Of pots and pans

Slowly but surely, high- quality "" and more expensive "" cookware is finding shelf space. Even if not in a speciality gourmet kitchen store.

For all our love of laborious culinary adventures combined with the boom in retail, isn't it ironic that it's still hard as hell to find a comprehensive kitchenware store in India?

Mumbai mums still frequent the crowded bylanes of Crawford Market to purchase either stainless steel staples or industrial contraptions like a blow torch, and Delhi damsels have Connaught Place and Lajpat Nagar.

Unfortunately though, the shopping experience is limited to getting served over the counter, so customers are deprived of the pleasures of leisurely browsing.

Retail biggies like Westside, Lifestyle and the like have more upmarket cook-and-serve sections, but on offer are mass-produced standards.

To their credit, however, the inventory does seem to get more sophisticated every day, so barbecues, tapas grills and fondue sets have all made their way in. Lifestyle recently even stocks kitchen tools designed by Michael Graves, the renowned New York-based architect and product designer. And so, from obscure German brands to imports from Ras Al-khaimah, funky-looking and functionally superior kitchenware is entering the market.

Leading the way in professional quality cookware are actually the niche design stores and even delicatessens. Good Earth has a gourmet kitchen section that is fast expanding.

"When homeowners are spending so much more on home decor, and cooking is becoming more a creative pursuit and less a functional activity, consumers want to stock up their kitchens with statement-making products," says Beenu Bawa of Good Earth Verandah.

Mind, there have always been quirky products that have vied for your attention like covered pans that have markers on the lids to demonstrate how hot the subzi is, or steamers that extract the juice from cut veggies to deliver piping hot soup. Or even the Sanjeev Kapoor-endorsed tap tapak tandur that drains oil as it grills. The idea is to draw distinction between utility and idiosyncrasy.

If you are truly passionate about food though, you'll be head over heels with Le Creuset's enameled cast iron pots and pans.

The smartly marketed brand that made old-fashioned cast iron seem like a revolution, Le Creuset, a favourite among chefs around the world, has just set up shop in India. But priced at upwards of Rs 14,000 for a wok and Rs 850 for a humble spatula, you might think you're paying for the weight of it (it is heavy duty).

Swissmar is one of the brands that Good Earth stocks. From vegetable peelers and silicone spatulas to can openers, Swissmar's kitchen tools are designed to make food preparation a joy. Bawa says, "Swissmar is to a hostess what Le Creuset is to a chef. Their cheese knives not only look cute, they slice beautifully too."

Specialist bar tools have become a big hit with the Sunday brunching folk. From wine thermometers to caipirinha presses, they're all available in the market today.

The spider citrus squeezer at Good Earth is worth mentioning because its striking eight legged design is a universally lauded design, worthy of permanent display in your kitchen counter. Indigo Deli in Mumbai offers up Screwpull accessories as the ideal drinking companions. A wine thermometer will cost you Rs 1,600, a wine funnel and stand Rs 2,700.

Coffee geeks will love that classical press pots from the ubiquitous Bodum are now available that will deliver the richest brew.

Adding reason to celebrate is the arrival of the quintessentially Italian Lavazza espresso and capuccino machines (at upwards of Rs 20,000) "" that come along with pre-packaged Lavazza capsules of exquisite blends "" considered to be among the most technologically savvy coffee equipment on the market today.

Where stark sophisticated stainless steel was the fashionable norm, new materials like brushed metal, classic copper, even bamboo are finding favour. And new kid on the block Silicone is lending a playful edge to kitchens everywhere in the form of spatulas, colanders, muffin trays and cake tins.

"Silicone is heat resistant, flexible, is relatively non-stick, easy to maintain and can go from fridge to oven to dishwasher with ease," says celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Kapoor himself is in talks with a manufacturer to launch his own cookware and kitchen appliance brand. "I am always getting calls from viewers asking me where I get a particular pan or a griddle, so I definitely see huge business potential in it." he says.

Chef and restaurateur Moshe Shek says he sometimes brings back up to 200 kilos of cookware when he travels to the US or Europe. His favourite haunt is Selfridges in London where he picks up butter imprint moulds, julienne slicers, silicon moulds for individual pastries and stone ware baking dishes. And he is perpetually on a hunt for the right real estate to be used for the purpose of creating a speciality kitchen store.

"It's no fun buying a pasta machine from a wholesale industrial supplier," he says. Shek's dream store will have a value add... he will actually put together customised kits. Wanna bake a cake? He'll supply you with mixing bowls, cake tins, spatulas and the ingredients.

A comprehensive gourmet kitchen store with professional quality cooking equipment combined with beautiful handmade tableware is exactly what we need. Even better if there were a cookery school and a cafe attached.

There are still, however, some things I would be quite happy never to see in my kitchen. A butcher block is one of them.