- August 4, 2023
- Sarah Miller
When you think of kitchen appliances, what comes to mind? For us it’s simple, it’s the cooking, it’s the food, it’s the experience. When we partnered with Signature Kitchen Suite for a double header of Designhounds tours in both NYC and France (you can read more about our France tour here and here), we had one goal in mind, to keep things simple and get back to the food. It just so happens Signature Kitchen’s Suite company mantra, motto and mission, True to Food, aligned perfectly with our goal to bring brands and designers alike back to the true culinary experience.
What blossomed was a three-day tour to New York City filled with unforgettable dining experiences, food sourcing education and an SKS brand immersion day in the all new Skyline showroom at LG Headquarters in New Jersey. We’re breaking down our favorite moments, meals and products from the tour below.
Arrival Day in New York City
What goes best with a killer meal? A killer view of course. SKS kicked things off high in the sky with a welcome dinner at Manhatta, sixty floors above NYC streets with incredible views. The five-course meal set the tone for the next few days of unique culinary experiences combining design, incredible environments and beautiful dishes.
Day 1 in NYC: All about food and design
The following morning, the Designhounds were off to Brooklyn Grange, an urban farm in the Brooklyn Navy Yard with, again, unparalleled panoramic views of NYC. The morning was spent learning about growing fresh herbs and vegetables on an urban rooftop completed with a freshly prepared homemade lunch direct from the farm. There’s something about the freshness, quality and taste of eating meals that were directly picked from the farm rows five feet away from you. Chef Kate Zuckerman, pastry chef, author, owner of SweetCycle, hosted our tour and treated the crew to her incredible mint-garlic-pesto and fresh farm salad with herb vinaigrette straight from the garden. If that isn’t True to Food we don’t know what is.
No description can do it justice, just make it. Recipes below:
Post farm visit, designers spent the next few hours scouring the aisles of ICFF 2023 exploring exhibitors from across the globe showcasing furniture, lighting and more. Because what makes the culinary experience even better? Incredible design to set the tone which brings us to our next stop, Roman and Williams Guild in NYC.
We spent the evening at Roman and Williams Guild and La Mercerie, where designers go to swoon and foodies go to savor the flavors. We like to think that the term Eclectic Elegance might define the space that is the private dining room at La Mercerie. Carefully curated by Roman and Williams, this extraordinary space features found objects, bespoke sculptural pieces, literary works as well as Roman and Williams’ own light fixtures, materials and accents. Every detail was considered.
The dinner that followed a brief tour told the rest of the story with a menu of delicate caviar oysters, savory cheese pastries, rich salmon bearnaise and beef au poivre ending with hand-poured chocolate choux pastries with vanilla ice cream. Memorable would be an understatement. If you haven’t been and find yourself in lower Manhattan, make it worth your while with lunch or dinner at the Guild.
Day 2: Signature Kitchen Suite immersion and LG Headquarters
Our final day was spent with our friends at SKS touring the wonders of the LG headquarters at their LG Exploratorium where technology meets creativity from robots that instantly draw stunning portraits to a digital aquarium where you can create your own fish.
In the afternoon, SKS Executive Chef Nick Ritchie surprised the crew with a visit from Napa to spend the afternoon cooking with the ‘Hounds’ in the all new Skyline showroom showcasing SKS’ suite of cooking appliances. Three delicious courses, cooked by Chef Nick, Chef Sakari Smithwick and members of the Designhounds, team did not disappoint. A gorgeous asparagus soup with sous-vide egg, sous-vide filet and out of this world crepes were a feast for the senses. It was the real deal and, once again, True to Food.
Designhounds NYC came to a close with another round of stellar views of NYC and a memorable culinary experience at Battello Restaurant.
Are you hungry yet?
So with phenomenal cooking experiences, recipes and understanding of food sources also came a wealth of product knowledge from the wonderful team at SKS. You might ask “What were your favorite products?” We’re glad you asked.
The SKS 48” Dual-Fuel Pro Range with Sous Vide and Induction is a show stopper in itself and that’s without the stunning entrees prepared for our lunch. Here’s why. The range is made for the daily chef. The function of the gas and induction cooktops create the perfect cooking environment for nearly any dish, the sous-vide makes that lamb chop or your favorite fish entrée cook to perfection. Advanced technologies (albeit easy to use) like timers on the knobs keep things stress free. These thoughtful details allow you to perfect the meal and keep things true to food without needing Le Cordon Bleu training. (Don’t tell Chef Nick)
What’s your daily kitchen worth without the perfect fridge? Yes, we said perfect. The 48” Built-In French Door Refrigerator takes the cake with its dual compressors keeping things cold and eliminating wasted energy costs (a BIG one for us). The Dual Ice maker with Craft Ice™is a gamechanger and takes entertainment and your favorite cocktail up a notch. The convertible drawers are a must- have as additional freezers or refrigeration, the pull out drawers create versatility to suit your needs. Last but not least, the sliding shelves on the doors are a lifesaver in that they can accommodate any size condiment, sauce or other bottle with the simple shift up and down along the fridge doors.
So that’s our product round up and favorite moments from Designhounds NYC. To learn more about Signature Kitchen Suite products head over to SignatureKitchenSuite.com. Many thanks to the Designhounds for joining us and Signature Kitchen Suite for hosting a truly immersive, educational and inspiring tour where we learned the meaning behind keeping it True to Food.
To learn more about upcoming Designhounds events or how to become a designhound, visit our website at Designhounds.com or message us at vme@designhounds.com for more information.
