Now Serving in Style: Gourdo's Swissmar

If you're the kind of kitchen whiz who loves entertaining just as much as cooking, then these two names should be your top-of-mind and word-of-mouth.

Now, not to be cocky or anything, but I happen to be a pretty lean, mean cooking machine myself (second to my husband… eep!). So you can imagine the crazy thrill I had when I got an invitation to Gourdo's --world-renowned name in anything food and cooking-- for a press launch and lunch introducing Swissmar --the innovative brand to beat in European gourmet houseware.

My first impression upon gazing at the Swissmar products spread before us was, "Wow! These are pretty!" Swissmar's designs are fashionable as they are functional, which is a big win for me.

Susan San Miguel, Gourdo's Assistant General Manager for Merchandising went on to tell us that these kitchen tools are all high quality and the creativity in each piece's design is actually a purposeful innovation. Ooooh… I'm liking that! 
Then, Swissmar Brand Manager and International Sales Manager, Marc Hoffman, added that each Swissmar product is user-friendly. Thus, giving every Filipina housewife the chance to bring gourmet cooking into her home so she can entertain her family and friends in the highest form of style. Okay, darn it, I'm sold!

But apparently, the good stuff doesn't end there. Gourdo's invited celebrity chef, Jackie Ang-Po, to give us a  cooking demo. Swissmar in action? Nomnom right after? Oh, Lordy!
The next few drool-worthy pictures, I have no words.

Absolutely… no… words.

After an orgasmic gastronomic food fest, we've decided as a whole that the Swissmar Raclette Party Grill was easily the crowd favourite. It cooks the food on the top grill and melts the cheeses on the trays below, and transforms you into a stress-free party host in no time. It is so ridiculously easy to use!

Swissmar's Foundue Set came as a close second. Nothing says celebration quite like a delectable dipping affair composed of bread, cheese, meat, fruits, and chocolate. Fondues make me happy. I speak from the heart here.

You'd think it's nuts to be excited about peelers but  when the Swissmar 100% Swiss-made Peelers were rolled out, I was just beyond giddy. Light weight bad boys in a variety of sharp blades: Scalpel for hard fruits and veggies, Serrated for soft fruits and veggies, and Julienne for stick form fruits and veggies. Sweet!

Swissmar Spatulas are also 100% Swiss-made and each is designed with the perfect blend of flexibility, sturdiness, and comfort in handling. Cooking has never been this fun and colourful!

There were other fabulous kitchen tools introduced that would surely catapult you from Kitchen Queen to Hostess with the Mostest but these, by far, are my top faves. And you can get them all at Swissmar's  new Philippine home, Gourdo's. And I mean, every Gourdo's on the map. Swissmar is also at Living Well branches.

Oh, and Swissmar made it to my Blogger Goody Bag, too. SO. MUCH. YAY!

For more info on Swissmar, click here.

Papier Macheniacs: Rubberatronic Freddy Fazbear

"Hey, buddy! I'm Freddy Fazbear!"

Yeah, this guy creeps up on me every night now. He's our version of one of the animatronic robots in the game, Five Nights at Freddy's.
Eh, you know how we roll --new online game discovery, new paper mache project.

So today, brace yourself as we take you through the Freddy Fazbear Rubberatronic Mask DIY!
Why 'Rubberatronic', you ask? Ah, in due time, little grasshopper, in due time.

First, we gotta do some sculpting. Most of our masks are paper plate-based. Because paper plates are easy to shape and they've got that nice shiny silver surface that doesn't rip when the wearer of the mask sweats or decides to sneeze. Uh-huh.
Our Freddy mask is made up of two parts: The face itself and the jaw. This has something to do with the Rubberatronic awesomeness I've been blabbering about.

Second, when you've got all your sculpted newspaper down pat, it's time to whip out the glue and tissue. Paper mache-ing in progress! Now, for this particular mask, the nooks and crannies were insane. So you have to fill those pockets up with paper mache to make sure every bit of the mask holds in the end. Do the same for the jaw and teeth.

Third, applying the details. We use standard marker for this. Make sure you do this with Freddy's picture right in front of you. I mean, even the freckles were crucial to my boys.
If you haven't punched holes for the eyes at this point, you better do it now.

Fourth, paint!

BAM! Pretty handsome specimen, eh? :P

Just as an added tidbit here, the Freddy mask is heavy up front because of the bear's snout, the hat, and that jaw attachment. So instead of our usual backstrap, we opted for a full-on 'skull cap' to keep the mask secured on the wearer's head. Yes! We measured my son's head and then paper mache'd and painted the mould accordingly. The skull cap is then cinched with a horizontal strap and an additional vertical strap.

Fifth! The Rubberatronic attachment!
Okay, okay… too much fanfare. It's really just a couple of rubber bands that the jaw attachment can hang from at a good distance from the bottom of the face. So with just a tug, you can get Freddy Fazbear to talk like a robot. Kinda like in the game. Except it's manual. Not, uh, technological. Hahaha!

There you have it --Papier Macheniacs' very own Five Nights at Freddy's top man, Freddy Fazbear!

And now, I leave you with a few words from our sponsors.