At Fine Foods Sydney, the experience pays off for perfecting AUS-ION cookware
It was the first public showing of the pre-production AUS-ION prototypes, and the audience couldn't be tougher: elite and rising star chefs using them under pressure in the two ACF culinary competition kitchens during Fine Foods Sydney......
Tenille Brazel said: "Definitely that they are so easy to handle, less strain on the wrist & also that they are Australian made & seasoned."
Tenille is a 3rd year apprentice from the Temple Bar in Maitland and on Tuesday won the gold medal in her 3rd year division of the HTN and Futura Apprentice Chef Culinary Competition. Tenille will be going to Perth in October for the Nationals. Congratulations and good luck in Perth Tenille!!
That was the overwhelming sentiment shared by chefs who were happy to see Australian-made cookware in the kitchens for the first time in (most) of their lives. Feedback was positive, with chefs echoing the tough and clean AUS-ION seamless one-piece design, the way the pans cooked just like their old French pans, and the broader handle shape for control.
ACF committee luminaries (L to R): Neil Abrahams (ACF National President) ; Chef Steven Lunn; Lachlan Bowtel.
Valuable feedback under pressure.
Having said that, the handle shape was a bit of a surprise for a few who had trouble getting used to the handle with certain grips. So SOLIDTEKNICS dug deeper, in a hurry, and found that the top edges of the handles weren't rounded enough for the under-hand grip, and the chefs were feeling the noticable edge. There wasn't enough time to modify all the pans in the two kitchens, so it was 'action stations' to quickly machine some of the prototypes and take them in to Fine Foods to show our solution around on the last day. The experts were impressed with the way the handle was transformed overnight and keen to get cooking with them!
The value of listening to the expert chefs before production commences!
Mark Henry, SOLIDTEKNICS founder and development engineer said, "The feedback from the chefs in that high pressure competitive situation was wonderfully supportive, and even when the handle didn't entirely suit some chefs, their feedback was hugely valuable. The best thing of all is the pans at the show were only pre-production prototypes, and now we've been given the opportunity to transform the handle comfort before we start the serious production volumes in late October."
Appreciation for the ACF vision and leadership.
Mark Henry said: "Throughout the Fine Foods show the ACF was very supportive, and really happy to be launching Australia's only commercial cookware there with us. They've got the experience to know how good our pans are. We have always been impressed with the ACF's mission to support and grow Aussie chefs, and now we are very happy and proud to partner with the great new management committee to get more Australian-made pans into the hands of Australian-made chefs!"
It appears the respect was mutual. On the ACF Facebook page, board member Lachlan Bowtell wrote: "Great new product that Chefs of Australia are getting behind. The only fully Australian made one piece steel fry pans. Not only do they have no rivets therefore one piece with cool handles they are pre seasoned and ready for use. These pans are the pan of choice for the ACF Culinary Kitchen at the Fine Food show at Homebush. Aus-Ion have sponsored the kitchens and supplied these great new pans for our competition kitchens. Drop by and see us and have a look at these great new products being used for the first time in the world!! Aus-Ion, support those that support theChefs of Australia!!"
SOLIDTEKNICS AUS-ION commercial chef cookware is different, and not only because it's the only Australian-made commercial cookware......
Much more detail on the engineering background, and the features and benefits of the end result, can be found on the Kickstarter campaign site: www.kickstarter.com/projects/400294490/aus-ionseamless-1-piece-australian-iron-pro-chef-c
AUS-ION launch schedule
SOLIDTEKNICS AUS-ION seamless one-piece steel pans launch to the Australian hospitality trade and retail in November, USA in December, and are crowdfunding on Kickstarter right now until October 23. The campaign raises funds for the expensive Australian manufacturing, in return for limited First Edition AUS-ION ( www.kickstarter.com/projects/400294490/aus-ionseamless-1-piece-australian-iron-pro-chef-c ).
The public will get the first look at AUS-ION at the SOLIDTEKNICS booth at the Brisbane Good Food & Wine show (Oct 30 - Nov 1) , where they will be on display with the company's highly popular AUSfonte cast iron cookware range, also 100% made in Australia from Australian iron.
