In the Test Kitchen with Christian

What exactly goes into developing a recipe, and what kind of preparation is involved? What does a photo production look like at Kitchen Stories? In our new series, together with our kitchen manufacturer next125, we’ll answer these questions and more with exclusive behind the scenes insights of our productions. So join us on a tour of our office and get to know how we work to create the content you love in our various shoot kitchens!

This first article will focus on what ends up on our website and in our app for you to see, cook, and enjoy! We start by developing and testing the recipes. The key location for this is our test kitchen, where we refine and try recipes, and — if necessary — add seasoning. We call this kitchen the “Lab”. Are you wondering if that has anything to do with its white color?

Join our recipe testing in the test kitchen:

Behind-the-Scenes with next125 - In the Test kitchen

• 04:37 min.
• 17k views

Today, Christian is testing Japanese ramen and a tasty fish dish

If you already know Christian from some of our content, then you’ll know that he’s a big fan of freshly – caught fish. When we visited him in the test kitchen, he was getting ready to filet a fresh zander. Christian is an expert at this. He takes his time and uses as much space as he needs, assisted by the very spacious test kitchen. The countertop is perfectly designed for this purpose, as it is food safe, meaning that it can be directly worked on.

Zander filet is not the only thing Christian is testing today — something else is also simmering away in the background. Christian tells us that he is also testing a Japanese noodle soup, or to be precise: ramen.

Christian loves ramen due to the variety of spices that can be used when preparing the broth and the large choice of toppings.

Christian is not the only one who is a fan of this Japanese classic. It doesn’t take long for other team members to find their way to the test kitchen to try the prepared dishes. This is also a part of our process. We take on board the collective opinion of a variety of our team members when developing our recipes. But, of course, the creator of the dish usually has the final word!

Short routes, as organization is key!

One thing quickly becomes clear while following Christian on his testing day: He loves cooking through and through and doesn’t allow himself to be thrown off by our presence. The kitchen seems to assist him with his every move; the knife drawer is exactly where he needs it, and the various bins are directly below it. The simple white next125 kitchen plays its own distinctive role, making the cooking process easy for Christian. The large kitchen island in the middle of the room allows us to separate the kitchen into different stations, meaning that we can not only cook several dishes at once but also collaborate with multiple team members. The opportunity to work together is one of the unique features of our test kitchen.

When testing, it is incredibly important that certain steps have been taken and that we don’t need to think about where things are in the kitchen. We asked Christian: What is the most important aspect of the test kitchen? What is essential? Which things make your work easier? Which things would you also like to have at home?

Best ingredients, best conditions, best results

His two favorite aspects of the test kitchen are definitely the easy access to everything and the intuitive design. By now, he always reaches for the right drawer, and he can find the utensils he needs without thinking. According to him, it’s also important to have an alphabetically arranged spice drawer. The same goes for a carefully arranged storeroom with two separate cold rooms. For him, everything needs to be just so when testing, as only the best ingredients and conditions create top results that meet Christian’s standards. That sounds logical, right?

We’ll leave Christian to his work now and are off to find Lisa, one of our Kitchen Stories editors. She’ll show us how shoots are styled and prepared in our show kitchens. Stay tuned for the next video and article in our exclusive behind-the-scenes series with our partner, the kitchen manufacturer next125.