Design and colour have transformed kitchen aids into objects of beauty. We check out 'kitsch-en' style.
By Gabrielle Fagan
At one time we couldn't wait to get out of the kitchen and escape the slavery of toiling over a hot stove.
But suddenly cooking is 'hot', as the recession puts the squeeze on our finances and we rediscover the delights of conjuring up meals for ourselves instead of eating out and save a fortune in the process.
It means being a competent cook is not just permissible but highly desirable, even for a generation who once so closely identified with the ultimate fictional 'singleton' Bridget Jones - so lacking in culinary skills that her attempt to feed Mark Darcy ended in disaster.
Fast forward to this September, and a film celebrating cookery - Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep - is predicted to be an autumn box office success.
To emphasise this culinary trend: food blogs abound online; this year's UK Michelin guide awarded a record number of stars to women chefs; and UK catering schools are reporting a significant increase in the number of female applicants.
Whether you aspire to become a domestic goddess or simply to cook more, a kitchen properly stocked with new equipment will certainly help.
Rather like buying new kit for the gym - wearing it makes you feel fitter despite the fact you haven't moved a muscle - a splurge on great new kitchen gear could inspire a cooking fest.
As leading kitchen designer Johnny Grey says: "Research tells us that we're happiest between 6-10pm at night, which is often when we're in our kitchens.
"Why not create a living space that extends this happy period throughout the day, making a sociable room that attracts and caters to all members of the family."
Designers, aware of the renewed enthusiasm for all things gastro, have helpfully turned their talents to kitchenware, so there's an array of gleaming, streamlined gadgets to choose from.
And our renewed passion for colour in interiors has resulted in a dazzling array of zingy products, in all colours of the rainbow, that will lift your spirits if not your skills.
"We're stunned at the popularity for coloured electrical kitchenware," says Paul Martin, a buyer at John Lewis.
"Sales of red appliances such as kettles, toasters and coffee machines have soared by 112% in just six weeks."
It may well be our recipe for comfort, as colour psychologist Angela Wright explains.
"Red, for instance, is an extremely physical, powerful and exciting colour. It can be stimulating, lively and friendly, so red kitchenware and gadgets are what we're attracted to in these depressing, belt-tightening days."
So treat yourself to some new and colourful 'toys' for your culinary playground, from our shopping list featuring some of the best ingredients for a successful kitchen.
:: Funky and fun
Unless you're cooking to impress - the mother-in-law, your boss or a visiting celebrity chef - the process should be fun. Make it more so with kitchen goodies that are bound to raise a smile whenever you look at them.
Alessi specialises in imaginative, witty designs, and two good examples are its inscrutable Mr Chin kitchen timer, £24, and a little red man Tea strainer, £17, which clings to a cup or mug.
Joseph Joseph has transformed the mundane sieve into an object of beauty, by creating a rainbow-coloured nest of eight sieves which stack like a Russian doll.
It's £35 from Red Candy, a new company which, as its name suggests, specialises in red homeware and showcases top homeware brands.
And it's easy to give a dull worktop saver the chop by opting for its Hot Lips version, £12 by Joseph Joseph.
Chillies form the seductive lips, and spring onions are the gleaming gnashers on a decorative board that demands attention.
My favourite kitchen buy has to be the fab new Marmite ceramic breakfast range - a vintage-style jar, £10, and toast rack with knife, £12.50. This range from Debenhams might even win over those who profess to hate the stuff!
:: Animal magic
If you're seeking kitchenware from pastures new, check out La Cafetiere's range which includes a black and white cow print Mukka Express cappuccino maker, £50.
Follow the down-on-the-farm theme with Animill's salt and pepper mills range from Debenhams. These resemble a cow, pig, cat or frog and are £7 each.
The store also has other amusing kitchenware. One for the boys is the Peppermeister - a wooden pepper grinder that looks just like a beer bottle, £15.
Turn peeling spuds into an appealing chore by using a cheeky orange Monkey potato peeler, £6. Who knows, it might even inspire the youngsters to lend a hand?
:: Cool and colourful
Money may be tight, making a new kitchen out of the question, so jazz up the existing one by adding colourful accessories.
Brew up beautifully with La Cafetiere's range, which includes an apple-green Rainbow cafetiere, and Le Teapot, in deep cobalt blue, both £20.
Next's new autumn collection bursts with zingy kitchenware, but my pick of the crop is a jolly set of five white storage tins in varying sizes, decorated with juicy red apples, £32. Team them with a matching Apple memo board, £29.
Just as appealing as its colour choices are slogans in bright lettering such as 'Naughty But Nice' on its cake tins. And a set of Days Of The Week porcelain mugs, £10, starts with 'I Hate Mondays' and ends with 'Sunday - Put Your Feet Up'.
:: Kitsch and kit
Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, who knows a thing or two about cooking and living stylishly, unsurprisingly has an impressive range of good-looking, practical kitchenware available at Red Candy.
Nigella's set of Mixing Bowls, £36.50, two salad Serving Hands £8.80, and my favourite, a quirky spoon rest, £6, which resembles a fat dollop of spilt, red liquid.
If all that's too vibrant for your taste, Nigella's boat-shaped juicer in black, Living Kitchen Citrus Juicer, £12, makes short work of fruit. It is available from mydeco.com.
Discard clunky scales and weigh it all up with a designer set by a designer tag brand, Guzzini. Yellow Dolly scales, £59, are from Amaroni, another treasure trove for distinctive kitchen products.
And if you can only afford small touches, make them useful. Menu's steel trivets, or pan rests, are in dazzling colours, £11.95 each.
:: Kids and cooking
Children are missing out on learning cookery skills, according to a recent YouGov survey, sponsored by kitchen designer Johnny Grey and Electrolux.
It reveals that three out of 10 children over the age of 12 in the UK haven't got a clue about cooking.
London children are least likely to learn, with only 54% taught the basics by their parents, whereas children in the North-East are the most precocious chefs, with 32% starting to learn at around three years old and 64% by the age of five.
More children help cook meals in Scotland, 35%, than anywhere else, while only 17% do so in Yorkshire and 18% in London.
:: Gourmet gadgets
Gadgets are high-risk buys. Around a quarter of a million British households each have more than £500 worth of abandoned kitchen devices stored away, with toastie-makers and blenders top of the league table of unused appliances.
David Rochester, at Halifax Home Insurance, which carried out the research, says: "British kitchens are turning into a graveyard of unused gadgets. People may have the best intentions when buying them, but in reality thousands of blenders, grills, steamers and juicers lie idle on worktops."
Avoid the gadget trap by opting for those that are as essential as they are sleek, and simply too good to leave in a cupboard.
Marks & Spencer's revamped selection of kit is comprehensive enough to satisfy even gadget geeks.
It boasts the iconic Dualit brand, with a two-slice toaster, £59, in red or cream. A colour co-ordinated DeLonghi range features an Icona kettle, £69 in vibrant shades including blue.
Argos has a line-up of ranges from TV celebrity chefs such as James Martin, Rachel Allen and Jamie Oliver, but for worktop impact it's hard to beat Marco Pierre White's scarlet range for Russell Hobbs: a food processor, £34.29; hand blender, £39.29; blender £48.99.
:: Stockists
Alessi: 0208 576 6100/www.alessi.com
Amaroni: 01205 260 384/www.amaroni.com
Argos: 0845 640 1010/www.argos.co.uk
La Cafetiere: 01352 717 555 or www.LaCafetiere.com
Debenhams: 08445 616 161/www.debenhams.com
Joseph Joseph: www.josephjoseph.com
Marks & Spencer: 0845 302 1234/www.marksandspencer.com
Menu: 07834 767211/www.menu.as
My Deco: www.mydeco.com
Next: 0844 844 8000/www.next.co.uk
Red Candy: 0121 449 6123/www.redcandy.co.uk
Sainsbury's: www.sainsburys.co.uk
September 3: INTERIORS Hoppen: Leading designer, Kelly Hoppen reveals her interiors secrets and talks about her home and style.
September 10: INTERIORS: Back to Uni: Make sure that student rooms look the business; and you get an A grade for parenting by sending them off to college or uni with a great selection of kit.
