Introducing Larder – the fold-out mobile kitchen for Cooking, Community & Connection 

At Vlaze, with our outdoor kitchen cabinetry and beautifully resilient surfaces, we’re all about creating spaces that can be focal points for making wonderful memories. So, when conceptualist Damayanthi Ponnuthurai and architect Ivan Chan dreamt up a fold-out kitchen that could hitch to a bicycle and spark conversation wherever it parks, we knew this was an adventure we wanted to support and be part of. 

On 27th July we joined the very first Larder cooking session using the first prototype on Old Bethnal Green Road by Middleton Green. The compact cupboard unit unfolded into a full workstation, while chef Angelo Racelis cooked pulses donated by Bold Beans, with olive oil by Citizens of Soil, and vegetables from The Felix Project in Poplar. Alongside, fresh flatbreads were made using a Hornbeam cast-iron pan, all kept low-smoke on a stove donated by Prakti burning clean eucalyptus charcoal. 

All images including header © Claudia Gschwend

Event snapshot 

  • When & where: 11:30am–3pm, Saturday 27th July, Old Bethnal Green Road (by Middleton Green)
  • Larder transformed from slender cupboard to working kitchen
  • Taste the menu: Angelo had a fresh take on classic British baked beans
  • Captured on camera: award-winning photographer Claudia Gschwend documented the day’s connections as they happened

Why we are backing it  

We sponsored Larder because we love the motivation behing the project, “fostering human connection over food” and because Larder demonstrates that great design can travel lightly, feed communities and look amazing all at the same time.  

And the journey doesn’t stop in Bethnal Green. After its debut, the kitchen heads on loan to The Food Partnership network— a network founded by Sustain and the Soil Association in 2003. The partnership is managed by local organisations around the country, focused on food scarcity, public health, and environmental stability. As a first example of this, the Larder Kitchen will be used in September as part of the ‘Power of Food Festival’ in Tower Hamlets. 

From 1st August, the Larder will be available made-to-order through a UK-based workshop. The product will be available for purchase by community groups, private individuals, and the hospitality trade. 

More info! 

For questions drop Dammy a line at cdponnuthurai@gmail.com or check out the website.

To read more about the event check out this piece in the Financial Times.