Too good to be true? We had a lot of questions too, so… we went to try it out!
While a kitchen island is both a stylish and functional fixture for food prep and as a dining area, fitting one in a small kitchen is tough – usually, there’s only enough space for the necessities like the stove and countertops.
But what if you could do your food prep, cooking and dining all on the same countertop/island that doubles as a stove?
The Bellus Gardenia Slabs Cooking Surface presents an innovative 2-in-1 concept with a concealed induction system to do just that, saving you space and sparing you the heartache of giving up on an aesthetically pleasing countertop/island.
We were told the cooking surface is:
- Multifunctional to maximise kitchen space
- Seamless and aesthetic
- Easy to clean/maintain
- Safe to use
Naturally, we had a lot of questions: does it work like a regular induction stove? Can you cut/chop ingredients directly on the surface? What are the safety features?
To find out all the answers, we sent our writer, Ayodya, to try cooking a one-dish meal of pan-seared salmon with lemon butter.
1. First, prepping the ingredients
Ayodya (A): The recipe I found online said the dish would be quick and easy to make. But I don’t cook often, and I’ve never used an induction stove before, so I honestly wasn’t sure how it would turn out.
The ingredients set-up on the seamless cooking surface – the veins are continuous and it looks much nicer than a hob protruding in the middle.
A: I started off with cutting up everything I needed – lemons, asparagus and onions – directly on the surface.
A: I was told that I wouldn’t need a chopping board because the sintered surface is resistant to stains, scratches and water. True enough, after testing it out, there weren’t any scratches after!
A: According to the staff at Bellus, you just have to make sure that you’re using a stainless steel knife if you’re cutting directly on the surface to avoid damaging it in the long term.
For safety purposes (or personal preference) though, you might want to use a chopping board for raw meat. This would help to prevent the knife from slipping while cutting, since the surface is smooth.
Close-ups of the surface with no scratches in sight
2. Next, getting to the actual cooking…
The physical controller (left) and the smartphone app (right) for controlling the cooking zone temperatures. Once you turn on the respective cooking zone with the controller, you can adjust it up to 9 temperature levels via the app as well.
A: With all the ingredients prepped, I moved on to cooking the asparagus and onions first. I used only one of the three cooking zones since I was using a single pan for everything.
There are three cooking zones on this surface, which are hidden thanks to the concealed/integrated induction system.
A: At first, It was a little difficult to find the cooking zones without any visible signs. Once you familiarise yourself with the locations though, it should be easy to get cooking since the induction process begins immediately when the zone detects induction cookware.
I was also told that you can opt to have the location of the zones marked on the surface, which certainly sounds handy.
A: At the first level of heat, the pan heated up in less than a minute and my butter began melting. It started to bubble just right at Level 2.
A: Next up was cooking the chopped onions and asparagus.
As a safety mechanism, the induction heating automatically stops when the cookware is not in position
A: If you notice in the photo above, the sign on the phone app changes from “1” to “E1” when the pan is taken off the cooking zone, indicating that the cookware is not in position.
A: Finally, I began searing the salmon with lemon butter sauce. It cooked evenly and rather quickly without burning. To make the skin extra crispy at the end, I raised the heat for about 30 seconds.
A: One of my main concerns was whether accidentally touching the cooking zone or placing a non-heat-resistant object there would be unsafe.
But I’ve heard that there’s no risk of burning yourself with an induction cooktop. So, almost immediately after taking the pan off the cooking zone, I tried placing my hand in the same spot to test the heat.
To my pleasant surprise, the surface was only warm at the cooking zone and cool all around it, so it turned out not to be a problem.
A: With that, I added the final touches like garnishing with lemon slices.
3. Can’t forget to do the cleanup (and it’s surprisingly easy!)
A: Before digging in, I had to deal with the mess of splattered liquids and butter and leftovers.
A: After clearing all the items on the surface, I tried using a kitchen towel first with my cleaning agent but the results weren’t too great because there was still oily residue.
A: I tried with a kitchen cleaning cloth next and voila! I managed to clean up really quickly since the cooking surface is flat and smooth without any protruding hardware, unlike a regular gas hob.
Plus, it’s non-porous so any gentle cleaning solution will work since that means there’s no chance of the surface absorbing liquids/staining, or bacterial growth.
I did a second clean with water as well to make sure everything was spotless, and also because I don’t like the idea of chemicals left behind where I prep my food/dine.
4. Finally, it’s time to eat! Yum!
A: I had never thought of dining at my stove, but that’s exactly what I could do here. When it’s not used for food prep or cooking, the cooktop makes an impressive dining table/counter.
As someone who doesn’t cook often and had no experience in using an induction stove, it was quite easy to control and get used to.
The food was also evenly-cooked and yummy, so it’s a win all-round.
Our verdict of the Gardenia Slabs Cooking Surface
To wrap up Ayodya’s review of the cooking surface, here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Precise cooking and temperature control
- Smooth and seamless sintered stone surface
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Luxurious and elegant addition to enhance your kitchen’s look
- Multifunctional – can be used for different purposes
- Safe to use
- The cooking zone is not excessively hot after cooking
- There’s no glass hob, so there’s no risk of the glass shattering
Cons:
- Need induction cookware, so you can’t use clay pots or a round-bottomed wok
- Speaking of woks, you can achieve wok hei with an induction stove
- If you don’t opt to have the cooking zones marked, it may be difficult to find them until you get used to cooking on the surface
This product is great for you if:
- You have limited kitchen space – you can do your prep, cooking and dining all in the same place, after all
- If you host often, you could even serve your guests while they’re dining at the countertop
- You’d like a versatile and aesthetically pleasing option that can double as a space for tasks beyond cooking (e.g. working, studying), particularly if you don’t cook heavily
Bellus showroom at Woodlands
And answers to some lingering questions you might have:
- The cooktop can be installed in an HDB unit – its energy consumption is about 28amp, comparable to an aircon isolator
- Cookware that can be used on the cooktop: induction-friendly cookware
- As mentioned, a chopping board is not necessary and comes down to a matter of preference, as long as you are using stainless steel knives to cut on the surface
At the end of the day, seeing is believing, so you can head down to Bellus’ showroom to have a look and feel of the innovative Gardenia Slabs Cooking Surface.
