Kiwi kitchens, some dread
Common concerns over places to live seem of course to be the rental costs, school locations and the cold. Yes, lots of discussions here about cold kiwi homes. However, as I look at rental listings, click and enlarge and view the tidy photos of newly remodelled kiwi kitchens I have another reaction: what is it with those piddly electric cooker/stove/oven things and the lack of exhaust fans? This causes me real concern.
Cooking is a big thing at home, for my wife too, and we hope to do it in NZ but not on those things. Where we are now we've got well-used pots and pans hung up on the wall, gas and gas burners, way more gear than most people would want such as a pretty special Japanese knife collection and several mortar/pestles of various sizes, but things all have a purpose. Tidy and new is nice but we need to cook and the kitchen is more of a workshop to me than a show room. It's true I saw lots of electric burners around when I grew up, but that was then and in my mind they still seem associated with early childhood when you wouldn't cook or at least would be very amateur about it, and that's probably how it should still be. Gear for kids.
Is all NZ like this? To me those little electrical jobs aren't of much use other than for boiling broccoli or making instant noodles, and for looking simple and tidy which is how non-cooks might prefer. Give me a good gas range and oven with strong overheard fans any day, not quite restaurant-like but on the other hand something beyond novice-level, please. I'm worried my iron pans, pots and woks might not even bother applying for their NZ visas. Hoping it isn't so.
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Originally Posted by Asteger
