Behind the Scenes: Stir Crazy

cute modular toasted sandwiches and geometrically cubed fruit platter
Off to a good start with breakfast at Moschino hotel in Milan before shooting the Boffi kitchen. Note the cute modular toasted sandwiches and geometrically cubed fruit platter - a spread after our own hearts.
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Working (and tasting) their way through five locations in just under five days, interiors editor Ben Kempton and deputy lifestyle editor Pei-Ru Keh embarked on a showroom trail from Italy to Germany, with the aim of creating some tasty scenes to showcase the best kitchens of 2010.

To see the results you will have to turn to this month's entertaining special W*141 where the full shoot, as photographed by Andrea Garuti, is documented. However, for wallpaper.com, we snapped the process to show how it was done.

Extracting key ingredients from a melting pot of themes, places and flavours, the final kitchen scenarios play host to our ultimate fantasy meals, from an industrial afternoon high tea, to the essential TV takeaway.

Photographer Andrea Garuti inspecting the romantic meal-for-two style scene at the Boffi kitchen

Photographer Andrea Garuti inspecting the romantic meal-for-two style scene at the Boffi kitchen

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An aerial shot of the team at work at Valcucine in Milan

An aerial shot of the team at work at Valcucine in Milan, the second kitchen on our shoot list

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books in booshop categorised in piles

The kitchen showroom also doubles up as a bookshop, so the team carefully put books neatly away into categorised piles to make way for the kitchen to be shot.

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bookshop shoot

Pleased with the way the images are unfolding as the shoot progresses

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camera man getting shots

Getting into position for more shots

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Interiors Editor Ben Kempton indulging his passion for putting things into straight lines

Interiors Editor Ben Kempton indulging his passion for putting things into straight lines

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A large collection of scientific glassware

A large collection of scientific glassware from Laurence Brabent for the Valcucine shoot, which is based on molecular dining.

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Deputy Beauty & Lifestyle Editor Pei-Ru Keh with her finger on the pulse

Deputy Beauty & Lifestyle Editor Pei-Ru Keh with her finger on the pulse, or should we say pulses?

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pizza for lunch

Lunch on the go at Valcucine - spot the real pizza in this picture.

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dawn from Milan to Bologna

On the move at the crack of dawn from Milan to Bologna to shoot the Ipe Cavalli kitchen

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dinner party kitchen

On the set of our formal dinner party kitchen at Ipe Cavalli

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yellow cake in shoot

The cake that appears in the final shot of the kitchen, bought locally in Bologna.

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Lunch in Ipe Cavalli’s staff kitchen with the shoot team

Lunch in Ipe Cavalli’s staff kitchen with the shoot team

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woman serving beers

A welcome arrival in Germany, where we set up base near Hanover in Herford for the Eggersmann kitchen shoot

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graphics on the side of a supermarket van spotted

Nice graphics on the side of a supermarket van spotted on the way to the Eggersmann shoot

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biscuits and treats for the shoot

Selecting biscuits and treats for the shoot, which was centered on the concept of industrial high tea

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Pei-Ru making a carefully-considered decision on which ones make the cut

Pei-Ru making a carefully-considered decision on which ones make the cut

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sausage aisle at a supermarket

Spoilt for choice in the sausage aisle at a supermarket in the small town of Hiddenhausen, also where the Eggersmann HQ is based

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bakery with variety of breads

Stumbling on a brilliant bakery while out researching for the shoot

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unwrapping blue china

Carefully unwrapping some blue china by Piet Hein Eek

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Ben wrestles with a heavy steel cake stand

Ben wrestles with a heavy steel cake stand by Tom Dixon...

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Ben Kempton rolling brown paper bag in kitchen

... before making sure the top of a brown paper bag is perfectly rolled and placed on the kitchen’s monolithic granite block surface

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editor Pei-Ru in kitchen

Pei-Ru reveals the ’secret door’ to the appliances, which lie behind the electronic cupboard panelling.

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starter meal with fan napkin

Funny little starter meal, complete with fan napkin

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Misty morning drive

Misty morning drive and another early start as the team head to the Häcker HQ

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Häcker kitchen HQ

At Häcker kitchen HQ

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German food packaging

The team make some great German food packaging finds whilst shopping for ingredients for the Häcker kitchen

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props for the fast-food-style shoot

More props for the fast-food-style shoot

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Editor Ben Kempton messing up the stacked pizza boxes

Ben meticulously messing up the stacked pizza boxes

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kitchen lined with takeaway boxes and pizza cartons

The kitchen lined with takeaway boxes and pizza cartons

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Pei-Ru inspecting kitchen

Inspector Pei-Ru giving the shoot space a final once-over

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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.