Atmosphere at touch of button in future kitchen

The table is groaning under platters stacked high with marinated meats, spicy vegetables, and aromatic rice.

Only one thing is necessary to complete the perfect curry party.

A flick of a button and the kitchen-diner of your home is transported to the middle of a teeming Delhi street market.

The sound of the clattering rickshaws and the sights of wandering oxen and clamouring hawkers are recreated via a "mood switch" that can generate a backdrop to complement the food on the menu.

It is one of the more exotic ideas dreamed up by a panel of scientists, celebrity chefs, restaurateurs and designers asked by Waitrose Food Illustrated to envisage the shape of the perfect kitchen in 2031.

The ideas they came up with ranged from high-tech innovations such as refrigerators that do the shopping; to the green - a rubbish compactor that takes the strain out of recycling; to the all together more practical - unbreakable china and a "forever-sharp knife".

The mood switch is the brain child of Professor Ted Selker of the Massachussetts Institute of Technology who leads a team dedicated to building "a digitally connected, self-aware kitchen with knowledge and memory of its activities".

His device will be controlled by a central computer that stores a panoply of backdrops and settings.

Images will be projected onto the kitchen walls while speakers will relay the sounds.

"We'll be able to change the colour and designs on the walls.

A bit like the screensaver on a computer or mobile phone," said Professor Selker.

According to Theo Williams, a product designer at Alessi, the computer will replace the oven at the heart of the family home.

And so sophisticated will it be that everything needed for a favourite meal will be available at the press of a button.

"This computer will be so savvy that if you decide you want lasagne for dinner, all you will need to do is simply tell it and it will find the recipe, check the ingredients, and even let you know whether you're missing any," he said.

The same computer could store favourite recipes and order food, according to Professor Selker.

Clever fridge

It might also interact with a "clever fridge" of the sort envisaged by food scientist Helen Conn.

A computer screen in its door will display what is in stock and flag up food that has past its sell-by date.

It will also provide recipes on how best to use up odds and ends left mouldering away inside, she said.

For other experts however it was a culinary case of back to the future.

The pantry, which keeps fruit, vegetables and cheese at their ideal temperature will make a comeback, it was claimed.

While Ruth Rogers, founder of The River Cafe, believes that herbs, fruit and vegetable gardens will be the order of the day.

"I think that the kitchen of the future will come complete with a little cylinder-type garden, a bit like a mini greenhouse," she said.

Cook Sophie Conran, predicted that dissolvable packaging will be where its at in 2031.

"It will have to be made of natural materials, such as potato starch, and you'll be able to wash it down the sink without harming the water supply.

In fact, it may even be beneficial to the water," she said.

But there can be few who would not like to see the realisation of chef Andrew Turner's vision.

"The kitchen of the future will definitely be self-cleaning," he said.

The secret will be the jet sprays built into the walls and ceilings.

"They'll effectively hose down your kitchen, spray disinfectant to sanitise all surfaces and then dry the room afterwards."

- INDEPENDENT