There are many among us whose passion for hospitality has, in recent years, soared to heights even they could not imagine reaching. So, what happens when you mix contemporary culinary culture with design inspired by various worlds of content and add a pinch of Instagram? You create a customized new lifestyle.
Spring 2021. The Scottish gin brand Caorunn managers decided to commission an anunusual study. They want to see how many people tried to prepare cocktails at home, on their own, in the last year. The results were surprising. 79% of the young adults (18-34) and 60% of the respondents aged 35-44 provided a positive answer.
But you can stay close to Scottish brands overseas. There are many among us, too, whose passion for hospitality has, in recent years, soared to heights even they could not imagine reaching. Of course, the love for hospitality is in the fine details – mainly the food, not only the food. We’ll get back to that.
When we say “recent years,” we relate to the shift brought on by COVID, where staying in our home fortress became its lifestyle
But the pandemic is just an excuse because what truly propelled the domestic hospitality revolution – whether relating to real guests or just for yourself – was there before. All it took was one tiny spark.
What was there before is an endearing mixture of several trends that merged to create something new and exciting. The first is the culinary culture, introduced by the cooking shows that became increasingly ornate, exposing us to new flavors, new combinations, and the knowledge that we, too, can be household chefs. Cooking/baking/sautéing (delete as relevant) has become general knowledge. In short, you no longer seek food to ease your hunger but rather an ornate and exciting production you wish to share with the world.
The world is a stage and you are the stars.
“Sharing with the World” hints at the other trend: Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook culture, if you insist on keeping old habits. Suddenly, the world is on stage, and you are the stars. You and your culinary creations. No more photos of dishes from luxurious restaurants, but shots of your dishes from your private kitchen. Cook, serve, shoot – along with the perfect encore (dessert).
Once you give your culinary creation the respect it is due, it is time to plan your kitchen’s backdrop. In recent years, kitchen design has begun to focus on basic functional needs and related to meticulous aesthetics while offering various cooking and hospitality options. In other words, more than ever, kitchens today look like they came out of a design magazine or high-budget cooking shows.
Date on the 18th-floor Balcony
And if you, too, feel that it’s more fun to be at home, you’re not alone. Because today, many of us do at home what used to be reserved for the “outside.” For example, dating. Whether it is a first date or a date with a partner of many years, what can be better than good wine and a good dinner on your Balcony up on the 18th floor?
When you have all of the facilities within reach at home, there’s no real reason to go out. Even takeaway has transformed. Gone are the “rush orders” for people stuck without groceries at the last minute, but a genuinely comforting meal that looks and smells good and makes a great photo.
There’s one more trend, appearing slowly but surely. Let’s call it “Gathering”. You no longer do all of your food shopping in one place. Say the neighborhood supermarket. What do you do? You drive to the deli uptown for its carpaccio and then south to the wine store on the other side of the city to get its unique brand that you once tasted in Tuscany. And so, you gather with love from here and there, creating a leisure culture most suited to you. It’s not only convenient and fun, it’s also tres chic.
Umami: What happens when you put together a chef and architect?
The vision of those who devised the Umami Project in Kiryat Ono is based on a precise lifestyle that is tailor-made and raises the bar for leisure culture.
As you know, Umami is actually “the Fifth Taste.” We are all familiar with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty – but Umami is the most fascinating. It is an elusive flavor that is difficult to define; it enriches and improves all other flavors with uniqueness. Like the fifth taste, the Umami Project offers a unique residential experience for people who consider hospitality and cooking an integral part of their lifestyle.
This perception is apparent throughout the project – ranging from the design of the shared spaces through the apartments to the well-equipped kitchens.
All of the trends noted above are highlighted in Project Umami. It starts out with the private wine cooler in each apartment, goes on with a private 20-dunam park with fruit trees and spice gardens (not just for beauty’s sake, but if you forgot to get fresh mint leaves for your dinner, too), and ends with the kitchen designed, planned together by an architect and chef. They each present their own hospitality and lifestyle vision, creating together an unusual space.
And while we’re on the topic of the kitchens – they were inspired by industrial kitchens with expansive countertops, easy-to-clean tiles, ample storage spaces, various shelves, handling areas, drawers, hooks, and other solutions enabling you to elegantly pull out and hide your cooking utensils and cook with style.
Umami is the first and only project that recognizes and truly understands the trend that is continuing to gain momentum. The home is the center, the heart. Thus, it must enable us to maintain the lifestyle we want precisely as we want it.
All that you have to do is experience, emerge and enjoy.
Just remember to share.
