Colin and Justin: Creating the perfect pantry
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As Colin and Justin see it, the pantry’s ascent is fuelled by a movement that serves ‘home’ as this year’s hot ticket food destination
The walk in closet? Hmm. Yours might have volume sufficient to send Carrie Bradshaw into Manolo Blahnik displaying overdrive, but – all things considered – your Narnia deep clothes vault is so last year.
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As 2022 rolls, the must-have home attribute certainly remains ‘storage’ focused, though these days the arrangement of sartorial collections has been pushed into submission by matters epicurean.
From our own observations – across a tri continental client roster that spans Canada, Australia and Britain – it’s not enough to have a state-of-the-art kitchen. Menu planning (more than ever before) revolves around the world’s finest ingredients. In turn, a hard core, tricked out larder has become the holy grail of chi-chi gastronomes the world over.
But hold it, if you will, for one Balsamic reducing, bulgur totting moment. We’re not just talking any pantry. The hippest shelves buoy with the finest of everything. And if you don’t have space to show it all off? Your perceived ‘snack bracket’ will torpedo faster than an out of date carton of quail eggs.
If you, like we, are a serious home cook with a skill set sufficiently deft to compete on a higher echelon TV cooking show (fyi – we boiled up a storm on Celebrity Masterchef, UK, doncha know) then it’s time to make your pantry dynamics match your stove top prowess.
As we see it, the pantry’s ascent is fuelled by a movement that serves ‘home’ as this year’s hot ticket food destination. During the pandemic’s various stages, restaurant access was oft’ denied, so folk stayed indoors, scouring the internet for food porn, and emptying Amazon’s shelves of every conceivable cookbook and ingredient.
Prep’ skills were carefully honed, as domiciles become viable alternatives to the coolest eateries. Thus the pantry became the ultimate domestic status symbol. One that proudly proclaims: “I cook and ‘store’, therefore I am…”
When compromised, it’s comforting to reflect upon the past, and the need to feel indulged. Creativity, of late, has blossomed, as recipes are lavished across social media in imagery designed to make even the most dry mouthed drool. Key #pantrymeals into Instagram to demonstrate how much the ‘look what I made’ phenomenon has taken off…
Today’s pantries manifest in all shapes and sizes as stash points for your latest Farm Boy haul. Wine fridges, cheese closets and customisable shelving systems are common requests from our own clients. Coffee bar stations (complete with state of the art barista quality machinery by Breville or Electra) are also typical requests.
Similarly, for the budding Mary Berry, French style stone work ‘desks’ (the perfect surface upon which to flourish artisanal flour ahead of an online dough making class) punctuate our request roster.
Google #pantrygoals to espy tailored spaces lined with mason jars, spice racks and wooden crates, beautifully name tagged and arranged, to house a library of cooking ingredients.
As is the case with any project, however, ‘to fail to plan is to plan to fail’. Before cooking up that dream plan, analyse what you need, and the inventory to be stored, with lines that appeal less to the ‘Bulk Barn’ aesthetic, and more to those witnessed in ‘Eataly,’ less ‘end of the world hoarder’, and more ‘global traveller’.
Beyond being simply de rigueur, the pantry is also becoming a real estate accelerant. According to realtor Josh Levesque, of Berkshire Hathaway, evolving lifestyles are the driving force, with builders recognising that people like to cook, and that food storage is important.
“A spacious pantry equals fewer trips to the grocery store, right? And people want an easier, less stressful life. When touring larger properties, walk-in larders are huge on my clients’ must-haves lists.”
In other news, a recent study by Hello Fresh (www.hellofresh.ca/grocery-delivery/food-trends) analysed consumers’ changing approach to cooking, eating and choosing food. A stout 48.9% spoke of increasing home cooking frequency, whilst 34% planned spending significantly more time than before prepping from scratch.
And so, from a design and indeed a holistic perspective, 2022 sees the pantry reimagined as a fascinating food library, thoughtfully arranged with tempting comestibles, generous shelving and compelling inventory, mindful of order at every turn.
To quote our wise auld Scottish grannies: “Hae a place for everythin’, darlin’, and hae everythin’ in its place. If, that is, ye want an easy life.” Wise words, indeed, as the race to create the world’s best pantry, continues apace…
Watch for Colin and Justin on Cabin Pressure and Great Canadian Cottages
(Cottage Life TV) and on Cityline (CityTV). Find the Colin and Justin Collection in stores across Canada. Visit www.colinandjustin.tv.
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