An awards ceremony will honour the best examples of innovation in the kitchen later this year.In May, the 2009 Kitchen Innovation Awards will celebrate pieces of technology and new appliances that improve the process of preparing and cooking great food, such as saving water and energy.Lorna Donatone, convention chair for the awards, said Cost-saving, fast, multi-functional, flexible, efficient - these are all adjectives we look for when choosing new equipment and they describe each of this years Kitchen Innovations Award recipients.Among the recipients at last years awards were a microwave flatstone which cuts down cooking times for baking in microwave-convection ovens and Turbo Pots which feature fin-like elements on the base which reduces energy use on gas hobs by 50 per cent.The installation of a hot water filter tap, such as those manufactured by In-Sin-Erator, can also reduce energy and water consumption.Such tap options deliver steaming hot water without the wastefulness sometimes associated with a kettle and/or external water filter jugs.