Izaskun Chinchilla Architects is collaborating with father-daugther duo of inspirers, Juan Mari and Elena Arzak to give shape to their dream and turn it into a tangible object. This journey began one Sunday in March when Izaskun Chinchilla met with Juan Mari and Elena Arzak in their San Sebastian restaurant to find out what the common dream of these two culinary magicians.

After a lengthy conversation and having discovered some of the inner workings of their gastronomic cathedral, Izaskun was in no doubt that the common dream of both of them was to continue enjoying themselves while creating their edible masterpieces. The hard work involved in running a restaurant like Arzak, with its demands of extreme high-quality requirements, is only worthwhile if they can continue learning and having fun at the same time.

“Chatting away with a glass of rosé wine in hand, while exploring their food laboratory, we came to the conclusion that their cooking utensils are one of the key tools that allow them to create innovative, fun and experimental dishes. We talked about everything you can do with a strainer, about objects used for both cooking and serving, about syringes and liquid ice; they showed us an item which looked like a piece of Gruyere cheese and which is used to serve razor clams, the rich mollusks, and even a special Russian spoon used to eat soup without dirtying the big moustaches which were popular in this country long ago”, Izaskun recalls.

This is when the dream began to take shape: “It would be wonderful to have all the utensils used to prepare a great dish close at hand while you´re cooking… them coming to you, waiting to be used again, the sight of which suggests a new step to you”, Elena pointed out.

An initial interpretation of this dream could consist of creating a great cloud of utensils enabling the cook to have the instrument needed close at hand at all times.

“But this is a dream which needs to be turned into an object!”, remarked Elena, bringing everyone back to reality. “The kitchen´s horizontal work surfaces are far too full, which is why this object must only take up vertical space”.  This sprinkle of practicality ensures the dream, once fulfilled, continues to provide enjoyment and does not become a little kitchen nightmare.