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housewares
Celebrity chefs continue to spark housewares sales. Not surprisingly, the recent
International Home
+ Housewares Show
was the site of some
notable entries into
the celebrity chef field.
Meanwhile, some of
the biggest chefs added to their offerings.
celebrity
CHEFS
Update
Rick Bayless | GORHAM
Award-winning chef, cookbook
author and restaurant owner
Rick Bayless has partnered
with Gorham on The Mexican
Kitchen with Rick Bayless collection, a tribute to the delicious flavors and nuances of
Mexican food, which Bayless
has championed for many years. The collection includes
many cookware items designed specifically for preparing Mexican food, such as a 12- and 16-quart tamale
steamer, a tortilla press, comal pans in two sizes, a molcajete made from Mexican lava rock and ceramic fireproof bean pots, to name a few. The extensive collection
also includes oven-to-table bakeware pieces, a range of
wood tools with easy-grip handles in red, and a squareshaped serveware line in red, green or blue, with modular pieces that can be fitted together in several different
ways.
Aarón Sánchez | IMUSA
Top to bottom: The Mexican Kitchen with Rick
Bayless bean pot lenox.com The new Mexicaninspired line is Aarón Sánchez’s first cookware
line and Imusa’s first chef-branded line. The
guacamole set is shown here. imusausa.com The
Guy Fieri brand with Lifetime Brands debuted
ceramic cookware for the first time at the show.
lifetimebrands.com
36 HFN /May 2014
Known for his hosting roles on
such television shows as the
Food Network’s “Chopped,”
Aarón Sánchez debuted his
new relationship—and his
first cookware line—with
Imusa at the show. And
though the company has
worked with chefs on product development in the past,
the Mexican-influenced line is the company’s first chefbranded line of cookware.
Sánchez is also one of three celebrity chefs
in Imusa’s new celebrity panel of chef ambassadors, along with George Duran and Michelle
Bernstein. The panel contributed to Imusa’s new
brand, Global Kitchen, which focuses its product
on five regional cuisines.
“He has a huge following through his shows, both
in English and Spanish,” said Manny Gaunaurd, president of Imusa, said of Sánchez. “He’s never done this
before—for his customer, he’s perfect.” And the line fits
in at retail at numerous markets, such as California or
Texas. “It’s authentic cookware; we stepped it up.”
Sánchez was very involved in the development and
design of his new line, which features authentic and
traditional cookware pieces with a modern twist, said
Victoria Rodriguez, marketing manager, Imusa. For ex-
ample, the Jumbo Granite Molcajete was designed with
a large surface area and flat-bottom pestle so the home
chef could easily make up restaurant-size batches of
guacamole and salsas. Another well-received item was
the Tortilla and Quesadilla Kit, which combines two
essential pieces for creating fresh tortillas, a nonstick
comal and tortilla press.
“Collaborating with Chef Aarón Sánchez has been a
natural partnership for Imusa and the chef,” Rodriguez
said. “Aarón Sánchez provides an authentic point of
view and understanding of the Imusa consumer, which
encompasses the Mexican and Hispanic market as well
as the modern day foodie and at-home chef.”
Guy Fieri | LIFETIME BRANDS
Ceramic cookware and plenty
of color were among the introductions for Lifetime Brands’
Guy Fieri collection at the
show. The brand first launched
with Lifetime Brands two
years ago.
“Guy loves ceramic—he
finds it very durable and likes that it has good release
qualities,” said Mary Regan, senior vice president,
chief marketing officer, cookware/bakeware division,
Lifetime Brands. So the brand debuted its first ceramic
cookware offerings at the show. Made of a PTFE/PFOAfree ceramic nonstick coating from Whitford, the cookware line is made of aluminum and features riveted silicone colored handles. The line includes a 10-piece set,
as well as fry pans.
Fieri also loves color, Regan added. Among the
brand’s introductions at this recent show were aluminum nonstick cookware, which uses metal-utensil-safe
Whitford Quantanium coating and is colored inside and
out. Another group of aluminum nonstick fry pans used
Whitford Xylan nonstick coating for a translucent colored finish.
In stainless-steel cookware, the brand added a new
10-piece set at a sharper price point. It features an aluminum core, riveted cast stainless steel handles with
the “Guy” signature plate and tempered glass lids. The
interior finish is a wear-resistant satin brushed look.
Fieri’s popular decorated skillet line—which incorporates tattoo art—also expanded at market, including a
few designs with the tattoo art on the interior of the pan
for the first time.
Continued on page 38
hfnmag.com