Hello friends, Jordan here! A couple of weeks ago, I flew out to Chicago for the BSH Luxury Home Appliance workshop where I learned all about the BSH Home Appliances company, which includes the brands Bosch, Thermador, and Gaggenau.
They put me up in a beautiful hotel along the riverwalk with an amazing view, which was also close to the Mercantile Mart where their showroom is located. After flying in Wednesday night, a group of designers headed to the showroom Thursday for a day of learning about the appliances and watching the chefs cook and clean on them as well.
For breakfast, they showed us how to use the Bosch induction cooktop with a teppanyaki pan to make French toast. Induction is the way to go if you have kids, love to cook but don’t have a lot of time or want flexibility in your cooking temperatures. The induction cooktops use special cookware that has magnets on the bottom that connect to your cooktop, so the area around the pot or pan doesn’t heat up like other cooktops. If there is not a pan or pot on the burner, it will not generate any heat, and the pans are made of cast iron or magnetic stainless steel. In addition to not heating up, the glass cooktop requires only a wipe-down, and since the stove stays cool throughout, food seldom sticks to it.
We also got to see and use other appliances from Bosch including the coffee maker, which makes all kinds of specialty coffees and brews hot water for teas. Bosch also has a wide variety of dishwashers with different features. One of the main features of all their dishwashers I found to be super smart was a third rack at the top used for more silverware, small bowls, and larger utensils. Along with an additional rack, many also feature adjustable racks so you can fit cookie sheets, large pots, and bigger items you want to wash in the dishwasher, rather than hand washing.
During the morning session, we learned more about the history of both Bosch and Thermador. Both companies manufacture and assemble their parts in the United States, and they are focused on quality appliances for families, and people who love to cook and want to simplify their life with WiFi enabled appliances. In a world driven by technology, these companies are truly paving the way for appliances with their ability to connect your phone to your stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and more.
Convection ovens are another hot item in the appliance world right now, but it’s not going away any time soon. Food cooks faster and at a lower temperature with a convection oven because the hot air circulated throughout the whole oven. These side-swinging oven doors are a new feature that is great for not having to lean over a hot door and give you more flexibility in your kitchen. They’re also better at browning, so your meats and vegetables will caramelize and get brown on the outside while staying moist on the inside.
Another appliance that Bosch carries is their washers and dryers, which also have the HomeConnect, or WiFi, ability to connect to your phone. The washer and dryer in their showroom were stacked with a pullout shelf in between, perfect for apartments, condos, or smaller laundry rooms where you still want quality appliances without the large size.
For lunch, they served rotisserie style chicken with fried rice made on the Thermador induction cooktop, along with asparagus and it was delicious! The variety of options you have with steam ovens, induction cooktops, and convection ovens is just crazy, and it was cool to watch the cooks make the food and then get to eat it.
Finally, we ended the workshop by learning about Gaggenau, which is a German company that has been around for centuries. These appliances are on the higher end side of the appliances world and are very sleek looking. They also offer a lot of flexibility to your cooking style. One of the ways they offer this is their modular system where you can choose if you want a steam cooker next to your induction top, along with a grill, teppanyaki, downdraft, and deep-fryer. The ability to pick and choose what you want for your cooktop based on your cooking style is amazing.
Overall, it was a great day of learning about the many options and abilities of these appliances and how your kitchen can truly become custom to your cooking needs. Especially if you love to entertain, but don’t have tons of time or want the option to start your appliances on your commute home, Bosch, Thermador, and Gaggenau have so much to offer.
