Gaggenau’s commitment to innovation and eye-soothing aesthetics in the kitchen is well known; its appliances aim to please the most demanding cook and meet the rigor of the dedicated minimalist. Its latest launch, however, turns the idea of appliance design on its head.
An Appliance Hidden From View
Going by the suitably understated name Essential Induction, Gaggenau’s latest cooking appliance has disappeared almost entirely into a Dekton worktop; the only evidence that it is, indeed, a cooking station when switched off, are the front-mounted knobs in stainless steel or black. When switched on, a glowing LED dot indicates where to place your pan for heat, and remains visible as long as the surface is hot to touch. When off, the cooking zone becomes the anything-goes zone – an uninterrupted surface to be used for lunch prep, dining or homework.
Essential Induction is made possible by the unyielding properties of Dekton, a unique material from surface-makers Cosentino. Made from ultra-compact mineral particles, Dekton resists heat, stains and scratches and is available in 60 finishes. It is a common material choice of architects when designing kitchen countertops, chosen for its durability and its wide palette of colors and designs.
Fusing Technology With Architectural Features
The vision and cooking technology, however, is all Gaggenau. Hidden beneath the Dekton surface are high-performance induction modules sized to accommodate pots and pans either up to 21 cm or 28 cm. The modules are activated through surface protectors that magnetically connect to the cookware, protecting the top from scratches and dampening sounds. The knobs, meanwhile, offer all the performance of Gaggenau’s 400 series – that is, fast, precise and intuitive selection of the 12 power levels, a keep-warm function and boost.
"The reduction to the essential is every architect and designer's dream product," says head of business development Kais Zaiane. "But as we are Gaggenau, this revolutionary concept offers not only absolute aesthetic freedom in kitchen planning but also perfect quality cooking and joy." Essential Induction shows us that less is definitely more.