Last night at the ILVE Sydney showroom we were honored to host a special event for our friendly Leichhardt neighbours, Shearer’s Bookshop.

A sold out assembly of 70 passionate cookbook buyers and foodies were in attendance to celebrate the new recipe collection from Sydney favourite Bill Granger, Bill’s Everyday Asian.

Bill Granger has long taken pride in presenting delicious food that is simple, fresh and irresistible to look at. Aside from some everyday kitchen tips such as removing the backbone from a whole chicken and a recommendation for the best mortar and pestle a kitchen can have, Bill bestowed upon the eager listeners his easygoing approach to food and his philosophy to cooking and ingredients, perhaps best summed up in his new book when discussing his Asian pantry…

“For those of you who know me it probably won’t come as a big surprise to learn that I’m not a great believer in using a million ‘essential’ ingredients, even for Asian-style cooking. I’ve been through the phase of wanting to be authentic down to the last detail but, these days, I’m a lot more mellow. If you’re in an ‘obsessive foodie’ phase – which, by the way, there’s nothing wrong with, love every minute when I’m there – then please, be my guest and trawl round your closest Chinatown looking for lotus root and lily buds. But otherwise the following list should carry you happily through most of the recipes in this book.” (Extract from Bill’s Everyday Asian, by Bill Granger, HarperCollins, $49.99. Available from all good bookshops.)

In Bill’s own words, it’s a philosophy that stems from the joyous flavours and simple ingredients of his other great food love, Mediterranean cooking. On that one, we hear you Bill!

Special thanks again to Bill and the super team at Shearer’s Bookshop for making last night happen. If you’re after a signed copy of Bill’s Everyday Asian, drop in and see the crew at Shearer’s or buy online here while stocks last.

Check out some shots from the event, it’s a shame the amazing smells of cooking don’t come across in photos!

To view ILVE’s full selection of premium kitchen appliances visit www.ilve.com.au, visit your nearest showroom or selected retailer.

For your chance to WIN a signed copy of Bill’s Everyday Asian, leave us a comment below and tell us your Asian cooking dream. Be sure to leave your name and an email address.  The most creative answer wins! Entries close 5pm EST on Friday October 28. Winner will be notified via email on Monday October 31.

In true Rugby World Cup spirit, we have decided to document two national foods of each of the four teams in the World Cup Semi-Finals this weekend. It’s up to you to decide who the culinary finalists will be…

Semi-Final #1 – France vs Wales

FRANCE – with escargot, baguettes et. croissant

Alez les bleus! Alez les bleus!

WALES – with welsh rarebit and leek soup

Some of the most noteworthy dishes of Welsh cuisine:

WINNER = FRANCE

Semi-Final #2 – Australia VS NZ

AUSTRALIA – with shrimps on the BBQ + pavlova

NEW-ZEALAND – Hangi and Pavlova

WINNER= Both countries claim the Pavlova as their own. It’s going to be a close game come Sunday!

Images courtesy of:

http://howthingstaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/041811-11.jpg

http://greenlifeinsocal.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/comfort-hotel-azur-riviera-in-nice-france/

http://www.gastronomydomine.com/?p=101

http://keepingthefeast.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/for-st-davids-day-welsh-rabbit-and-leeks/

http://whatkatieate.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-australia-day.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_pavlova.jpg

http://www.hangiunderground.co.nz/

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Pavlova.png

This week the new Sydney showroom was transferred into a media bullpen for a special cooking showcase like no other! Well, maybe not a raging bullpen, but a fantastically busy couple of days nonetheless.

With our good friend, the renowned Giovanni Pilu from Pilu at Freshwater in tow, we embarked on a food filled couple of days to showcase the newly refurbished Sydney showroom and supreme function and versatility of ILVE’s handcrafted Italian kitchen appliances.

From ILVE’s new Pizza Oven, to the renowned Tepanyaki Plate, the Rotisserie and the clever new Steam Oven, Giovanni took the cream of Australian food and homeware magazine media on the most scrumptious of culinary journeys!

The best recipe of the day is a matter of tastes, but how could one possible choose between the likes of Giovanni’s oven roasted suckling pig, bottarga crusted tuna, or his amazing malloreddus with zucchini, mint and ricotta, to name a few? YUM!

An undoubted winner on both days however was the new ILVE Pizza Oven, that  cooks a fresh pizza in under three minutes. If you don’t believe us, just ask the numerous journalists that witnessed and tasted Giovanni’s amazing Margerita first hand. It’s quite simply amazing.

Better yet, keep your eyes peeled over the coming months for its release and likely inclusion in your favourite home or foodie title.

Well if you can believe it, we are only four months away from Christmas – time to start planning those feasts!!

With the year flying by, we’d love to do a quick recap on ILVE’s 2011 highlights, not to mention the great events still to look forward to.

This year has seen us:

• Launch the Sydney Showroom to the who’s who of Sydney architects and interior designers – you can find some pictures here and showroom design feature here.
• Have an amazing time in Melbourne at designEX 2011, which was topped off by winning the overall Best Stand at designEX 2011.  Blog can be found here.
• Launch our incredible social media communities, and see our Facebook page grow to 5000 vibrant and supportive, food and cooking (and coffee!!) obsessed fans.
• Be named the Cooking Supplier of the Year at the bi-annual Harvey Norman Electrical Conference.
• Win a prestigious Australian International Design Award (AIDA) for the new ILVE Epsilon Island Rangehood.
• Hit the road for the Perth and Melbourne installments of the Good Food & Wine Show.

And with so much more to come, it will be 2012 before we know it. So what’s left?

Crave Sydney, more road trips for the Adelaide & Brisbane Good Food and WINE Shows and Grand Designs LIVE. More info can be found here.

We hope to see you there!

Giovanni Pilu’s Suckling Pig with Pinzimonio

(Porcetto arrosto)

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder

• 40gm sea salt

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Rosemary sprigs

Pinzimonio (tuscan raw vegetables)

• 1 carrot

• 2 baby fennel bulbs

• 2 tender celery sticks

• Juice of one lemon

• ¼ cup olive oil

• Sea salt and pepper

Preparation Time:               Allow 15 minutes

Servings:                                6

Cooking Time:                      Allow 2 hours 30 minutes

Pre Heat Oven                      175°C

Method

Place pork shoulder skin side up in a lightly oiled, large roasting dish.

Drizzle oilve oil liberally over skin and rub in well then cover generously with sea salt and thoroughly press into the skin.

Leave for 15 minutes or until skin becomes moist.

Roast suckling pig on the lowest oven shelf at 150°C (mode 7) for about 2 hours or until skin starts to come away from the top of meat and becomes crisp.

Remove from oven and brush away salt before crisping for approx 10-15mins at 220°C (mode 6).

Transfer the suckling pig to a large chopping board.

Cover loosely with foil and stand for 15 minutes before cutting into large pieces.

Serve suckling pig with sprigs of rosemary and pinzimonio.

For the Pinzimonio

Cut all vegetables into batons.

Dress with olive oil and lemon juice.

Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

This Recipe is featured in the DVD/podcast section of ilve.com.au

If you like this recipe, you can purchase it on DVD along with 10 others for just $14.95

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE ILVE COOKING DVD

ILVE are extremely pleased to say that our latest product release, the Epsilon Island Rangehood, has recently been honored by Good Design Australia with a prestigious Australian International Design Award (AIDA).

The ILVE Epsilon Island Rangehood was announced the winner of the Design Award™ for design excellence, at this years gala presentation ceremony held in Melbourne. It was an amazing night and we are so happy with the award. It is proof that we are making moves in the right direction in regards to product design and innovation, and we hope to evolve from the innovation of the Epsilon and continue to create complimentary products for the kitchen. Exciting times ahead!

Our gracious thanks again to Good Design Australia for this wonderful honor. We hope to see you again next year!

The award winning and innovative ILVE Epsilon is available from selected retailers and on display at ILVE showrooms nationally.

As the name suggests, the new ILVE 60cm Pyrolytic oven features the highly sought after Pyrolytic cleaning phase, making this much more than just a pretty face!

The pyrolytic cleaning process literally reduces cooking remains to ash with exposure to high temperatures of up to 465°C, and is programmable for a minimum of 90 minutes and a maximum of 180 minutes. Once cooled the ash remains are simply wiped away from the smooth, black vitreous enamel interior.

But when operating at such high temperatures, it’s got to be all about safety! This oven is designed to stay locked until the Pyrolytic cleaning process is completed. A mechanical interlock is used to keep the oven door closed and locked during and immediately after the cycle. Quadruple door glazing also provides safer, cooler door temperatures.

Time is not only saved on cleaning. The fast preheat feature, from 0°C to 175°C in six minutes, ensures the oven is ready to get cooking in no time. Further features include 10 multifunctional cooking modes, double speed cooling fan, concealed grill element, European A Class energy rating and removable oven door and inner door glass. A 70 litre oven capacity belies its 60cm built-in status.

Industry recognition

Current

Connected Chefs

Smarthouse

Channel news

The ILVE 60cm Pyrolytic Built-in oven is available now from selected retailers and on display at ILVE showrooms nationally. RRP $3299.00. For more information log onto www.ilve.com.au or call (02) 8569 4600

How does GLITM work?

Firstly, you need to have a Twitter account and be following @ILVE_appliances. If you don’t have a twitter account, sign up here – www.twitter.com

Your GLITM food moments will come from two areas:

• Dining out – ie. restaurants, cafes etc.
• Dining in – ie. Home cooked meals.

In your twitter post, you need to use a Twitter #hashtag, accompanied by picture of food, @mentioning establishment (if they have a twitter page) and #glitm (acronym for get lost in the moment) + @ILVE_appliances.

Example of Twitter post:

Loving this sushi http://t.co/yfeIxUH @TOKOrestaurant #glitm + @ILVE_appliances

ILVE is proud to announce the launch date of the most exciting and scrumptious online food movement – Get Lost in the Moment (GLITM).

Set your smart phone reminder for Friday the 17th of July, as the beginning of your GLITM journey.  This journey will be all about capturing food moments, food conquests, delicious memories and sharing these to a bunch of equally obsessed food lovers.

These food moments can be documented when cooking and dining in, or when dining out and about.

On top of the excitement of discussing, critiquing, showing off, and inspiring thousands of your ILVE peers from around the country, there will be constant prizes on offer.

Watch this space for further announcements.

More so now than ever your choice in kitchen design, and to much degree it’s very appliances, determines how you live, how you cook and how you entertain. The kitchen has fast become a reflection of its owner, making its many elements highly important. Is your new kitchen going to suit your current busy work, family or entertaining lifestyle?

Where to begin then when renovating or designing a new kitchen build?

It can be daunting when selecting a new oven, so the best start you can make is asking yourself this question – which brand sells the oven that is the right size for me? This will then enable you to narrow down the enormous selection of brands and models available.

When purchasing ovens and kitchen appliances, at ILVE we are finding that with the current trend of TV cooking shows customers are sticking to the core values of cooking and are looking for ovens that do not provide unnecessary gimmicks, ovens which are more robust, and can handle the job night in and night out.

Food is such a big part of our lives and because of this we spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so your kitchen needs to be practical and make you feel comfortable about being there.

When designing a kitchen for a new house build or an existing renovation, it’s easy to become guilty of getting things that are not always needed but believed to be a good idea at the time. It is important to take the time to really consider the core elements you need and base the design around that.

Remember that a kitchen is a room that you ideally do not want to be looking to renovate again for a good long time. At ILVE we find that kitchen designs for a new build in particular are more adventurous, where the wish list can become more a reality than when renovating an existing space.

Narrowing the choice down to a renowned appliance brand that provides an extensive collection of models for any situation saves you the time to concentrate more on the actual appliance that will best suit your needs. The wealth of experience and knowledge a reputable brand can offer then becomes yours to use wisely throughout your choices.

Looking to renovate or build your dream kitchen?

Click here to find your nearest ILVE showroom or stockist

or book into one of our free ILVE cooking classes get the feel