AN INVESTMENT IN PEDIGREE AND PERFORMANCE
Increasingly, the provenance of the goods we buy matters.
Discerning homemakers, renovators and stylists want to invest in products that have been created with love and designed to last a lifetime. For 100 years, the AGA cooker has been at the heart of the home, offering warmth, reliability, iconic style and a sense of history. It is the meticulously built cooker that food lovers and real cooks find it difficult to imagine life without. Still as relevant today as when it was created in 1922 by a Nobel Prize winning scientist, the AGA cooker offers a choice of state-of-the-art models and functions. Little wonder, then, that it is being embraced by a new generation.
An Iconic Brand with Rich Heritage
The AGA cooker story is one that is told around the best dinner tables in sought-after locations around the world. Incredibly, it begins a century ago when world-renowned Swedish physicist Dr Gustaf Dalen, who lost his sight in an explosion during an experiment, was determined to develop an easy-to-use cooker that was capable of every culinary technique. Grill, bake, steam, boil, stir-fry, simmer, fry, roast, slow-cook, griddle and toast, this kitchen powerhouse has always been determined to do it all. An immediate success, the AGA cooker came to Britain in 1929 and, shortly after, the nation’s love affair with it took hold.
This cast-iron cooker even played a part in the war effort, being used to prepare nourishing meals in munitions works, communal feeding centres and hospitals by the government during World War II. From that time on, the gleaming vitreous enamel frame of the AGA cooker began appearing in the best kitchens around the world.
While most cookers are spray painted in minutes, these handcrafted appliances receive multiple protective coats of enamel, taking three separate firings to complete. It is craftsmanship like this that places the brand in a class of its own.
A Century of Innovation
Innovations throughout the years to function, as well as form, have continued to delight those who value performance as well as provenance and win new AGA cooker devotees. Originally available in cream, in 1956, a range of stunning colour choices were introduced. Today, style makers and cake bakers can choose from 16 shades, from Olivine to Duck Egg Blue, with the option of matching cast iron lids.
AGA has also continued to pioneer the way its cookers are used, with a growing range of operating functions to suit modern cooks. In the 1960s, oil-fired and gas-fired AGA cookers were introduced to the market and, in 1985, the first electric model, the two-oven EC2. This was followed two years later by the four-oven EC4.
In 2002, a three-oven cooker with the same footprint as that of the two-oven model, but with an added baking oven, was added to the AGA range. Two years later, the introduction of the 13-amp electric model, complete with a standard household plug, changed the AGA family forever because it needed no flue and could be fitted almost anywhere in the kitchen.
A Leader in Culinary Performance
While AGA has always aimed to provide greater flexibility in the kitchen, it can truly be said that every type of cook and homemaker is now catered for. In 2011, the launch of the Total Control cooker brought programmable cooking, a slumber setting, fast heat-up times and ovens and hotplates that could be operated independently. Soon after, the Dual Control offered hot plates that could be switched on or off individually as needed, saving on fuel costs, while the oven continued to provide unique AGA warmth all day long – ideal for those working at home.
More recently, revolutionary new models, including the AGA eR3 and AGA R7 Series, have built on AGA’s sterling reputations with foodies worldwide. The eR3 series, which combines cast-iron radiant heat and conventional cooking with a mix of ovens, hotplates and an induction hob, offers the most innovative AGA cooking yet. The fully electric R7, with a host of refined features including an easy-to-use touch screen control panel, as well as multiple heat settings for the roasting and baking ovens, has also been welcomed by those looking for both heritage and greater flexibility.
A Lifetime of Good Food and Good Tastes
Not content to rest on its laurels, AGA continues to pioneer refinements that position its cooker ahead of its competitors. However, while the choice of models expands, one thing that remains constant is the feeling of warmth and security that an AGA cooker provides. While mass market products come and go, AGA cookers create a heart of the home.
An unquestionable style statement, they are also an investment in an authentic, sustainable product with a pedigree honed by decades of craftsmanship.
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