The Kitchen Box is Fanny Craddock's wet dream for the '90s: a counter-top computer with a wipe-clean, grease and splashproof glass cover, rubber anti-slip legs and a cordless modem. Envisioned as the ultimate user-friendly, portable machine by Sarah Fulford in the Royal College of Art's Industrial Design Engineering department (with help from MicroTouch Systems Ltd.), it's designed for chefs with flour-covered or wet hands. You merely push or squeeze the computer - in an action reminiscent of kneading bread - or even bang it with an elbow to navigate the Web, check email in "cook mode" or use the touch screen in "search mode". The Kitchen Computer would allow the wannabe Cordon Bleu to search for recipes by country of origin, nutritional value, cost, or cooking time, as well as to shop online, watch cooking videos and plan weekly menus - a millennium kitchen must-have, if it ever gets built.
Liz Bailey