Discovering new degrees of perfection
ASKO Celsius°Cooking™ system

In the beginning, we all cooked and ate whatever was available. But as new ingredients appeared, so did new culinary possibilities. And as our palates became more sophisticated, curiosity and a desire for something new replaced necessity. So, we took new ingredients and blended them together, relying on trial and error and a trust in our instincts. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. But that’s the joy of cooking.

So, where are we today? As the world gets smarter, has technology taken over in the kitchen? Has innovation replaced instinct? Of course not. Modern cooking isn’t about choosing between connectivity and creativity. It’s about finding the right balance and using it to make something truly special. And it’s this balance of innovation and intuition, control and spontaneity that has been perfected in ASKO’s Celsius°Cooking™ system. We met up with the team behind Celsius°Cooking™ to find out how they did it.

Taking ambition and design to the next level

Around five years ago, ASKO decided that they needed a new induction platform as their current one was becoming outdated. This decision led to the creation of ASKO's new Celsius°Cooking™ system. Celsius°Cooking™ combines a next-generation induction hob with smart, connected cookware and a companion website with inspirational step-by-step recipes that provides home chefs with the precision and control they need to create restaurant-quality dishes at home and at will.

"Our main intention was to do what you see in the automotive industry, where every 5 to 7 years there's a change of the line” explains project manager, Matej Kotnik, who was involved at every stage of the development of Celsius°Cooking™, from idea to manufacture. “We saw a lot of hi-tech things at trade fairs, relating to the direction in which culinary R&D is going and wondered what we could give to people. Automatic cooking on hobs wasn't yet trendy, so we decided to take things in that direction."

Senior designer at ASKO, Björn Flinterhoff, takes up the story. "At ASKO, we're inspired by trends in kitchens, in the automotive industry, in consumer electronics. We saw temperature-controlled cooking start to emerge as a trend on the internet and saw the chance to integrate the technology into our own. We quickly realized that releasing a new induction hob wasn't enough. We wanted a smart product.”

Innovation for everyone

With ambition levels raised and a clear focus on temperature-control established, the concept of Celsius°Cooking™ was starting to take shape. But as ASKO’s global design manager for cooking, Vincent Hofstee, explains, it wasn’t just about letting technology take over. "The cooking experience is a meaningful one. We didn't want to create a solution that alienated people by taking that experience away.” So ASKO had to come with a way to satisfy those who wanted to be guided by inspiration and those who prefer to be guided by technology.

“What we have created is really for two audiences,” explains Charl van Kesteren, who project-managed the Celsius°Cooking™ system for ASKO's sister company ATAG. "Initially, we wanted to make something for what we call "home chefs" – they're still amateur cooks, but more advanced and experienced. They're people who like to experiment in the kitchen and who would benefit from having this type of temperature control available to them as an additional tool. But by adding connected cookware and step-by-step recipes, we discovered a whole other audience that we could help out. And that's basically people like me. Just by following the recipes, I can make great meals too – and I really have no talent in the kitchen."

Using technology to take your cooking to the next level is something designer Vincent Hofstee also values. "Following the video-guided recipes is something I'll do myself. I have some skills, but I want to learn more. However, I'm also a defender of the cooking experience. You have to allow people to have total control as well.”

In control and on-trend

Vincent and his team let finding the balance between control and guidance steer them in their design, making controlling the hob and the entire system as intuitive and direct as possible.

"Something that we felt was absolutely necessary was what I call direct access – direct control of your cooking” explains Vincent. “In our previous induction platform, we developed the circular sliders which we call Easy Dial. They are the digital translation of an old-fashioned knob. You turn it, but in a digital way. And now we have developed it further, making it more sophisticated and using newer technology.”

"We have one set of controls per zone – something we've kept in the new version, because we had really positive feedback about it,” Vincent continues. “With one control per zone, you have access all the time. You don't need to select the zone then change the settings. It's taking away one step for the home chef and making it easier: in terms of operating it, and controlling it, and also with regard to the information that you see."

The importance of control was also something senior designer Björn Flinterhoff focused on during the design process – both to help users enjoy a more intuitive experience and to help them embrace the latest food trends.

"With temperature control, you can cook top-quality ingredients to perfection. You can control it all, through the hob, or using the automatic settings. You always decide yourself,” explains Björn. "With Celsius°Cooking™, we wanted to be able to address trends like sous vide. If you do it in your oven, the tank gets emptied after a while. Do it in a pot, and the water won't get lost. Already you have a benefit in doing it on the hob.”

The perfect result – every time

After years of research and development, refining the design and perfecting the user experience, the most important thing about Celsius°Cooking™ is the results it delivers.

“Celsius°Cooking™ lets you become a chef – even without the training,” project manager, Matej Kotnik explains. “But the system also lets you do your own thing. It's like a high-end camera. You can use all the automatic settings and get really fantastic results. But if you really want to be an expert: set it to manual, and maybe you can use the features yourself to make the picture even better."

The possibilities are endless

Celsius°Cooking™ represents a huge culinary step forward and is a fantastic achievement for ASKO. But what’s next? Well, now that the technology is in place, things have started to open up throughout the rest of the ASKO range. For example, the system already has the ability to communicate with certain ASKOcooker hoods and allows them to be controlled from the hob. It seems the possibilities are endless.

"We're beginning to create a smart kitchen and I think this product might be the start of a new phase of connectivity for us," says Charl van Kesteren. And he also believes that Celsius°Cooking™ is indicative of a wider shift in the industry: "This is not only a new direction for ASKO but for cooking in general."

But, despite all of the technological advances, it's important to keep sight of what's most important. As Charl puts it: "Remember, we only supply a tool. What people want is great food.” Innovation and intuition, control and spontaneity. This the perfect balance. And this what Celsius°Cooking™ is all about.