YEARS ago, Lily Mak left Hongkong to study in Canada. She returned recently with a pocketful of degrees - a nutritionist, registered nurse and an MBA.
She earns a living by combining her interests in food, science and business as sales consultant for AMC, a Swiss-based manufacturer of upscale cook-ware.
These skillets, cookers and saute pans are not the stuff you pick up at Fortress or Jusco. The ''cook-ware system'' is more like an investment. An eight-litre soup pot, for example, sells for $1,500.
''Cooking [with this system] is healthy because you don't need extra water or any fat. Vitamins and minerals are preserved. And it saves energy,'' explains Mak.
When asked about the prices, she admits it's not for everyone. ''The market is chuppies, yuppies and anyone interested in healthy lifestyle and ecology.'' What contributes to the efficiency is tight seals on the lids, high quality metal and reinforced bases on pans and pots that absorb and distribute heat quickly and evenly.
When asked about steaming vegetables in an old-fashioned steamer or basket, she counters with statistics on energy usage and percentage of leaching of vitamins and minerals.
Lily Mak does cooking demos in her office. Or packs her wares and portable stove and does them in yours. For more information contact her at 314-0228. Fax: 314-3723. NO one is starving, wasting time or thinking idle thoughts these days around the KowloonShangri-La.
