At left: Control panel of the Naboo oven by Lainox

Digital culture has changed the way we work, communicate and spend our leisure time and it has done so in ways that were not remotely imaginable ten years ago. Every new wave of innovation has brought profound mutations, even to areas that may at first have seemed immune to such “contaminations”. Keyboards have insinuated their way into the professional kitchen: ovens are commanded by touch pads, recipes are stored in data bases and provisions are ordered via e-mail. Even the most technology-resistant subjects have had to capitulate to the tyranny of the microchip because analog versions of many instruments, from thermometers to scales, have given way to their digital counterparts. The much-maligned printed instruction manual, that once accompanied more complex equipment, is now more likely to be consultable via CD or on-line.

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