Are you one of those home cooks that adores spending time in the kitchen, but you’ve yet to unlock your true potential? I certainly am. And I wouldn’t say it’s from a lack of time or cookbooks that I’ve not yet embraced some of the more complex cooking challenges I’ve been lately eyeing off. It’s more that, I’m lacking the essential accoutrements of a well-appointed kitchen.

Fitting out your kitchen takes time. There are a lot of options out there. Options that speak to all manner of personal priorities – whether you consider aesthetics as paramount, or place complex cooking functionality over looks and style. Whether you want to show off your kitchen, or indulge your love for home cooking with a space that fits you ‘to a T’.

Is there a kitchen brand out there that ticks all those boxes?

Photography: Trudy Photography @trudys_photography

I recently caught up with a fellow home chef, Craig Logan, who also happens to be a gourmet academy demonstrator with the Swiss boutique appliance manufacturer, V-ZUG. Craig’s introduction to V-ZUG’s kitchen appliances led to a moment of realisation that resonated so strongly with him that he quit his job in accounting and took up a career in cookery.

It was during the renovation of his own home kitchen that Craig’s true passion for cooking was awakened. He, like many of us, set out to purchase his kitchen appliances with aesthetics foremost in mind. V-ZUG instantly appealed to him for its simplicity of style – “a really elegant, moody looking appliance” and timeless in a way that wouldn’t require a kitchen update for another 20-odd years.

Design: Carole Whiting, Photography: Tatjana Plitt

But it was upon further investigation – a serious look at what V-ZUG’s appliances could do – that Craig was truly wowed. “What I loved about them was the ‘simplexity’,” he says. “They’re so simple to use, but when you want to be experimental and start doing more complex things, they can accommodate that.”

“I would stay in my comfort zone of cooking, but now, because I have confidence in my appliance, I’m buying all these cookbooks and trying things which I thought were for fancy cooks only. It’s because, when you [try something new or complex] and you’re met with success, that’s what ignites passion. V-ZUG’s appliances really ignited my passion for cooking.”

Photography: Trudy Photography @trudys_photography

The beauty of V-ZUG’s kitchen appliances is their flexibility to a user’s needs, interests and skills. Craig uses the example of his combi-steam ovens, which he uses both to cook his toast (no pressure – simple, easy, delicious), and also experiment with new styles of cooking. “I’ve gone a bit crazy on sous vide cooking and now I’m vacuum-sealing foods to sous vide on a low temperate for a long period of time,” he says.

What helped to unlock Craig’s knowledge and build his cooking confidence was V-ZUG’s friendly and accessible cooking classes and online cooking sessions. These sessions are for sharing and exchange, where V-ZUG appliance owners swap notes on their recent meals and cooking techniques, and expand their cooking horizons together with V-ZUG’s knowledgeable demonstrators, (Craig himself included).

Photography: Trudy Photography @trudys_photography

For V-ZUG owners who are just starting out, there are also simple, how-to demonstrations that take you through the basics and allow you to build your expertise at your own pace. The brand also has a Swiss-based gourmet academy team devoted to creating new and exciting recipes using its appliances.

“I think what’s absolutely incredible,” says Craig, “is that V-ZUG will go over and beyond to make sure you feel satisfied and happy.” Because, to own a V-ZUG appliance is to be part of the V-ZUG family – a truly elevating experience that goes right to the heart of what it means to live and live well.

V-ZUG
vzug.com

Design: Carole Whiting, Photography: Tatjana Plitt