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The kitchen has reclaimed its status as the heart of the home. With renewed energy, consumers are heading to the kitchen and assessing their inventory. And they're discovering they want more — more power, more strength, better design, and the best quality. Consumers are calling for professionally-designed showcase kitchens and all the bells and whistles — including kitchenware — that go with them.

The Kitchen Boom

Today's simplified lifestyle trend has transformed the home into a sanctuary and the kitchen into Entertainment Central. Baby boomers, reclaiming their homes now that their children have grown, are entertaining more and centering that entertainment in the kitchen.

"We see a lot more emphasis on entertaining within the home for a variety of reasons. One big one is the move to simplify our lives and bring those close to us home for quality time," explained Sheila M. Bookhout, director of sales and marketing for Kessenich's Ltd., a Madison, WI kitchenware store. "We need time away from the chaos of our technology-driven world where everything is measured in megahertz and gigabytes."

Baby boomer Vicki Primrose, owner of Edwardsville, IL-based Chef's Shoppe, credits her generation with the trend. "In the 80s and early to mid-90s, we viewed the kitchen as a stopover place to eat take-out food between soccer or baseball games. The baby boomers are pushing the kids out of the nest and experimenting with food. Food is changing — from Sunday pot roast and Monday 'mac and cheese' to today's pepper-encrusted salmon and stacked salads. This generation is rediscovering cooking and doing so with enthusiasm," she says.

Bookhout concurs. "Food and wine are being reelevated to an art form, a recreational activity. There are however, many people who simply have it because the Joneses do."

Mrs. Jones' Kitchen

Linda Eads is in the midst of remodeling her Miami kitchen, designing a professional-style kitchen any Mrs. Jones would envy. An avid cook, Eads illustrated the importance of her kitchen by knocking out a wall so the kitchen could become a focal point in her home.

"I wanted guests to be enticed into the kitchen to 'play' with me," she explains. "Also, if folks were in the great room, I could still keep a handle on the activities and not be excluded from the goings on while I whipped up another gastronomical adventure."

Linda Lieber, president of the Coral Gables, FL kitchen design firm L.A. Associates, is witness to the increased importance placed on the kitchen and the equipment found in it.

"The focus on kitchen design is the result of people getting more serious about cooking," she says. "They're doing it as a hobby, as well as on a daily basis."

Consumers are very specific in their kitchen-design demands. People want their kitchens to look well designed and user friendly even if they don't cook.

"More commercial equipment is being specified in the design phase. People are using commercial-type ranges, bigger ovens, more ovens. The equipment is getting much more high-tech," Lieber said. "For our kitchens, 48-inch has become the standard oven and 60-inch is not unusual."

Bookhout confirms that commercial large appliances are hot in the retail market. "We traditionally have been a true 'commercial' supplier to end-users in the foodservice industry. We are now seeing not only a spillover into the private sector (commercial users taking it home), but a true interest on the part of the retail market to seek out the quality experience that commercial provides."

Today's consumers are reorienting themselves to home entertainment and just as the trend in kitchen design has moved toward professional styles, kitchenware is seeing its own transformation. Designers themselves are setting the stage for high-end professional kitchenware when creating the kitchen.

"We have to plan for everybody's pots, pans, and woks. Everything has gotten so much more specific and the equipment is much better," Lieber says.

"When you have guests over in anything other than a formal way, you end up hanging around the kitchen. People want their kitchen to function properly, but they want it to be comfortable as well," says builder Richard "Nick" Ames who recently headed a remodeling project in Connecticut, creating the kitchen of Cecile Schoaleses' dreams.

"She wanted a professional kitchen, a working kitchen. She has a daughter and a son-in-law that both like to cook and her kitchen was not really suited for people who love to cook. It was a beautiful old country kitchen and it looked nice but it didn't really work," Ames explains.

"It's a back-to-the-kitchen story," says Natascha Davis, Bloomingdale's housewares culinary and special events director. "The kitchen is a focal point more than any other room in the home."

Tom Verdini, owner of Centerville, MA-based Cape Cod Cookery, agrees that the kitchen is taking prominence as a focal point in home decorating. He said his customers are buying professional kitchenware for the fashion, as well as function. "They're definitely stepping up to all the better products," says Verdini.

Whether or not a homeowner really spends that much time cooking isn't important. When it comes to kitchen design, professional kitchenware is in style.

Celebrity Bandwagon

Wrapped in the comfort of their newly designed kitchens and highly influenced by celebrity chefs, consumers are demanding their own tools of the trade. Thanks to Julia Child, Martha Stewart, and The Food Network, consumers can recite the importance of a cookware's ability to provide fast and even heat conductivity. Those same consumers keep abreast of the latest introductions to the professional kitchenware world and are the first in line at the register.

Verdini says celebrity influences have a major impact on his sales. "The cooking shows add so much more to it. It's amazing how fast customers come in after they see something highlighted on television. They have to have it."

Renée Behnke of Sur La Table agrees. "If Martha Stewart uses a plett pan, we will get thirty calls within the hour for plett pans."

Primrose says the role television programs play on consumer demand can make life both good and bad for specialty retailers. "Our job is to be continually on the lookout for those unique items the consumer sees on TV and sometimes, that can be very difficult," she says. "Many times, the products they use are from kitchenware lines that are either not yet available to the everyday consumer or only available in the overseas market."

This growth in culinary enthusiasm has prompted several kitchenware manufacturers to develop high-quality products at affordable prices. Calphalon introduced Kitchen Essentials, an exclusive line for Target Stores, last year. Hamilton Beach signed a licensing agreement with General Electric to market small electrics at Wal-Mart under the GE name. Even exclusive Internet deals are being struck; for instance, Service Merchandise is aligning with three housewares vendors, including World Kitchen (formerly Corning Consumer Products Co.). All-Clad is using its own mass appeal approach with Emeril Lagasse's "EmerilWare" — a moderately priced cookware product for a new target audience.

Manufacturers are counting on the loyalty of those new consumers to transfer upwards as they age and grow into the higher-end product lines.

Tapping into the culinary enthusiast market established by celebrity chefs can prove to be successful for specialty retailers as well. Many have increased cooking school schedules, have established demonstration areas within their stores, and are using creative marketing tools to introduce new products to consumers.

In addition to cooking classes and cross-merchandising product, Primrose created a culinary newsletter for her customers.

She says its success is obvious: "It is a great opportunity to highlight new inventory and explain the features of each. Our customers have become truly spoiled — they bring their newsletters with them to the store for more information and input."

Behnke's stores are committed to demonstrations and classes. "We have cooking schools in some of our stores and we have cooking demonstration areas set up in every store. We show them the best tools for them to do the job," she says.

What's In A Name?

So what exactly is professional kitchenware?

As manufacturers develop new lines of kitchenware, marketing campaigns to consumers use terms like "commercial" and "professional" to convey an image of quality.

Scott Goldsmith, owner of Feldman's Housewares in Manhattan, says products termed "commercial" have been growing in popularity. "We have a commercial stainless-steel microwave that has been moving very quickly."

Chef's Catalog Buyer Peggy Liddle is seeing the same trend. "We're finding our high-end commercial products are becoming more accepted by the average consumer."

Last year, Chef's Catalog signed an exclusive agreement with Waring to sell its new commercial blender as a relabeled product in the catalog's line. "It sold really well," Liddle says. "We really like to see commercial ULs on our products."

In order to use the term "commercial," products have to meet national standards. Commercial blenders, for example, must maintain different standards than noncommercial blenders. These NSF standards result in such features as higher-quality bearings and insulation which means quieter operation, and other safety issues, such as grounded line cords.

As small electrics gain more strength, retailers are left with the job of sorting out what that power means. Despite improvements to existing lines, the ensuing product strength is not comparable to truly "industrial" or "commercial" counterparts.

"They may be stronger, but they're still not what a professional would use. They would burn out in commercial use," Behnke emphasizes. "The only thing that I think we have in the commercial range is a high-end ice cream maker. It produces the quality of a restaurant-type sorbet."

So instead of "commercial," most manufacturers are applying the word "professional" to new product introductions and backing up the statement with improved performance.

With this trend growing, it becomes necessary for retailers to define the term "professional" for their customers.

Bookhout agrees. "Oftentimes, people confuse fancy names, shiny surfaces, and sleek marketing campaigns with 'professional' quality. There are some basic issues to look at when considering what is 'professional,'" she explains. "You should never select a truly commercial range for the home because they are not insulated for residential use."

Behnke remains wary of the term "professional," saying the misnomer can confuse consumers who are simply looking for the best-quality product to execute task-specific applications.

"There is often the perception that professional tools are of better quality. In fact, we often find them to be lower quality. A good example is aluminum versus stainless steel," she explains. "Some people think Rösle products are professional tools, but they're not. They are just beautiful and well designed. It's just that they look more sophisticated than what your mother had.

Looks Are Everything

Today's culinary enthusiasts are not only affecting the depth of professional-style lines, but the design as well. Stainless steel appears to be the barometer for consumers when identifying "professional" kitchenware.

"The polished stainless-steel cookware is selling wonderfully," Verdini says. "People appreciate them. They look great in kitchens and great on stainless-steel racks."

Verdini says his customers define professional kitchenware as high-end good-quality product with a "commercial" look. His sales of stainless-steel designs are high in both the small appliance and cookware categories.

"There are some people who are really hog-wild for all the professional products, whether it be small appliances or pots and pans or knives and kitchen tools." Verdini continues. "It used to be color trends; now, there's definitely a trend toward what consumers perceive as professional."

Cutlery is another kitchen tool slicing its own piece of the market. With savvy consumers thirsty for better-quality kitchenware, retail cutlery sales have soared.

"With knives, full tang, high-carbon, and no-stain steel are very important," Bookhout explains. "More and more, you will find people moving away from the wood handles to ergonomically designed handles with very few if any joints or seams. This not only makes them more sanitary, but well balanced, safe, and comfortable to use."

Another category experiencing growth is bakeware. High-quality professional bakeware is becoming mainstream.

"For years, consumers were happy with their inexpensive discount store bakeware," Primrose says. "Today, they want only the best to make new and exciting desserts and baked goods. We have seen a resurgence in bakeware. Our customers are willing to pay more for good bakeware and come back regularly to upgrade their entire line."

Today's consumers are also willing to spend more money on cookware. Given a wide selection of purchase options, consumers are searching out items with "commercial" designs.

"They come to the store loaded with questions and usually take their time deciding which cookware to purchase. They know it will last a lifetime and they want to be happy with their decision," Primrose says. "Besides cookware, they want the latest in utensils, coffeemakers, food processors, and so much more."

Feldman agrees, saying he is able to sell the top lines to consumers who are basing their purchasing decisions on quality rather than cost.

"If customers have time, we show them why one ladle is better than the other . . . the curved edges, the handle, etc." he says. "We can explain why it costs thirty dollars. If they're only interested in price, we can direct them to a ten-dollar ladle."

Get What You Need

A standard for retailers is the Good-Better-Best rule of explaining quality to consumers. The new professional-ware focus, coupled with the desire to emulate today's hottest celebrity chefs, is prompting consumers to look beyond the rules and ask for Bigger, Faster and Stronger.

But marketing claims can be dangerous for retailers who build business with loyal repeat customers. Selling consumers a product they don't need can hurt in the long run.

"We give them as much information as we possibly can — that's what our store is all about," Behnke says. "We try to focus on their level of cooking expertise and what they are going to use the product for. Then we show them the line which would best fit into their style and their cooking. It's important to know if they want it so it hangs and is shiny, or if they want it as a functional pan."

Discovering customer's needs becomes more critical as manufacturers continue to widen the target audience for "professional" kitchenware products. The specialty retailer is best suited for the job of getting the correct tools into consumers' hands.

Primrose agrees. "A store owner needs to continually be on the lookout for what is new and on the cutting edge."

Bloomingdale's uses its Culinary Kitchen — a demonstration kitchen constructed inside the housewares department — as a merchandising and education center in response to consumer demand for professional kitchenware.

"We have a culinary expert in each store in the housewares department who conceives, creates, and executes a monthly calendar of events geared to educating, as well as entertaining the consumer," Davis says. "The culinary expert trains staff in product knowledge, interfaces with the bridal department, offers and arranges for culinary classes, and invites a retinue of chefs — all in the middle of the selling floor."

As this trend continues to build, specialty retailers can distinguish themselves by educating their staff to the differences between "professional" kitchenware and traditional lines. Consumers who are looking for high-quality products are more likely to visit a specialty store than a discount store. Once they're inside your doors, your staff must have the knowledge necessary to direct customers to the correct product.