Poggenpohl rolled out the red carpet for the opening of the XTRA’s Kitchen showroom on Raffles Boulevard in Singapore. With its new dealer XTRA, Poggenpohl has put together an exciting and well thought-out programme with many culinary delicacies. It was important to highlight the themes of design, architecture, craftsmanship and culinary art across genres. Cuisine and cooking were in a delightful dialogue that evening. An interplay between design, art and architecture. A creative interplay between curved softness and purist clarity. It feels like a metamorphosis, similar to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. But companies like Poggenpohl are also changing and reinventing themselves. The opening is part of the planned strengthening of Poggenpohl’s presence in Asia, as part of which further studios have already been opened. 
In the middle of the opening and at the counter of the Poggenpohl kitchen, chefs Justin Quek and Juliana were joined by Janice Wong. Wong is an artist, chocolatier, chef and entrepreneur from Singapore. In addition to restaurants, dessert bars and retail outlets, it is also known for its edible art installations. She has been honoured several times, including twice in a row as “Best Pastry Chef in Asia” at the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants”. Equally fascinating are the dishes created by chefs Justin Quek and Juliana. Their speciality is French-Asian cuisine. Quek is Singapore’s most internationally renowned chef and the first Asian chef to be invited to Lufthansa’s Star Chefs programme. At the end there was enthusiastic applause for the cookery artists. After this successful kick-off event in the XTRA’s Kitchen showroom, the invited guests had the opportunity to talk to each other and take a closer look at the Poggenpohl kitchens in the midst of selected design classics. Andrew Zimmern would certainly have also enjoyed the evening, as his culinary travels often take him to Asia. Maybe he’ ll stop by XTRA on his next trip to Singapore!
