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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Kitchen gardening
Fusing powdered glass to steel at temperatures in excess of 800ºC is best left to experts, and this family firm based on the Isle Of Wight certainly qualifies. It has been enamelling stoves, cladding and other products at its in-house plant since 1990, and has produced work for designers Yinka Ilori and Thomas Heatherwick, the V&A Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts and Soho House. Its beauty is self-evident, then, but it’s also heatproof, hygienic, stain resistant and doesn’t fade or corrode. “Outdoor kitchens may look great when they’re installed, but if you live in the UK, by the following summer they can end up looking terrible,” says Nicola Adams at Morley Stoves, which has a longstanding relationship with the firm. “But these kitchen units are the kind of thing you pass down to your kids.”
Adapt is the newly launched second iteration of Vlaze, which now comprises 600mm and 1,200mm modules to allow you to configure a bespoke set-up, with your wishlist of units drawn up on computer software by the firm for your approval. The arrangement I sat at for a morning coffee included a recess for a kamado grill, an integrated sink, a pull-out bin, gliding drawers, sliding shelves and soft-close doors. The original range of intense colours (including a deep indigo and a bright ochre) is now joined by a “Nature” range of neutral tones to blend more elegantly into outdoor (or, for that matter, indoor) spaces. And all with that same tactile, easy-clean surface that ensures the signage at King’s Cross looks pristine, year in, year out. Vlaze Adapt modular outdoor kitchen, from £4,600, morley-stoves.co.uk
From dusk till warm
Dutch firm Stoov has been making heated pads and cushions for indoor use for nearly a decade. Now some of its range – including the basic “Ploov” cushion – can be purchased in a hardy stonewashed canvas cover suitable for outdoors. It needs a little assembly: pop the soft inner cushion into a cover containing a heated element and a small pocket where the battery sits. Then the whole shebang slides into that durable exterior cover, with a nicely styled switch/control panel/charging connector popping out of one corner. At the end of an evening in the garden, with the night air bringing its customary chill, flicking that switch and choosing your desired level of heat can keep you toasty into dusk and beyond. Stoov Ploov Canvas, from £99.99
Your new flame
The instantly recognisable form of the Big Green Egg is usually associated with kamado-style grilling, but in the late 1990s the Atlanta-based firm began producing a wood-fuelled outdoor heater, inspired by the Mexican chiminea. It was discontinued after a few years, but has subsequently picked up a cult following, with originals changing hands on eBay for 10 times the original price. To celebrate the firm’s 50th anniversary, this new version has been launched; it now comes in one piece rather than two, and uses an improved ceramic formula and wider chamber to push out more heat (because the primary job of its big sister grill is to keep heat in). A beautiful centrepiece for a terrace. Big Green Egg Chiminea, £675
Screen test
Ambient light and extraneous noise are the mortal enemies of outdoor projectors, but this battery-powered 1080p unit puts up an excellent fight despite being comparable in size and weight to a four-pack of beers. Stick it on a tripod (better than a pile of bricks) and its swift, accurate autofocus and auto-keystoning give a sharp, bright image (400 ANSI lumens – so, underpowered at its maximum size of 150in, but perfect at sunset on a more modest screen). Its two 8W speakers are punchy, but if you want on-screen explosions to rumble you can hook up external ones. Under the hood it’s a Google TV (with Netflix, Amazon Prime etc) but any missing apps (such as BBC iPlayer) can be Chromecasted from a phone. Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air, £550
Cook like a Neapolitan
I’m depressingly inept at “launching” pizzas and, while the last oven featured in Technopolis highlighted my own feeble peel-wielding technique, this compact new gas-only model from Gozney is more forgiving. It sits, price and feature wise, between its entry-level Roccbox and the professional Dome, but the powerful, rolling burner is at the side of the oven, so you’re not launching directly towards (or, in my case, into) the flame. The stone takes just over half an hour to get up to around 450ºC, with a bright digital thermometer tracking the temperature. Anxious chefs like me might stick to a safer 12in diameter (particularly if there are people watching) but Neapolitan wizards will get 14-inchers in and out in around 60 seconds. Gozney Arc, £599
@rhodri
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