Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet News and Press

Kitchen & Bath Design News
May, 2007

Kitchen design is turning inside out.

The Great Outdoors

Long gone are the days when people toiled behind closed doors in a tiny, cramped kitchen. As the design possibilities for the kitchen have expanded – including the desire for open layouts, high-tech appliances and unique surfaces– so, too, has the actual kitchen. In fact, in many cases, that expansion has extended beyond the confines of the house itself, right into the great outdoors.

Consumers crave an outdoor kitchen and living area on par with the stylish and function-packed kitchens they have come to enjoy indoors. But instead of bringing the outdoors in, they want to bring their entertaining outdoors, and notably, that desire is not limited to those in warmer climates. Indeed, consumers across the U.S. want a unique outdoor kitchen full of high-tech cooking appliances that let them show off not only their grilling prowess, but also their ability to smoke meats, make pizza or slow-roast a chicken on a rotisserie.

They want to be able to store the same foods, spices, pots, pans and utensils they have inside their homes in that outdoor space. And, they want to be able to offer their guests a proper selection of beverages that come from a complete beverage center and wine chiller, not a mere plastic cooler.

This increasing demand has also created a great opportunity for kitchen designers, who are already specialists in creating personalized kitchens perfect for entertaining. Indeed, the demand among upscale consumers for elegant and functional outdoor kitchens is allowing designers to take their skills to a whole new level, against Mother Nature’s own beautiful backdrop.

Manufacturers of kitchen appliances, cabinetry, countertops and sinks have responded to the needs of designers right along with manufacturers of traditional outdoor grills. The breadth of products available for outdoor kitchens has exploded and now includes everything from built-in grills with smoking and rotisserie options and refrigeration units that house soft drinks, beer and wine to weatherproof cabinetry, a variety of countertop options and stainless steel sinks.

The Custom Outdoor Kitchen Collection from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet is a full compliment of cooking and refrigeration appliances and modular stainless steel cabinetry that can be integrated into a masonry structure or assembled together into a free-standing configuration.

Perlick Corporation offers a line of UL-rated undercounter freezer and refrigerator cabinets for the outdoors. In fact, the firm has partnered with Kalamazoo on the Custom Outdoor Kitchen Collection, and Perlick's line will be branded as Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Manufactured by Perlick.