Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 16, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Four pan-and-tilt enclosed Sony BRC-H700 HD camera systems look into Lafer’s pots and those of his cooking students. Video and audio control as well as web streaming run through the mobile Sony Anycast Station production system. From the welcome through to dessert, recording is handled by a Sony HD SxS Card recorder with two slots for up to 180 minutes of uninterrupted recording.
The system’s special highlight: during the recording - that is, during a presentation, cooking event, or lecture - Johann Lafer directs the production himself via a touch panel. Using software programmed specifically for him, the celebrity chef can save camera positions at the touch of a finger; these can be recalled as required, with the lighting following automatically. Using various touch fields on the same display, he calls up videos, graphics, and photos that are shown on various monitors in the studio. The nonlinear Sony Vegas editing system is used for post-production and editing as well as for creating Blu-ray Discs or DVDs. Ben Hur GmbH, which was responsible for planning and installing the media technology in the high-tech kitchen, will continue to provide media-technology support for the cooking studio and ensures technical support via remote access to the system from Cologne.
Ben Hur GmbH planned the entire audio and video system so that it can be integrated into a professional broadcast environment at any time and expanded with staffed camera units or additional microphone channels for elaborate television productions. The neighbouring TV Studio Guldental, created through a partnership between Johann Lafer and the PLAZAMEDIA Group, can also be connected to the “Table d’Or” at any time.
“This kitchen is not only an Eldorado for gourmets and cooking enthusiasts; it also sets standards in its field in terms of technology, innovation, and the flexibility of the overall solution. The entire architecture, the design of every item of furniture, and all the technical equipment are further proof of Johann Lafer’s good taste,” explains Walter Jünkering, Managing Director of Ben Hur GmbH. “Johann Lafer wanted a solution from us that made no compromises and was reliable and flexible to use. Sony’s products are state of the art and, thanks to their first-class integration capabilities, ideally suited to such an ambitious project.”
The Table d’Or concept, “The Best of Everything,” and its host’s high standards are reflected - sometimes visibly, sometimes invisibly - in every detail of the cooking studio. For example, Johann Lafer has implemented an absolute world first together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute: an invisible infrared curtain captures the chef’s hand movements and combines them in an electronic nervous system that translates the gestures into specific information. This allows Johann Lafer to control all relevant studio functions without touching anything, purely through gestures. Instead of using the touchpad, he can control the camera settings through deliberate movements, such as raising a hand at a certain point on the cooker - and the Sony BRC-H700 HD camera system immediately films the roast in the oven.
