should pay attention to what is really in our honey jars.

A Few Good Bees to Watch on Film: 01 More Than Honey (2012) 02 Queen of the Sun (2010) 03 Vanishing of the Bees (2009)

Family Honey { D u n d a s, CANA D A }

Photo Credit: Luis Albuquerque

Soon after graphic designer Russell Gibbs relocated from urban Toronto to Dundas, Ontario, a quaint historic valley town near the Niagara Escarpment, he felt the urge to do ”something“ to help him connect with local growers. Through this mission, he also discovered a love for connecting with the land — something that was missing from his city life and design career.

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Photo Credit: Jonathan Bielaski

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After learning that his beekeeper uncles were not going to keep their bees forever, Russell jumped at the chance to maintain the sweet business. ”I have five colonies right now. There are always plans to expand, but I have to balance making honey with my other career — running my own design business. Oddly enough, beekeeping is the perfect companion. It gets me away from the computer and puts me right in the real world, where I am just a small speck“ says Gibbs.

Gibbs Honey is entering its third season. Russell’s honey (which he prefers to eat straight from the spoon) is made from bees that feed on clover, buttercups, and wild grapes. Russell sells his honey packaged in simple, timeless bottles at a Sunday farmers’ market in Burlington.

When he has harvest, he is lucky to keep stock for longer than a month.

Photo Credit: Jesse Senko

www.gibbshoney.com

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HeRoiC Honey { a a R H u s, D e n m a R K } HELT is a Danish word meaning ”hero“. ”I think bees do a heroic job“ says Anthony Lee of Helt Honey, a small urban honey company based in Aarhus, Denmark. Anthony, a trained archaeologist, moved to Denmark a few years ago after meeting a Danish girl on his travels around Europe. He soon found that archaeologists were not in high demand. With time on his side and an interest in animals and wildlife, he signed up for an evening beekeeping class.

Hooked on this new body of knowledge, Anthony secured a summer job with a local beekeeper who happened to run one of Scandinavia’s largest beekeeping enterprises. He spent three years learning all about bees, honey, and the surprisingly backbreaking work involved in beekeeping.

While learning his trade from these experts, an idea for his own small honey company was germinating. Living in downtown Aarhus, Anthony decided to set up beehives by his apartment. After two years of preparations and market testing, Anthony was ready to work full-time on Helt, which launched in 2012.

Photo Credit: Anna Overholdt

”Each time I open a beehive, I still get this peaceful feeling and I am slightly mesmerized watching bees in their wild, untamed environment,“ says Anthony. He views honey as both an economic and social means to life.

The majority of Helt’s honey comes from the Aarhus area, although Anthony also collects, the rare heather honey from Denmark’s west coast. His dream is that an increased demand for honey will encourage a new generation of beekeepers to take up the profession and ensure a healthy future for bees. www.helthoney.dk Photo Credit: Heidi Mølgaard

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mountain Honey { K a R s, t u R K e y } In the mountainous region of north eastern Turkey, in an area once part of the Silk Road, apiarists tend to bees in rural villages. The apiarists are a part of Balyolu, a social enterprise that creates economic opportunities for rural women in the area.

Photo Credit: Cat Jaffee

Catherine (Cat) Jaffee, Balyolu’s founder, launched the beekeeping and honey tourism organization after accumulating experience in the region as a Fulbright scholar and National Geographic Young Explorer. Once Balyolu was in motion, the local communities were eager to commit to the project and the steep learning curve that comes with keeping bees. ”I don’t think they (the local communities) realized how much work it (making honey) takes and that it wasn’t easy money. Even I was caught off guard, and I have been working at this for five years!“ says Cat. The challenges for the team are both large and small: ”Every night we have bears attacking our village, and bees swarming when they shouldn’t. There are mistakes which are normal for beginners, but it’s hard because everyone is trying to learn“ says Cat. ”The beginning of anything is always difficult, and beekeeping is no exception.“ As for the honey, at an average altitude of 2,000 meters, Balyolu’s bees pollinate plateaus of wild mountain herbs and flowers like thyme, rosemary, and spearmint, resulting in a complex-tasting flavour.

Near the village where the organization is based, bees also feast on the pollen of wild roses and chamomile as well as heartier grains such as sainfoin and wheat. ”Later in the season, we see wild mountain thistles, which are unique to this altitude and region. The biodiversity results in a light-coloured, fragrant honey that tickles the back of your throat.“ www.balyolu.com

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pResseD Honey Mein Honig, a small honey startup that launched in Upper Austria’s Kalkalpen National Park, is the story of six individuals, 20 bee hives and a honey making technique connected to an indeginous warrior tribe in the Amazon forest in Brazil. It started with David, a nature loving, self-taught beekeeper, who inherited three bee hives from his father when he was 13 years old.

{ u p p e R au s t R i a }

David, influenced by his father who had lived with the Rikbaktsa tribe in the Amazon for a few years, travelled to Brazil to learn about his father’s past. It was in Brazil where David studied the Rikbaktsa tradition of making pressed honey.

Back in Austria, he assembled a team who shared the same ecological and economic concerns to raise awareness of the importance of bees in the ecosystem. Together they embarked on creating a pressed honey of their own. From its packaging to the honey, everything about Mein Honig is hand made and a labour of love. ”I spend evenings covering the caps with our special paper. I walk through the fields looking for lavender to dry and put in our Bienenpatenschaft boxes, an opportunity to sponsor a Queen Bee and recieve the honey from the colony’s seasonal production“ says David. The team prefers to keep their pressed honey operation small, in favour of producing a higher quality product; something that David calls pursuing prosperity without growth. ”So we would rather stay small and keep our work fun.“ www.meinhonig.at

Photo Credit: Thomas Lichtblau

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Rooftop Honey { M e l b o u r n e , AUST R ALIA } What Vanessa Kwiatkowski calls ”a moment of clarity“ led her and her partner Mat Lumalasi to launch Melbourne City Rooftop Honey, a project that cultivates honey from beehives located on underused rooftops around the city.

Fuelled by concerns over food production and the worldwide decline of bees, Vanessa — an avid gardener already accustomed to growing her own food — saw the project as an opportunity to raise awareness of the various threats and diseases that put honeybees at risk. By offering hive adoptions and sponsorships, along with partnering with local restaurants, Melbourne City Rooftop Honey connects people, food, sustainability, collaboration, and community. ”We encourage people to get involved in any way possible“ says Vanessa. ”We teach people about bees and how to keep their own hive, and encourage the general public to plant bee-friendly plants to attract bees and supply food for them.“ Currently, Vanessa and Mat oversee 73 hives in the city where they install, maintain, and care for the hives using natural beekeeping methods.

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Photo Credits: Robyn Charnley, Justin Emerson, Latchie Mathison

www.rooftophoney.com.au

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sKinny jaKe’s Fat Honey { m i n n e a p o l i s, u s a } After being banned for more than 30 years, urban beekeeping was legalized by the Minneapolis City Council in 2009. It was at this point that Jake and his wife decided to take advantage of the new ordinance and set up a hive in their backyard. It set the groundwork for what would evolve into a network of more than two dozen backyard urban apiaries throughout the city.

Countlan talks with Jake on the name of his honey brand and the importance of urban apiaries.

on naming your unpasteurized, raw, local honey and beeswax: my name is jake and i’m a rather lanky fellow, so the skinny jake part came from that. Fat honey felt like it had some attitude, and made a good juxtaposition to skinny jake. i tend all of our hives personally, and i am a big advocate of local honey. i love our bees and our honey, and i often remark how fat and happy they are. thus, skinny jake’s Fat Honey.

why urban (backyard) honey? as urban populations continue to grow, the disconnect between how and where food is made, and how it is purchased and consumed grows larger. people that host hives in their backyards (and their neighbours) get to see a kind of farming and harvesting happening right on their property. they get to eat honeycomb freshly drawn from a hive, they get to smell the welcoming aromas of beeswax and nectar that waft from the hive on a warm day, they get to see an unordered banner of bees in the urban sky condense into the nectary nebula of the hive.

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A front row seat: the closer you are to your food, the more clearly you see its value. Honey doesn’t just appear on shelves — one bee makes .083 teaspoons of honey in its entire life. it takes hundreds of thousands of bees to make a bucket of honey.

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what you have learned as a beekeeper: beekeeping, while incredibly fun, is a lot of work. it is a type of farming. the amount and quality of honey we produce is dependent on the health of the bees and the weather. When our honey supers (the boxes that are stacked on beehives) are full, they weigh upwards of 60 pounds, and make for some heavy lifting.

how to eat honey: i love it in my morning tea. i know it may seem simple, but i think its aroma and flavor come through best in the simplest applications. my wife, Kerstin, enjoys baking with it, especially in almond cake. www.skinnyjakesfathoney.com

Photo Credit: Kerstin Hansen

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Gastronomic Renewal { m e X i C o C i t y, m e X i C o }

three Comilona Food projects: pichón is a pop up restaurant. every sunday pichón finds a new location from which to cook and offers dishes made from local ingredients. latitud started in 2012 as a weekend brunch ”pop-up“ concept serving anglo-jamaican-mexican food using mexican ingredients. Ñham Ñham is part of the recent food truck boom in mexico. they make Vietnamese food which is new for us.

Mexico City is undergoing a gastronomic boom. There is an influx of new underground dining experiences, food trucks and pop-up restaurants joining the city’s puestos, fondas, and food markets. Popular international foods such as bánh mì and kebab can be found alongside the ubiquitous tacos and fresh juices. Even the Canadian government sponsored a food truck to serve poutine.

Enter Comilona: a new quarterly travelling food market in Mexico City. Comilona was established to support the growth of small scale independent food projects and invite people to connect and experience the city through the onslaught of new food. Started by Andrea Viedma, the Comilona food platform provides emerging food concepts with a venue and a means to reach a broader audience.

The first Comilona food feast took place in an abandoned space in downtown Mexico City in August. ”Each of the projects involved with Comilona has a unique way of experimenting with food. Given most do not have a permanent venue of their own, we decided to gather all these small businesses together in one single venue and showcase what they are capable of to a larger audience“ shares Andrea. ”By doing this, we hope to encourage people to try new foods that are outside of what they would get from dining at the usual restaurants.“ With the success of his first event, Andrea is already looking for a larger venue. In between Comilona events, the plan is to host food related workshops, lectures and film screenings. www.comilona.com.mx

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ONSUMERS CLOSER TO FOOD << //Food We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just like to cook food; we are interested how it gets to our table. Short of becoming farmers, we selected six businesses that will help you establish a closer connection to what you eat and the people who make it.

Illustration By: Andrea Davalos

Photo Credit: Dylanelee

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High Tech Farm Delivery {san FRanCisCo} In typical Bay Area fashion â&#x20AC;&#x201D; where San Francisco meets Silicon Valley â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Cathy Bishop and Rob Spiro approached the challenge of creating a closer bond between people, food, and technology. Good Eggs is an online platform where customers can order directly from local farmers and artisanal food-makers, with goods delivered to their home or dropped off at a convenient location. Launching a pilot of their digital marketplace in 2012, they followed with a full service and distribution system in the Bay Area in early 2013.

Ou r m ission is t o g r ow a n d s u st a in . . .

Photo Credit: Colin Price

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. . .lo c a l fo o d s y s t e ms w o r ldw i de .

Driven by a mission to grow and sustain local food systems worldwide, Cathy and Rob built Good Eggs based on feedback they received from local producers who wanted to easily connect with consumers. ”We’re building tools to service the local food movement — also called the ”integrity food movement“ — and the amazing food producers who are a part of it“ Rob explains. ”Ultimately we see better food as a means to a better world, where the folks who succeed are the ones doing things right: caring for their land, their communities, and making food with integrity.“ Good Eggs is gaining momentum, adding new producers weekly to their roster of over 150 Bay Area farmers and producers. The team will soon be expanding to Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. www.goodeggs.com

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From the Motherland { H a m b u R g, g e R m a n y }

When Jan Schawe sought to open Mutterland, a delicatessen-café in the heart of Hamburg, he strived to create a concept that better connected people to local, high quality food. A reflection of his own philosophy and taste, the name Mutterland (motherland) is suggestive of the type of menu items and delicatessen products carefully selected and made in-house since 2007. Mutterland’s cakes, sandwiches, jams, muesli and soups pay homage to traditional German home style (how mother made it) cuisine and highlights time honoured recipes from around the country.

At Mutterland’s three locations, Jan and his team only work with small family owned manufacturers in Germany to stock the floor to ceiling wooden crates (shelves) and displays throughout the store. ”The interior of Mutterland is democratic and not snobby, which means people will feel comfortable to come inside“ says Jan. The Mutterland head office on Ernst-Merck-Straße is divided into a 26 seat café with large chalkboard walls as the backdrop and a delicatessen showcasing the various cheeses, meats, quiches, pastries and specialty food items such as small batch olive oils, jams, honey, pasta, beverages, chocolates, sauces and spices.

What’s next for the six year old company? ”Lots of people have contacted us about opening concepts like Mutterland in other parts of Germany. We want to grow slowly. Up next, we are rebuilding our web-shop for spring 2014, updating the design of the café and have a new chef in the kitchen.“ www.mutterland.de

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FiVe loCal items FoR tHe pantRy: 01 borgmann 1772 premium Herb liqueur (berlin): The Borgmann family started making this spe-

cial (and secret) blend of indigenous herbs by hand in its family pharmacy in 1772 in Berlin.

02 marge Feine Kreationen jam (Hamburg):

Produces a variety of homemade, hand labelled, seasonal marmalades, pesto and jellies. Moin Hamburg, a blend of grapefruit, banana, peach and passion fruit is made exclusively for Mutterland. â&#x20AC;?Moinâ&#x20AC;&#x153; is a greeting to say hello used in the Lower Saxony region of northwestern Germany and Southern Jutland in Denmark.

03 Kaiser Honig lime and ginger (berlin):

Started by Kris Kaiser in Berlin, Kaiser Honey makes a variety of flavoured honeys and honey based spreads in the city.

04 the Deli garage multipurpose noodles (Hamburg): A local delicatessen food label that sells

regional food in creatively design packages. Their bolts, screws and nuts make up this traditional pasta made from durum wheat semolina and organic eggs.

05 juwelier Feinkost pickles (Hamburg):

Homemade pickles packed in Weck jars that will satisfy the strongest pregnancy craving (see pickle jar label) or simply accompany an outdoor picnic.

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Anti-Mafia Gift Baskets { C o p e n h ag e n, D ENMA R K } Growing up in Palermo, Sicily, home of the Cosa Nostra (Sicilian mafia), Riccardo Adragna the founder of Social Good Stories, was conscious about the importance of supporting socially and ethically responsible producers when he launched his online gift basket business in Copenhagen.

In the 1980s, Italy adopted a law to confiscate the property and assets of the mafia. Local organizations such as Libera Terra, gathered over a 1 million signatures to sponsor a bill to redistribute the confiscated mafia assets to the community for social projects, and cooperatives.

Social Good Stories connects consumers to socially responsible food producers by arranging gift baskets packed with socially responsible items. For example, the breakfast basket contains marmalades from Libera Terra, coffee from a small Ugandan cooperative, and honey from Bybi, a local organization that trains and employs homeless people to become apiarists. The Christmas hamper has a wine from a Sicilian producer whose brother was killed by the mafia and extra virgin olive oil from a NGO where Arab and Israeli women work together. www.socialgoodstories.dk

Photo Credit: Social Good Stories

Documenting Food on Film {Europe}

Photo Credit: The Making Of

City life often comes with its advantages; one of which is access to a variety of food. We head to specialty stores, local grocers, supermarkets or hypermarkets to do our shopping and typically make a choice based on familiarity, necessity, price, packaging, word of mouth or convenience. However, as the team behind The Making Of film project questioned, why don’t the people and the story behind the product play a greater role in influencing the decision process?

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From this starting point, Ignacio and Constanze aimed to explore and document a better way to connect people and food. ”Our videos are about people who started food projects within their lifetime, as opposed to having inherited a running business. These individuals successfully created their own projects. For these producers, being featured in one of our short films means certain recognition to their life´s work“ says Ignacio. Currently, the group has made 15 films which are posted on their website and will be posting more soon.

www.themaking-of.eu

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{ B e i r u t, L e b a n o n }

Photo Credit: Giacomo Perasti

”Food is the best expression of tradition, yet people have lost the link with the origin of their food,“ laments Kamal Mouzawak, founder of Souk el Tayeb, a Beirut food organization inspired to ”Make Food, Not War.“ The organization brings together farmers’ markets, food festivals, educational projects, and now Tawlet, a farmers’ market kitchen.

As the son of farmers and producers, Kamal has first-hand experience about the generosity of the land and the connection between food and people. After travelling around Lebanon and exploring its ethnic and geographic diversity, he concluded that despite being a divided people, ”we are all the same.“ Kamal started Souk el Tayeb (Good Market) in 2004, later joined by social enterprise consultant and managing partner Christine Codsi, to create a common ground from which to showcase the wonderful food and agricultural traditions of his country. What started out as a weekly Saturday morning producer-focused farmers’ market blossomed into other food projects celebrating local specialties and promoting sustainable agriculture. The organization is as much about relinking the urban and rural — the producer and the consumer — as it is about providing an engaging gastronomic experience. Take, for instance, Tawlet, Souk el Tayeb’s newest project that intentionally shifts the role of producers from ”suppliers“ to ”chefs.“ Set in an open kitchen, farmers become culinary ambassadors as they are invited to transform their own produce into regional delicacies for market patrons to try. ”Food is just a commodity product on a supermarket shelf.

We have forgotten who planted it, who harvested it, and who cooked it“ says Kamal. With someone this devoted to championing local farming and food tradition, there is no doubt that his organization will continue to have a positive cultural and economic impact on Beirut and beyond. www.soukeltayeb.com

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Photo Credit: Wondermilk (M) Sdn Bhd

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Designing Cuppacakes { p e ta l i n g j aya , m a l ay s i a } In a country like Malaysia where eating is a national pastime, it is not hard to see why the intricately designed and themed cupcakes by +Wondermilk is a hit in Petaling Jaya, a city just outside of Kuala Lumpur. In fact, +Wondermilk’s cupcakes would win over the eyes and stomachs of any passerby. What started off as a graphic design bureau has evolved to include a variety of creative businesses in the city including an art gallery for upcoming young urban artists, a small retail operation which sells quirky handmade goods and Cuppacakes, +Wondermilk’s bakery.

One reason why Cuppacakes stands out is the team is run by graphic designers-turned bakers. Their three retail shops are a take on a New York loft, with exposed brick walls, industrial fixtures and a homey collection of mix and match furniture. In addition to their 25 cupcake flavours, they also concoct cakes, cookies, gift items and occasionally, home décor items. ”Our most popular flavor would be our Foxy Red Velvet cupcake. It’s a light, fluffy and scrumptious take on the classic flavor topped with a not too sweet cream cheese frosting“ Ifzan Ibrahim shares, one of +Wondermilk’s founders. However it is not uncommon to find unusual combinations such as lychee with rose buttercream, avocado and pineapple, durian with vanilla and jackfruit with thyme. www.ilovecuppacakes.com

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{ W r i t t e n B y K r i s t i n P e dr o j a }

Salvatore Malatesta was responsible for igniting Melbourne’s coffee scene. Malatesta opened his first café in 1996 while studying at the University of Melbourne. Today his St Ali empire includes some of the best coffee outlets in the country including St Ali, Sensory Lab, Plantation, and Clement Coffee. He has a natural knack for knowing what the Melbourne coffee drinker wants and caters to everyone, from latte-drinkers to specialty geeks. ”I am always the end user“ he says of his many businesses. ”If I can’t find something I want, I create it.“ He strongly believes in building relationships with farmers, and spends many months of the year on the road at origin, along with travelling the world giving keynote lectures and educating others about his trade. ”I am an aggressive PR machine for the Melbourne coffee experience“ he says. ”I want to share this passion with the world.“ Newer to the coffee scene, Mark Knapp and business partner Nick Edgar opened their coffee shop, Balderdash in the beachside suburb of Port Melbourne in November 2010.

Their café has become a highly frequented coffee destination and has developed a reputation for its delicious, locally-sourced food and an innovative coffee menu. ”Coffee

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is an obsession. Everyone has an opinion about how it should be served and how it should taste.

Food in Melbourne is an obsession, too, and this is integral to the coffee movement“ says Mark.

Head a few kilometers north of the river to trendy Collingwood and you’ll find Proud Mary, a buzzy cafe owned by Nolan Hirte. Nolan’s passion is to educate Melbournians about ethical and sustainable coffee. A former Barista Champion, he now sources and roasts coffee under the Proud Mary name. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was so impressed with Nolan’s coffee and Proud Mary that he featured Nolan on his website. ”As long as it gets people really thinking about origin and sustainability“ Nolan says of his notoriety. ”There are a few really great specialty roasters and café owners in Melbourne, and we all share the same ethos. We know each other well and are growing and learning together as a community.“

Photo Credit: Matthew Strachan

With a coffee scene bordering on obsessive, Melbourne is mentioned alongside London and Portland for having one of the most vibrant coffee scenes in the world. And it’s not just any coffee; Melbourne is undergoing a coffee renaissance, where local roasters increasingly go direct to farmers to obtain beans and where drinking filter coffee from obscure plantations is all the rage. Starbucks even had to shut several of its locations (there are currently only six in the city) due to the strong network of independent coffee shops and local brands.

Visiting the Moroccan city of Marrakech is like entering an oasis of tastes and smells.

Africa’s busiest square, the historic Jemaa el Fnaa, teems with locals and tourists looking to shop, socialize and feast after the day’s heat dissipates.

If you can navigate the square’s dizzying jumble of motorcycles, acrobats, snake charmers, belly dancers, henna artists and spice vendors vying for your attention, you’ll soon reach food lovers delight. Spiced lamb and chicken kebabs, warm scented couscous, steamy escargot, fresh orange juice and exotic almond pastries are spilling from rows of street food stalls. Hearty and aromatic tagines, for which Morocco is legendary, are served in what becomes an open-air restaurant by night.

Spices are used extensively in Moroccan cuisine, and the local cumin, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, coriander and brick-red paprika is deliciously potent. Nearby souks (North African market stalls) offer bulk spices for those eager to duplicate recipes at home.

No visit to Marrakech is complete without endless cups of sweet mint tea. Made with green tea, fresh mint and sugar, this hot drink is typically enjoyed with friends and family multiple times throughout the day.

The exotic and aromatic cuisine of Marrakech is a rewarding treat for the adventurous food traveller. I, for one, can’t wait to return.

Photo Credit: Emily Baillie

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Liquid Art

{ C o p e n H ag e n, D e n m a R K }

In an inconspicuous building across from Denmark’s oldest museum, The Thorvaldsens, you’ll find Ruby: a livingroom style two-floor bar responsible for concocting some of Copenhagen’s finest cocktails.

When Ruby opened its doors in the summer of 2007, it was the only spot of its kind along the quiet strip of canal. The opening of Rasmus and Adeline Shepherd Lomborg’s cocktail spot coincided with the rise of the popular American television series Mad Men, a show that helped kick-start a renewed interest in classic cocktails. ”In the beginning, a lot of guys didn’t know what an Old Fashioned was, so they would order it and stand around not daring to admit that it was too strong for them“ says Sune RisumUrth, part of Ruby’s management team.

Ruby’s beverages, which change seasonally, are simple to the eye yet offer guests an unhurried taste of aromatic art. Coupled with Ruby’s attentiveness to guests, theirs is a craft that reveals another facet of the city’s unwavering delivery of memorable sensory experiences. www.ruby.dk

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02 whAt liQUoR oR liQUeUR

liQuiD musings by sune Risum-uRtH oF Ruby

01 whAt ARe some UnUsUAl oR lesseR Known liQUoRs thAt cAn Be FoUnd At RUBY? We really like things like Cocchi, averna and Cynar - these great italian bitters that can make grown men weep. more locally we have a hand in the making of a very small batch absinth and we have just finished our triple macerated peach brandy, that one is probably the rarest we have as there never exist more than 3 bottles of it.

Rooted in dAnish cUltURe? + the House of Heering is a cherry liqueur that was created in Denmark by peter Heering in 1818. it is made by soaking lightly crushed Danish cherries with spices and grain spirits. their cherry liqueur is more or less the standard go to cherry liqueur all over the world. between that and a good maraschino, you have all the cherry you could ask for. + then of course there is the Danish spirit called, aquavit which has been produced since the 15th century. it shares a fate with gin such that it was shunned for many years as altmodisch (outdated) and unsexy. the problem with aquavit is not the product itself; it’s the ritual around it. if i had to drink scotch ice cold and in a shower of shots, i probably wouldn’t enjoy that either. However, when you taste it, it is truly wonderful, and great for mixing. myrtle and red fruit make a great combination with aquavit for example.

03 whAt FlAVoURs will YoU Be PAiRinG this FAll? apples and plums are always a hit. they start to ripen in late july and some of the denser apples won’t be ready until october. We get several months of new flavours and ever darker days. on a completely different note we just finished a pistachio orgeat, and we are positive that pistachio is going to be all the rage this fall. countlan

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What’s Cooking: A N T O N I A C A F AT I b e e t R o o t- C a C a o C a K e ReCipe the cake has a nice moist texture, the taste is a combination of cacao with a mild almond after taste. the blueberries give it a fresh tone.

Ca K e : 1/2 cup of dates (if the dates are too dry, cook them in a pot with 1/2 cup of water on low heat until the water evaporates) 4 spoons of honey 1/3 cup of virgin coconut oil 1 1/2 cup of rice milk (you can use almond, oat or any other non-dairy milk) 1 egg (if you are vegan replace it with 2 spoons of linseed with a bit of water, imitating the texture of an egg) 1/2 cup beetroot purée (2 beetroots cooked and mashed) 1/3 cup bitter cacao powder 1 1/2 cup almond flour 1 cup polenta 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Ca K e F i l l i ng : 2 cups soaked and peeled almonds, use 1 1/2 because it grows in water 2 spoons honey 1 cup water 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 spoon virgin coconut oil blueberries rice milk

mu st t Ry i n sa nt iago: my Cochayuyo avocado Ceviche: Cochayuyo is a local algae that goes great with avocado, red onion and seeds.

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porotos granados con mazamorra is one of the few typical Chilean vegetarian dishes. it is a summer soup with fresh beans (porotos), corn puree (mazamorra), basil and vegetables.

Chirimoya alegre (custard apple and orange juice) is a super natural and fresh Chilean dessert.

//Food Antonia Cafati the Santiago, Chile based vegetarian chef, teacher, writer and blogger behind Brotes y Racices: miscellanea naturista shares a recipe for autumn. ”I chose this recipe for its natural sweetness. It is ideal to serve it with hot herbal tea when it’s cold outside. The fact that the cake is made with dates, beetroot and honey, gives it just the right amount of sweetness without going overboard. I also wanted to use the last blueberries and flowers of the summer as a reminder of the warm season.“

inst RuCt ions: preheat oven to 180C/350F. put the dates, honey and coconut oil in food processor, and blend until puréed. add the rice milk, egg and beetroot purée until you get a homogeneous mix. place the mix in a bowl, add the cacao, almond flour, and polenta, stir well (it works better if you add the ingredients one by one). Finally add the chopped almonds. place the mix in a greased pan (with a bit of sunflower oil) and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.

CRea m Fi lli ng: add the almonds, water, honey, lemon juice and coconut oil in a food processor and pulse until you get a cream.

Ca Ke a ssemb ly: When the cake is cool, take it out of the pan and slice it in half creating two layers. place the first layer on a plate, pour a bit of rice milk in a spoon and use it to moisten the cake by sprinkling it on top. next, spread the almond cream across the cake followed by a layer of blueberries. place the second cake layer on top of the first and repeat with the cream and blueberries.

Decorate with edible flowers and/or aromatic herbs, such as peppermint.

not e: the filling is meant to be consumed fresh (within two days) otherwise the color changes and starts to oxidize because of its raw preparation.

countlan Photo Credit: Sebastian Mejia

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What’s Cooking: LIZ AND JEWELS WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR RECIPE FOR AUTUMN? LIz: I just happen to love chestnuts!

I love collecting them and can’t wait until the christmas-markets start, where you can find roasted chestnuts.

Photo Credits: Lisa Nieschlag (L) + Julia Cawley (R)

JEWELs: I also really like chestnuts. And soups are just so easy to make.

Especially in the fall, when it gets nasty outside, a warm, delicious soup is just the right thing to get comfy inside.

A MUST TRY IN MÜNSTER: Currywurst + fries from Dieks Kaffee & Curry at the weekly market, coffee from roestbar, a small private roasting house and waffles from Milchmaedel.

A M U S T T R Y I N B R O O K LY N : Australian feta from the Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, a doughnut from the famous doughnut place called Dough and an espresso from one of the many new really good coffee places we have here.

Although Muenster and Brooklyn are separated by an ocean, geography didn’t stop designer and cookbook author, Liz and photographer and food blogger, Jewels from cooking gether. Their blog, Liz and Jewels, catalogues the adventures of two girls cooking on continents.

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Online, Liz and Jewels tackle the same recipe using local ingredients and photograph the results. Putting their talents together, they also launched a series of workshops on foo styling and photography which they run in Weimar, Münster and New York. For autumn they tested a chestnut soup and shared the recipe with Countlan.

//Food CHestnut soup WitH musHRooms anD tHyme ReCipe 1 onion 1 tablespoon butter 400g of chestnuts (precooked or fresh) 1/2 liter vegetable broth a handful of mushrooms thyme salt pepper 2 tablespoons of cream fresh

instRuCtions: Dice onion, fry in butter, add chestnuts, and then add the broth. Cut mushrooms, add to soup (put a few on the side to use as garnish). Let the soup boil for 5 to 10 minutes. In the meantime fry mushrooms you reserved as a garnish in a pan with some oil or butter. Puree the soup and add salt and pepper if needed.

You can also add a splash of cream, if you like creamy soups. Garnish with thyme and crème fraiche.

g totwo

eir od n,

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A Taste of Autumn in Souther n Califor nia { W R i t t e n b y e Va Ko s m a s } While the greater Los Angeles area does not experience autumn, 90 minutes away by car, nestled in the shade of the San Bernadino Mountains is a little part of Southern California where a cooler climate not only exists, but brings crisp air and a change of season. Driving down Oak Glen Road and around the Potato Canyon loop, visitors find themselves surrounded by acres of apple orchards and pumpkin fields.

The scenic byway is dotted with little stands serving fresh-pressed cider, pie, and apple tastings; a true fall smorgasbord. Of the farms in the area, Snow Line Orchard remains a favourite. It harbors a secret sweet treat: mini-apple cider donuts. The cinnamon sugar coated donuts are made with the orchardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own freshpressed cider and are served in a small paper bag. The texture of their donuts are light and fluffy on the inside with a slight apple aftertaste and crunchy on the outside enhanced by the generous sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon granules. If you buy them fresh, the piping hot donuts are the perfect snack to accompany a stroll through the orchardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raspberry patch and apple trees.

i ngRe

1/2 cup 3 eggs 1 and 1/ 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 3/4 teas 1/4 teas 1/4 teas 1 and 1/ 1 and 1/ 2 cups a 2 stand greased

C i nna C oat i

1/2 cup 1 teaspo

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//Food baKeD apple CiDeR Donuts ReCipe After my visit to Snow Line Orchard, I decided to make their baked apple cider donuts so I wouldn’t have to wait a year to taste them again. My donuts were more cake-like than the fluffier ones at the orchard, but tasted just as good and slightly healthier since I baked them rather than frying them.

For a taste of autumn from Southern California, give these little guys a try next time you host a gathering.

Photo Credit: Eva Kosmas

eDi ent s :

p vegetable oil

/2 cups sugar p apple cider p apple sauce, plain p milk spoon ground cinnamon spoon ground cloves spoon ground nutmeg /2 teaspoons baking powder /2 teaspoons salt all-purpose flour dard donut pans, lightly d

amo n- s ug aR ing:

p sugar oon cinnamon

instRuCtions: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. In a small bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the liquid ingredients until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir gently until just incorporated.

Scoop the mixture into the donut wells in the pan, filling them up a tad over 3/4 full. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the donuts have risen and are lightly golden on top. Remove the pans from the oven and allow the donuts to cool until they’re still warm, but easy to handle.

While they’re cooling, mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the coating in a small bowl. While the donuts are still warm, toss them in the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated and serve.

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Photo Source: IPAC Photo Source: IPAC

//Design

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//Design

Museums are not only great cultural institutions for learning, they also offer a treasure trove of conversation pieces for the table.

We look at three museum shops with a notable array of tableware items and meet several tableware designers who can be proud to call the museum a point of sale for their work.

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TABLETOP HIP SHOPS { W R i t t e n b y C o s i m a o pa R ta n }

01

Le Petit Atelier de Paris - Paris Two young designers opened the shop in the Marais district in 2005. In their boutique/workshop, you will find handmade porcelain objects and other delicate items with a graphic touch.Â

02

Chic Cham - Lausanne Chic Cham is an interior decoration brand that produces beautiful natural materials and poetic products for everyday life which are handmade in India. Their designers interpret fashion and trends to give the products a very contemporary identity.

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FouR sHops WitH a uniQue seleCtion oF ta b l e Wa R e Wo R t H n o t i n g.

03

Photo Credit: Hip Shops

Folklore - London Husband and wife team behind Folklore stock the shelves of their store with items that communicate craftsmanship, quality and durability. Their homeware, furniture and lifestyle items are a compilation of handmade, antique or recycled items.

04

Labour and Wait - London Purveyors of a variety of household goods, Labour and Wait has a strong vintage feel to its merchandise and includes everyday classics which are guaranteed to become your favourites with age.

//Design

I n ou r on goin g design ser ies, M ade In explores the countr y of or igin of tableware items in an attempt to dispel purchasing biases often associated with a countr yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image With the ongoing â&#x20AC;?made inâ&#x20AC;&#x153; rhetor ic in retail stores, on products and in the media, this highly polar ized topic about who makes the best x is wor thy of consideration and discover y on the following pages.

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BLinD Wine { j i Z e R a m o u n ta i n s, C Z e C H R e p u b l i C } When oenophiles taste wine, the importance of visually assessing the contents of a glass is well understood. To challenge this step, Eva Mochalová and Marcel Mochal of LLEV Product Design designed the Decci, a black, glossy, opaque wine glass that masks the drinker’s ability to see its liquid contents. ”You can’t see wine when you drink from the Decci black but you can smell it; in this way, you perceive wine in a different way“ Eva shares.

The Decci set contains glasses for red and white wine, water or beer, a decanter and champagne also comes in crystal. www.llev.cz

Photo Credit: LLEV Product Design

City Cookies { b e R l i n, g e R m a n y }

Photo Credit: Phil Goods

When Philipp, an amateur baker, recognized he was missing a Brandenburg Gate cookie cutter in his collection, the Berlin based family therapist sought to make one himself. After locating a suitable manufacturer in Berlin who could produce the famous monument, Philipp’s cookie cutter was completed in 2007. He recognized his Brandenburg Gate cookie cutter not only cut out great cookie buildings but also were useful as souvenirs.

He set up his company, Phil Goods, and proceeded to design 21 global monuments, as well as, a celebrity series of prominent people such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each cookie cutter comes with Philipp’s favourite vanilla cookie recipe. www.phil-goods.com

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Clever Clippes { t u s Ca n y, i ta ly } Leave it to Italian ingenuity to turn scrap metal into an iconic product line. Since the 1960s, kitchenware manufacturer, IPAC, has been producing multifunctional clips from discarded stainless steel remnants. ”The Clippe was born from the byproduct of a request by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. They were searching for the original producer of Antonio Chiti’s CLIP 01 to make a product called ”TOWER OF CLIPS“ says Paola Pagni with IPAC. Renewed interest in the clip inspired the owner of IPAC to develop the Clippe collection- first as a joke, then in cooperation with other designers.

Today there are 56 different Clippes from forks and milk boxes, to cocktail stirrers, flower holders and strawberry tongs. www.clippe.it

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Photo Credit: IPAC

//Design

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T EXTURED C UPS { a m s e R F o o R t, t H e n e t H e R l a n D s } Inspired by the texture of skin, Studio PS launched TAPED, a colourful series of 16 porcelain cups that give the user a tactile experience while drinking.

The outside of the cup was left unglazed so the drinker feels each wrinkle on his or her fingertips. ”We have always been fascinated by materials, the way they look, feel and the attention they attract. We love how a tactile feeling can add a special experience to a simple activity such as drinking coffee“ says Peter, one of the co-founders of Studio PS. Using pigmented porcelain, masking tape and plaster for molding, each cup is made to have its own identity like skin. www.studio-ps.nl

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Photo Credit: Marvin de Kievit Photography

//Design

//Design

TABLE BAGS { t u s Ca n y, i ta ly } When the family of six who run Le Sorelle (the sisters), a retail store and design bottega in Tuscany, gather for a meal, there are always plenty of beautiful accessories from which to choose. The two parents and four daughters who work together in the family business excel at making objects to adorn the table like their terracotta bread warmers, ceramic plates, glass jugs and hand printed tablecloths. While their Tuscany inspired table items are popular, internationally they have developed a reputation for their hard-to-pronounce paper bags. Le Sorelle’s UASHMAMA (pronounced wash-mama), is a series of decorative paper bags that is used to hold everything from bread and herbs to plants and cutlery.

Photo Credit: Le Sorelle

For Marco, Emanuela, Chiara, Giulia, Gemma and Gaia, design has been a family affair for generations. ”My grandfather owned a women’s shoe factory in Tuscany and my father worked by his side for many years where he learned about materials, colours and product design. 20 years ago, my parents decided to start something new“ says Giulia, one of the four sisters. In 1994, Emanuela Sarti (Giulia’s mother) opened a small home décor and fashion accessories store in the historic square of Montecatini Alto. She had a strong desire to produce the objects herself and enlisted the design and manufacturing expertise of her husband to create the merchandise.

Later on, in an effort to bridge traditional manufacturing methods with technological innovation, Marco developed the idea for the washable cellulose fiber material used to make UASHMAMA bags. With the success of their growing product lines, the family opened three more Le Sorelle shops, two in Tuscany, and most recently, a fourth store in Florence close to the Ponte Vecchio. www.uashmama.it

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Pop-Up Retail Food Mu Transforming a flagship store into a three-dimensional cookbook exhibition is no small feat. To expand on the 2012 launch of Normann Food, the recipe concept of Danish design company, Normann Copenhagen, the entrance hall of the company’s flagship store was converted into a life size food and kitchenware exhibit.

The store’s all-white gallery-like entrance was brightened by 12 recipes devised by Peter Elmegaard, the store’s Retail Director and exhibited alongside arty installations of Normann Copenhagen’s kitchen collection inspiring visitors to think creatively when serving their dishes at home. www.normanncopenhagen.com

Discovering Conversation Pieces It turns out, museum shops are no longer staid. Rather, they offer a cornucopia of conversation pieces for the table.

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useum

{ C o p e n h ag e n, D e n m a rk }

Photo Credit: Normann Copenhagen

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{Vienna}

tHRee ConVeRsation pieCes:

Mu MoK

wool Blanket by Peter Kogler’s (Artist’s edition): great for keeping guests warm while dining outside and it’s large enough for several people to share at once.

Pendant lights by nUd: although simple in design, they add ambiance and great light to a dining room.

Recycled Bags by caritas for mUmoK. these bags are made from recycling mumoK’s exhibition banners. they are designed and produced in cooperation with Vienna’s Caritas, an organization that runs the design project with long-term unemployed youth.

When the MUMOK moved to its new home in Vienna’s Museums Quartier in 2001, the 850 square foot museum shop designed by architects, Ortner & Ortner, was relocated to the ground floor of the building and the store’s product selection was rethought. To reflect its new space, all the typical museum shop products were swapped out in favour of procuring more interesting objects from local Austrian artists, young European designers and special artist edition pieces created for MUMOK. www.mumok.at

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Photo Credit: MUMOK

//Design

THE DESIGN MUSEUM SHOP

{singapoRe}

The Red Dot Design Museum’s Design Museum Shop is a natural extension of the exhibition and a showcase for the internationally sought after design award that recognizes high quality in product design. Housed in the iconic Red Dot Traffic building, the museum and its shop occupy the former Singapore traffic police headquarters, a building which dates back to the British colonial era. The building’s bright red façade can’t be missed and draws attention to those who come to visit the area.

The Design Museum shop sits in a glass enclosed retail space and has an urban, futuristic feel. While the shop’s retail mix favours Red Dot Design Award winning products, which enables guests to bring home their favourite items from the museum, visitors can also find the work of local Singaporean artists such as Mei from DUSK, Colin Chen from Fabrix and John Chan’s famous ”Singlish“ book. www.designmuseumshop.sg

tHRee ConVeRsation pieCes: the Aquarium dumbell by shinichi sumikawa: its elegant trophy like shape is a great conversation starter on the table.

Photo Credit: Design Museum Shop

the Geo Vacuum Flask by normann copenhagen: a colourful and visually appealing way to serve liquids to guests. the An&angel deco Bowl

by Artis nimanis: every table needs a bowl with elegance and simplicity.

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DOX

{ p R ag u e }

It is only fitting that Czech design dynamo, Jakub Berdych of Studio Qubus, was invited to join forces with the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art to curate the gallery store.

Before it was transformed into DOX, the Holesovice (Prague 7) art center was originally a factory that dated back to the early 1900s.

In 2005, the site was redesigned by Kroupa Architects, a studio known for its modern, functionalist architecture and DOX opened in 2008. The 1000 square foot, all white, minimalist design store carries the best of Czech glass, porcelain and jewelry products. The shop also features the work of young Czech designers and frequently organizes in-store exhibitions to showcase new work. www.qubus.cz / www.dox.cz

tHRee ConVeRsation pieCes: soup terrine by silvie lubenovรก of maestrokatastrof: this illustrator is known for taking old pieces of china and applying humourous or ironic illustrations on its surfaces, which makes for some funny soup. marble tableware by studio deform: perfect for bringing a natural element to the table. decorated Plates by eva Pelechovรก: Her plates which are decorated with photography and gold rims turn food into works of art.

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//Design

In an age when...

growing numbers of people tend to think dangerously alike,

art´s capacity to suspend,

even for a moment, our habitual ways

of seeing may well prove to be of its

{ greatest value. }

- D OX M o t t o

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The return of Bordallo { W R i t t e n b y Ca R l a i s i D o R o } Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro died in Lisbon in 1905. More than 100 years after his death, his work underwent a complete transformation in Portuguese society; for the better.

Brodallo’s name is a reference – probably the largest - in Portuguese faience, a tin-glazed earthenware, tiles and popular iconography of the 20th century. He was a pioneer in Portuguese caricature yet his talent was multifaceted and ranged from illustrations and plastic arts to ceramics.

In 1884, he founded the Faience Ceramics Factory in Caldas da Rainha, a city in central Portugal that is well known for its ceramics industry and is home to ESCAD, one of the top 100 architecture and design schools in Europe.

A few years ago, the Bordallo Pinheiro factory was set to close its doors. For decades the factory produced copies of Bordallo’s original decorative tableware, tiles and ceramics, but his style had fallen out of favour resulting in fewer orders and slowing demand from clients.

Illustrations by: Philip Kennedy

The revival of his work is important in the current context of society as the Portuguese are once again turning their attention to traditions of the past. The military revolution of 1974 and the rise of democracy in Portugal resulted in certain cultural manifestations being buried or forgotten.

Bordallo’s pieces were commonly used in households up until 1974. After that, all forms of art and culture related to the past (and by extension, dictatorship) were avoided.

Furthermore, from a contemporary perspective, Bordallo’s work was often considered tacky and connoted bad taste by the younger generation who was either indifferent or unaware of his art form. Recognizing the risk of losing such an important popular art reference, a handful of entrepreneurs and artists banded together to revive Bordallo’s faience into something cool and trendy.

Alongside the global design trend and interest in vintage items, Bordallo’s revival was perfectly timed. Coincidently, Portugal’s Visabeira Group, a producer of fine Portuguese china, bought the Bordallo Pinheiro factory and suddenly, Bordallo’s products became a must have. They graced the pages of lifestyle magazines, sold well in vintage stores, markets and decoration stores and were used on the tables of restaurants and cafes.

Today, young people ask for their grandmother’s permission to use vintage Bordallo pieces at home or on urban picnics.

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www.bordallopinheiro.pt

Photo Credit: Bordallo Pinheiro

//Design

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//Design

SouP Presentation { N e w Yo rk , USA }

Taking soup presentation to new heights, the Lantern, a bowl specifically designed to hold Vietnamese Pho soup, was inspired by the shape of a Vietnamese paper lantern and functionally driven by the soup’s condiments and utensils. The recent success of his Kickstarter campaign has enabled designer, Omid Sadri to put his Lantern stacking tableware into production.

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Photo Credit: Avishan Amanat

Sadri’s Lantern is made of porcelain and the exterior is coated with a matte glaze to enhance the design and feel of the bowl. It is comprised of four pieces that seamlessly stack with one another. The spoon has a small notch so it can rest on top of the bowl without sliding off. The top dish holds lemon or lime, onions, and peppers. The middle dish is for herbs and bean sprouts and the bowl holds the soup and chopsticks.

//Design

Photo Credit: Tina Frey

MATERIAL Resin is a curious material that pops up in tableware design from time to time. When the self-taught, San Francisco based, resin artist, Tina Frey started working with the material in 2007, customers often wondered whether her dishes and bowls were made of glass or ceramic. Resin is a different base material all together and is neither related to glass, nor clay. The synthetic, polyester-based resin that Frey uses turns into a light, durable material once the thermoset cures after being cast into a mold and allowed to set on its own. Resin can break if you drop it on the ground, but it does not shatter like class or porcelain. It breaks into larger pieces, making it safer for outdoor, poolside or kitchen use. ”I love the translucency and variety of colours available with resin“ says Frey.

After much research and laboratory testing to find a resin that is foodsafe, BPA-free and lead-free, Tina got to work on creating her line of unique housewares and table top accessories. As she gained experience and understanding of the material, she realized its versatility — music to a creative person’s ears (and hands). ”If I can sculpt it, I can make it in resin. When I develop new products, sometimes I imagine elaborate dinner parties and what I would like to use with guests.“ Tina launches two collections a year to coincide with exhibitions in New York and Paris.

This season, she is introducing a resin furniture line, including long benches and round coffee tables. ”I imagine the benches to be used with a long farm table with many guests all squeezed on it, dining with my tableware.“ www.tinafreydesigns.com

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//Entertaining

enTeRTAininG ENTERTAINING entertaining entertaining

entertaining

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//Entertaining

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Photo Credit: James Geer for A Place Called Home

Autumn entertaining offers plenty of opportunities to connect with guests. No matter how simple or lavish, head to your local farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; market, pick up the latest in seasonal produce, pair with some fresh bread, spicy olive oil, and cheese.

No need to fuss over a table setting. Keep things simple. Set out a few serving platters, coasters, and plates. Add a few tea lights for coziness and warmth, chill a bottle of mineral water or wine and top it off with a bunch of fresh flowers. Now get set to tuck into an afternoon of connecting. connecting.

//Entertaining

Notes on Entertaining with Erin Souder House of Earnest blogger, Erin shares a few ideas about what keeps her organized when she entertains weekly, her trustworthy tools and her entertaining style. ”I love seeing people happy. Entertaining is a gratifying way to socialize and motivates me to learn new tips, recipes, and hostess tricks from others.“

01 What

is your biggest entertaining pet

peeve?

My pet peeve is a messy bar. Bottle caps, drips, trash, and empties cloud the aesthetic. I like to have a mini trash can (like a pretty ice bucket) near the bar for such things.

02

What does your organization process look like before guests arrive?

I am a big planner. For example, I will make a dish in advance to test the recipe; I setup serving dishes with Post-It notes to indicate what will go where, and plan my timeline for the day. Organizing in this way helps me to enjoy the night by awarding me more time with my guests!

03 How would you describe your entertain-

ing style?

My style is casually indulgent. I have a few go-to snack plates for drop-ins, pretty patterned napkins, stirrers, straws, and platters on hand to make everything appear very put-together even if the gathering is last minute. I find extra details always make guests feel doted on and indulged.

1.

4.

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//Entertaining

1. Dominik

Woods,Solid Walnut Wood Cutting Board, Etsy 2. Twig Bar Kit, West Elm

2.

3. Linen Contrast Stitch Cocktail Napkins, Mark and Graham 4. SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II-Limited Edition, White Leather, Bose

04 What entertaining tools do you live by?

A Cutting Board: I cannot live without a beautiful cutting board. It makes a great focal point for a bar (lemons, limes and garnishes) or a fabulous foundation for a cheese platter. A beautifully grained board will also make a gorgeous platter for passing around appetizers or canapés and work as a trivet when something hot is going down on the table.

Bar Tools: Pretty bar tools that actually work.

5. Apron- Grey, Williams-Sonoma

Linen Cocktail Napkins: A good set of linen cocktail napkins; they even make drop-by guests feel super special.

A Wireless Bluetooth Speaker: A wireless Bluetooth speaker so you can play music outside or inside and change tunes fast from your phone.

An Apron: An apron has saved my life on several occasions. I like to put finishing touches on dishes that I serve while guests are there, so a nice apron ensures that I don’t splatter the soufflé on myself.

3.

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the autuMN MoroCCaN harVest H o s t : m a R t i n R e i n i C K e , oW n e R o F b l o m s t e R s K u R e t pHotogRapHeR: tina bRoK Hansen

To celebrate the harvest flower shop owner, Martin Reinicke, hosts an annual gathering at his country home north of Copenhagen. Together with the help of his friend, photographer and food stylist, Tina Brok Hansen, the pair put together a Moroccan harvest dinner for twenty friends. ”Autumn is my favourite time of year and we wanted to create a meal with lots of veggies“ Tina shares.

The day before the event, Tina and Martin headed up north to prep the garden where guests would have dinner and to get a head start on all the chopping for the seven family style dishes they would serve. Since the weather was conducive to dine outdoors, they decorated Martin’s long, wooden table for 20 made by a local carpenter and used all sorts of left over flowers from his shop. Down the center of the table they added a row of small apples from the apple tree in the garden. Tina and Martin created a cozy, rustic setting as the backdrop for a lively evening of music, good food and a relaxing respite away from the city.

menu: • Orange Salad with Red Onions and Black Olives • Baba Ghanoush • Fattoush Salad • Carrot Salad with Apricots, Almonds and Honey • Bean and Parsley Salad • Chicken Tagine • Dates with Pecans and Oranges

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EATWITH

Sometimes travel is all you need for a mental refresh. In the case of Guy Michlin, it was a chance dinner with a local family while on vacation in Greece that led to a revelation and a new business idea.

EatWith is an online marketplace that brings together local hosts who love to cook and entertain with travelers and locals looking for a new dining experience (think of AirBnB for eating). ”We are constantly amazed at the power of food to bring people together. EatWith guests enter the room as strangers and often leave as friends“ says Michlin.

Since its launch, the company has been inundated with applications from passionate cooks and home entertainers from around the world. While based in Tel Aviv, a veritable gastronomic hodgepodge, the company already offers dining experiences in 20 countries.

www.eatwith.com

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//Entertaining

Entertaining Tech Technology that makes entertaining better.

Q+A Eric Davich, Co-Founder of Songza whAt is YoUR FAVoURite tYPe oF mUsic to listen to while hostinG A dinneR PARtY?

It depends on the crowd and the occasion of course. If it’s a fun, casual dinner party with friends, I’d go for some retro soul and funk like our ‘60s Soul Dance Party: Deep Cuts playlist or The World of James Brown. If it’s a more formal dinner party, I might choose something like For Sinatra Fans or At Ease with Classical Adagios.

01 sonGZA:

An app that positions music as a lifestyle enhancement. It is entertaining tool we can’t live without. It’s a free streaming music service with a massive library of expertly-curated (handpicked by a person) playlists on the internet. We can’t get enough of Songza’s Music Concierge which ensures you always have the right playlist at the right time.

www.songza.com 02 sAY dUcK:

A peep show for tech-savvy, design conscious users. We are talking about an augmented reality mobile app that helps consumers see products in their home before items are purchased.

Watch Say Duck in action.

www.sayduck.com

Photos Credit: Eat With

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PaGe WortHY BooKS {syDney}

The highly illustrative book, A Place Called Home: Creating Beautiful Spaces to Call Your Own, by Australian based freelance interiors, lifestyle and prop stylist, Mr. Jason Grant provides readers with a creative guide of useful tips and visuals on how to create a space that is meaningful to its owner. ”For real life, I don’t believe we need to create ’perfect‘ homes. Instead I think it is about creating a space that says something special about who you are and your style of living“ says Grant.

Q+A WITH MR. JASON GRANT 01 whAt tYPe oF GAtheRinGs do YoU tYPicAllY host?

Day into night bbQs. i am usually in charge of the bbQ. 02 which items cAn AlwAYs Be FoUnd on YoUR tABle when YoU enteRtAin? mix and match serving ware, timber serving boards, classic linen napery and my good set of stemless wine glasses, which are perfect for everything from water to wine.

03 AnY AdVice on settinG the tABle? Keep it relaxed and casual, not everything needs to match, and think about statement cutlery and glassware.

04 wheRe do YoU shoP FoR tABlewARe? West elm, small spaces (i love small, independent retailers) and Koskela, which is a large showroom in sydney that focusses on locally made design products.

Published by Hardie Grant Books, Photography by James Geer

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Modern Country { H u D s o n Va l l e y, n e W yo R K } Q+a: WHat Does moDeRn CountRy looK liKe as a table setting? joan: if i were setting a table, i would use vintage or linen cloths, artisan pottery dishes or my white ironstone dinnerware, hand blown glass simon pearce candlesticks and vases, with seasonal flowers. abby: i always have some flowers and candles on the table. i collect table linens wherever i go, and i like to mix them up. i also collect flower containers of all sizes; you can’t have too many. and i collect candlesticks.

Published by Rizzoli, Photography by John Gruen

100 miles north of New York City, amidst the bucolic landscape of farmhouses, winding roads and charming hamlets is where you will find an antiquing enclave in the Hudson Valley.

The area, named after Henry Hudson, the famous 17th century British navigator, is where authors, Joan Osofsky and Abby Adams, stage the setting of their first book together. ”The Hudson Valley has spectacular scenery, from the Palisades (monumental cliffs across the river from New York City) all the way up to the Adirondacks. In the nineteenth-century, artists like Frederic Church and Thomas Cole, painted these scenes; this was the Hudson River School, America’s first native arts movement. They also inspired architects and landscape designers and preservationists. On a more intimate level, there are still lots of working farms, with barns and silos and fine old farmhouses, and herds of cows, as a constant reminder that it’s still an agricultural area“ Abby shares.

The book, Love Where You Live: At Home in the Country, profiles 18 homes in the Hudson Valley and New England in an effort to impart the modern country lifestyle that both women love.

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//Entertaining Written By Birgitte Brøndsted Illustrated By Anna KÜvecses

Danish translator, photographer, mum and blogger, Birgitte originally hails from Copenhagen but has lived in Florence for four years. Her blog, A Dusty Olive Green

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is where she combines her love of travel and photography with commentary on daily life in Italy.

//Entertaining 01 CHEEsE:

I like to buy cheese and other delicacies at an amazing place called Gastronomia Galanti. They have a great selection of high quality cheese and lots of other Italian delicacies.

Piazza della Libertà 31r. T. +39 055 490359

02 OLIVE OIL:

Tuscan extra virgin olive oil is one of the most famous olive oils in Italy. If you want to try a place that specializes in oils, visit La Bottega dell’Olio where you will find all kinds of olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

Piazza del Limbo 2r. T. +39 055 2670468

03 fLOWERs:

Every Thursday morning you can buy beautiful plants and flowers at really good prices at the small flower market in Via Pellicceria just behind Piazza della Repubblica, under the ”portici“ (The arcades). The selection is great and the atmosphere is nice and relaxed.

Via Pellicceria.

04 DEssERT:

Since Florence is one of the best places in Italy for ice cream, I would suggest gelato for dessert. There are so many great gelaterias in Florence, and you can almost always buy big take away boxes, which you combine yourself and then bring back home.

One place that beats them all is Gelateria dei Neri. Especially their sorbettos and semifreddi (mousse ice cream) are to die for.

Via dei neri 20-22r. T. +39 055 210034

05 BREAD:

Tuscan bread is traditionally made without salt, and it tastes exactly as it sounds: Boring! Fortunately the bakeries in Florence have lots of other goodies, especially the schiacciata, which is a kind of salty pizza bread. I buy mine at Pugi in Piazza San Marco.

Piazza san Marco 9B. T. +39 055 280981

06 TABLEWARE:

In Florence there are many little shops selling ceramics, but they are often quite touristy and expensive. You can find nice ceramics at the Cascine market, which is held every Tuesday morning.

Parco delle Cascine. Viale Lincoln.

07 OLIVEs:

The indoor food market in San Lorenzo sells amazing olives.

There are lots of different types to choose from and you buy them by weight.

Piazza del Mercato Centrale.

08 fREsH PAsTA:

Boutique della Pasta Fresca is located in my neighborhood. It is one of the most famous places for fresh homemade pasta in Florence. You can get all kinds of pastas such as ravioli, fettucine, tortellini and gnocchi.

Via Domenico Cirillo 2c. +39 055 578087 countlan 65

Next ISSUE SIX: January 2014 VISIT US AT WWW.COUNTLAN.COM