Kitchens are star of the show

Smeg kitchen.

Kitchens have stepped into the media spotlight in the past 12 months with shows such as MasterChef driving the trend towards gourmet cooking in the home. Such is the passion of home cooks to replicate dishes seen on television and in restaurants that demand for new generation appliances that more closely replicate the performance and professional results of their commercial counterparts is surging.

Appliance brands such as Smeg have taken homeowners into the realm of custom designed kitchens, whereby consumers can personalise their range of cooking appliances to reflect individual culinary preferences. A homeowner who loves to entertain and has a preference for healthy food for example, might select a dedicated steam oven, together with a multifunction oven (with supercook, fan-forced, classic convection, rotisserie, grill and baker’s functions) and a combination microwave/multifunction oven that delivers a second oven option when catering for larger numbers while offering everyday re-heating and defrosting options.

Induction cooktops meanwhile, are a relatively new and growing trend with sales increasing over the past 12 months by 42 per cent. Consumers, and chefs alike, are big fans of the numerous benefits induction delivers, such as faster, more energy efficient cooking; cooler kitchens (only the actual cooking vessel is heated, not the cooktop); and superior temperature range and control – chocolate, for example, can be gently melted without the need of a double boiler while the cooktop’s extremely high, intense temperatures are perfect for stir frying.

With recent magazine and newspaper articles showing celebrity chefs such as Matt Moran and Peter Evans in their home kitchens with domestic appliances from brands such as Smeg, home cooks are feeling increasingly confident they can indeed replicate the professional cooking results they see on television and in restaurants.

And to further aid the novice home cook, appliances such as Smeg’s top-of-the-line Linear multifunction ovens have new technology such as Smart Chef whereby the appliance’s controls work almost intuitively in prompting the user to select the correct settings. There are pre-set times and temperatures for familiar dishes such as beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, pizza and cakes, and LED prompts to advise the best shelf position. In addition, users can further personalise ‘recipe’ functions in the control panel to incorporate settings for their own favourite dishes.

Other key trends in the world of kitchen appliances are easy clean options plus ergonomic design.

The Smeg Linear and Classic 60cm ovens all provide an assisted cleaning function - either Vapour Clean or pyrolytic cleaning. Both mean an end to hard labour and toxic oven cleaning chemicals! Vapour Clean requires just a small amount of water and washing detergent be placed in the indentation on the oven floor and sprayed on the walls of the cavity. Once activated, the Vapour Clean programme turns this into a cleansing steam that softens all the grease and grime on these surfaces, making it a lot easier to simply wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Pyrolytic cleaning is a programme that reduces all grease, food splatters and oven grime to a fine dust on the oven floor by virtue of a 90-minute cleaning programme at up to 500C (during which time the oven door is locked closed for safety).

Ergonomics have also proven to be a key feature in kitchen design with more consumers seeking out appliances such as the Smeg Horizon dishwasher. The 90cm wide appliance has a single level basket and is just 578mm high, enabling it to be installed under-bench at waist height negating the need to stoop and bend to access the basket. Additionally, Smeg ovens have been designed with easy grip handles and control knobs that are simple to operate with wet and slippery hands and easy-to-read displays.