Have kitchen, will travel

By Libby Middlebrook

Finicky chefs won't have to leave their kitchen behind on an overseas trip any longer. They can simply pack it into a box.

Auckland-company Stainless Kitchens has transformed two second-hand shipping containers into state-of-the-art kitchens. Fitted out with the latest in cookware, they can be hoisted on to a container ship and transported anywhere in the world.

Stainless Kitchens consultant Stuart Collingwood said the company paid about $2000 for the empty 20-foot-long crates, which had already been registered for export.

"This sort of thing has never been done before," he said. "There are portable kitchens around, but ours are about $100,000 cheaper than anything else on the market."

Catering company Corporate Host bought the two new containers for $380,000, complete with dishwashers, ovens and sinks. It has moved them into the America's Cup Village, where it plans to churn out thousands of meals before shipping them to Australia for the Olympic Games next year.