Yes, you can have this Michelin-star chef’s oven in your home kitchen

Founded in 1990 in Padua, a city in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, UNOX launched itself into the professional oven market with a product designed to bake frozen bread and croissants without the need for proofing. Three decades later, the brand — now solidified as a key player in the professional oven industry — has entered the luxury residential market with the launch of the Unox Casa division, introducing another impressive oven design. 

The SuperOven, an adaptation of the brand’s signature professional ovens, is designed to bring a professional cooking experience into the home. ArchiPro caught up with UNOX to learn more.

The origin of the SuperOven

Named ‘Unox Casa’, the brand’s residential oven project had been an aspiration for years, inspired by the owner’s personal experience. 

“Whenever friends experienced the professional UNOX oven during dinner at the owner's home, requests to install a UNOX oven in their own homes soon followed,” says Matteo De Lise of Unox Casa. “Installing a professional oven at home presented challenges, though, with connection issues, excessive dimensions, and the oven’s industrial aesthetic as a few examples.”

The opportunity to develop this oven came about during lockdown when UNOX noticed a surge in demand for professional tech at home. Faced with the closure of the catering sector, the company transformed this challenge into a business opportunity with the motto: ‘If people can't go to the restaurant, we'll bring the restaurant to their homes!’

Redesigning a professional oven for the residential market

The SuperOven is the culmination of three decades of design and brand expertise. Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, a dedicated team spent a year focused on product redesign and brand creation, bringing the SuperOven to life as a fully-fledged luxury appliance with a robust marketing and distribution strategy. 

“Transitioning from the professional industry to the residential sector posed a unique set of challenges,” De Lise explains. “The most significant hurdle was navigating the radical shift in target audiences and values that customers prioritise in their purchasing decisions. The professional user typically seeks optimal performance and assistance, evaluating these factors with the purchase price to achieve the best return on investment. For them, it's about acquiring an industrial machine to power their kitchen's production cycle.

“In contrast, the mindset of the private customer investing in luxury goods for their home centres around enhancing their overall quality of life. While objective criteria like performance and service remain crucial, the private customer introduces more subjective aspects into the equation, such as design and brand positioning.”

Alongside this shift in brand and product identity, the oven itself needed to look different, with functional modifications to support the home cooking experience. These included a size reduction; removal of industrial aesthetics characterised by bold logos and plastic components; simplification of the digital control panel; and the introduction of a hood and a convenient storage drawer for baking trays, detergents, and smoking accessories.

“While there were significant aesthetic and functional changes, the performance of the oven remains unchanged; it maintains the capability to execute identical cooking methods as its commercial counterpart. However, the adaptation for domestic use enhances usability significantly, thanks to the user-friendly control panel tailored for both seasoned cooks and newcomers alike.”

The SuperOven cooking experience

The SuperOven’s defining characteristic is its ability to support cooking techniques not typically achievable in traditional home ovens.

“Both configurations, the Model 1 and Model 1S, deliver professional-grade performance in an intuitive, user-friendly manner, enabling cooking techniques such as grilling, frying, vacuum cooking, smoking, and dehydrating,” De Lise says. 

“The oven is equipped with sensors that continuously monitor humidity levels within the cooking chamber, resulting in even cooking and food ready up to three times faster than in conventional ovens. The user interface features an intuitive digital control panel with over 400 automatic cooking programs. Simply select the type of food and desired outcome, and the oven automatically adjusts the settings, catering to the amount of food being prepared.”

Both models incorporate the same cutting-edge technology, with size differences to cater to a variety of kitchen styles. Model 1 offers the power and versatility of two professional ovens, while the more compact Model 1S features a single cooking chamber. They also feature a built-in ventilation system with professional active carbon filters to remove unwanted odours and vapours. Finally, perhaps the best feature for those busy home cooks, an automatic self-cleaning feature with a water and eco-friendly detergent solution patented by UNOX.

To offer home cooks the full professional kitchen experience, Unox Casa has gone one step further with their ‘Cook Like a Chef’ digital platform.

“This innovative tool connects users with Unox Casa chefs, available to guide them through the world of haute cuisine. Additionally, the 'Personal Cooking Trainer' service provides one-on-one support from Unox Casa chefs. They can offer personalised menus and step-by-step assistance, ensuring users create exceptional dishes for their dinner parties,” De Lise explains.

Come discover it at Design Show Australia | 133-15 June 2024 | Stand 1228