Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Press Release

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet™ and Garden Design Magazine Announce Winners Of Second Annual Oasis Award For Outdoor Kitchen Design

CHICAGO, IL (October 15, 2008) – Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet™, the leading name in outdoor cooking and entertaining equipment, and Garden Design magazine, the premier stylebook for the exterior design community, announced the winner of the 2008 Oasis Award for Outdoor Kitchen Design, the only national competition created to recognize exceptional outdoor kitchen design.

"Together with Garden Design, we are proud to present the 2008 award," said Pete Georgiadis, president of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. "The Oasis Award has created an important opportunity for the industry to recognize great design and fresh thinking in outdoor kitchens. It provides exciting outdoor living ideas for homeowners and professionals alike."

The Oasis Award competition recognizes outstanding design for site-specific residential outdoor rooms with an outdoor kitchen as a primary feature. The projects submitted may be real or conceptual, using components from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet’s Custom Outdoor Kitchen Collection.  

The 2008 panel of six judges are thought leaders in an array of relevant fields:

• Sara Ann Busby, CKD   
  President, National Kitchen & Bath Association
• Richard Frinier, MA, IDSA, ASFD
  Principal, Richard Frinier, LLC
• Deborah Krasner, CCP
  Designer/Author, The New Outdoor Kitchen

• Bill Marken, Honorary ALSA
  Editor Emeritus, Garden Design magazine

• Mario Nievera, ASLA
  Founder/President, Mario Nievera Design

• Art Smith
  Chef/Author/Restaurateur, Table 52

The panel considered not only the quality and originality of the outdoor design, but the overall design excellence of the total outdoor living space and the cohesiveness of the entire plan. Every design aspect was considered for each entry, including landscape design, furniture and materials selection, the usability of the kitchen and the design value to the potential client.

The 2008 Oasis Award for Outdoor Kitchen Design goes to Richard De Angelis and Mifflin Hollyday, landscape designers with Dragonfly Design & Detail in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, for their "Living Green at Blue Mountain Beach" design. The team created a distinctive beachfront weekend home on the Gulf of Mexico in Blue Mountain Beach, Florida.

The innovative two-story design for the weekend home is almost entirely comprised of outdoor living spaces. The sizeable Kalamazoo outdoor kitchen has a view of the Gulf and is the primary kitchen for the home. Other planned spaces for outdoor living include a dinning room, lounge areas and a fire pit with benches that also look out to the beach and the Gulf. The family is able to live off the land with two kitchen gardens, a rainwater collection system and chicken coop. The only indoor living space on the site, and the most attention-grabbing element of the design, is the classic Airstream trailer permanently parked on a second-level, covered and screened deck. The trailer serves as the family’s weekend sleeping quarters while the weekend living happens entirely outdoors.

"I like that they took an empty lot and carved a unique second home out of the surrounding environment," said Mario Nievera. "It is not obvious at first glance but there is a lot of pageantry and symmetry to the project. When you enter, you walk past the two symmetrically-placed kitchen gardens, around the dining room deck and out to the centrally-placed fire pit, all of which are strategically aligned towards the Gulf of Mexico view."

"This project represents a new thought process in design," said Richard Frinier. "It is future forward but with a Bohemian atmosphere, from the chicken coop and onsite gardens to the romantic, lush landscape and the classic Airstream trailer."

"This is a great demonstration of all that an outdoor kitchen can be. It has that casual barefoot-at-the-beach appeal. And, at the same time, it is so practical that the owners use this as their everyday cooking kitchen," said Bill Marken.

In addition to the winning design, the team of judges selected two runners up: "Texas Hill Country Terrace" by Thomas C. Randall, Perfect Lawns and Landworks of Austin in Austin, Texas, and "Columbia Basin Tuscan Patio" by Julie A. Wilson, J.A. Wilson Designs in West Richland, Washington.

"As the leading consumer magazine covering exterior design, Garden Design is proud to partner with Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet on the Oasis Awards," said Diane Turner, publisher of Garden Design magazine. "By supporting innovation and creativity, we hope to encourage the seamless design of the full outdoor living experience with the outdoor kitchen integrated into the garden setting."

"Living Green at Blue Mountain Beach" will be featured in the October/November issue of Garden Design. Additional recognition of the winning design and runners up can be seen on the Garden Design and Oasis Award websites.

About Garden Design Magazine
Garden Design is published seven times a year by Bonnier Corp. In addition to Garden Design, Bonnier publishes numerous other lifestyle magazines, including Parenting, Popular Science, Saveur, Caribbean Travel & Life, Skiing and Spa. Visit www.gardendesign.com for more information.

About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet has been bringing gourmet lifestyles outdoors for more than 100 years and is the one-stop resource for creating the ultimate outdoor kitchen. From revolutionary hybrid grills that cook with charcoal, wood and gas, to the most powerful and energy efficient outdoor refrigeration available, Kalamazoo is the leading manufacturer in outdoor cooking and entertaining equipment. The complete line includes grills, refrigerators, freezers, wine chillers, keg tappers, weather-tight cabinets, wok cooktops, lobster boil pits, martini bars and a countertop pizza oven.

Please visit www.KalamazooGourmet.com for more information or call 1.800.868.1699 to speak with an outdoor kitchen design expert.

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Photos and recipes available upon request. For more information or to request an interview, please contact Chris Mordi at 312-423-8714.

Media Contact:
Chris Mordi
Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Phone: 312-423-8714
E-Mail: cmordi@kalamazoogourmet.com