3 dots = 3 burners

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ON MARCH 18, at Bar Pintxos in Rockwell, we saw a countertop with three dots on top. That’s it. That was the cooking hub.

The three dots happen to be induction cookers, the whole countertop transformed into an induction cooktop with three burners, thanks to the technology of InvisaCook.

InvisaCook is brought here via Haig & Lee, a distribution company that has dealings in packaging, compostables, flooring, chemicals, countertops, and the like (it’s also owned by the family behind the Mama Sita’s brand, more on that later).

It was while working in countertops and tiles that they came upon the InvisaCook technology, said Alvin Lim, general manager for Haig & Lee. They were introduced to it while working with a US company for porcelain tiles.

InvisaCook works on porcelain tiles: Mr. Lim said the tiles and the porcelain countertop have to be 12mm thick to handle both heat and pressure. A machine is installed beneath the tile, and a control panel is installed nearby. After that, it basically works like any induction cooker: an electromagnetic coil excites the electrons in a cooking pan, heating up the vessel.

“Consumption will depend on the heat that you’re using. This makes it, if not as efficient, as more efficient than the regular induction cooker,” said Mr. Lim. “Induction itself is already an energy-saving way of cooking,” he said, in context of the looming energy crisis. “You don’t waste any heat. The heat is generated in the pan,” he said, as compared to gas cooking which heats the pan from the outside in.

You’ll just have to get the right pan of course — to test it, a magnet should stick to it, then you know it is compatible with the electromagnetic technology (as with any induction cooker; but as an induction user, the test isn’t 100% certain. Just look for a sticker on the pan that says so).

InvisaCook does cost more than the average induction cooker: Mr. Lim estimates that installing everything and the unit itself would cost about P100,000 for one burner, with increments of P50,000 for every additional burner. Provided your countertop can handle it; they can do up to five.

To be fair though, what InvisaCook changes is the look, not the method. “It gives your designer the freedom to design without considering where (they’ll) put that square, black thing [that is the regular induction cooktop]. Everything is seamless,” he said.

As for the ownership of Haig & Lee belonging to members of the Reyes-Lapus clan (the family behind the Mama Sita’s brand of sauces and mixes), Mr. Lim (a member of the family) says, “We got interested in it because we like food. That’s one aspect. But we do see the business side of it,” he said (after all, not all of the products distributed by the company are related to food).

Still, it goes back to the kitchen: they’re planning to create a business fabricating kitchens and countertops. “Eventually, we’d like to be able to get into that business.” — Joseph L. Garcia