Patio and Hearth Products Report January/February 2021

Page 50

insight • Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Gaucho grill with pizza oven

Crowd Pleaser New in the marketplace, the Shokunin kamado grill from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet receives rave reviews. BY CHERISE FORNO

In keeping with its long tradition of making only the best

grills possible, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet (Kalamazoo, Michigan) created the Shokunin, a stunning iteration of a kamado-style grill. “We focus on creating distinctive products,” says Russ Faulk, chief designer and head of product. “With the Kalamazoo name on it, it’s got to outperform people’s expectations for any classic grill. So we chose to continue this tradition by taking on the kamado challenge.” The Shokunin, which means “artisan” or “craftsman” in Japanese, honors the origins of the kamado style of cooking. Kalamazoo embarked on a several-year process to transform Faulk’s napkin sketches of a kamado grill into the sleek, intelligent design of the Shokunin that elevates each feature kamado fans love.

“It is designed like a precision instrument, will out cook any other kamado grill, and looks gorgeous on any patio,” says Pete Georgiadis, chairman. Georgiadis adds that the Shokunin is important because it offers an ideal opportunity for Kalamazoo to pursue new distribution outlets and partner with new dealers. “This gives dealers who have not been in the Kalamazoo dealer partner network the ability to carry a Kalamazoo product that complements their current offering.” Georgiadis explains that this is an incredibly exciting time for the company because the Shokunin allows them to expand their customer reach. “It’s a more approachable price point than other products that we make. It is expanding our audience to enable every outdoor cooking enthusiast to

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Russ Faulk

experience a Kalamazoo product on their patio.” The commitment to create the best grills and outdoor kitchen products available goes back more than a century and has only grown since 2005 when Georgiadis purchased Kalamazoo Grill Company with an ambitious vision. “We’re a 114-yearold company,” Georgiadis says. “We changed the name to support a change in strategy and mission to expand from making the best grills in the market to making the best of

everything that you need for an outdoor kitchen.” The team had noticed a shift in the market in the early 2000s with increased interest in building outdoor kitchens, so they saw a clear opportunity to extend the line. Kalamazoo quickly added refrigerators, cabinets, a pizza oven, and specialty pieces of equipment that can allow people to move their entire kitchen outdoors. The company knew there was a large demand for kamado grills.


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