 and Broil King in previous features. These are the highlights of brands that are not as well known in the US.){kind=link}
The HPBExpo is the largest B2B expo in the world of outdoor cooking. It’s a great place to talk to people in the industry and see the latest products.
I covered the impressive displays from W.C. Bradley Co. (Charbroil, Oklahoma Joe’s, and Pit Boss) and Broil King in previous features. These are the highlights of brands that are not as well known in the US.
Charlie
I’ve heard about the Charlie oven for a few years now, but this was the first time I saw one in person. It’s an outdoor cooking product that can do it all. It smokes, grills, bakes, cooks pizza, and anything else you want with fire and food.
While the design might look different that other outdoor cooking products, the principal is pretty familiar. Charcoal or wood sits on the bottom of the oven and you can control air coming in and going out for temperature control.
It’s well insulated, to make it easy to hold temperature. It works almost like a Kamado grill, but in the shape of a safe. It feels like a safe too.
In person you get to appreciate the build quality and refinement. They build the Charlie oven in Britain, where the brand has been gaining traction. It even made it’s way into the famous department store Harrods.
You can get the stylish oven in different colors and sizes to match your outdoor living space. My favorite the the Orange color that really makes a statement.
Charlie is starting to make its way to the States, so reach out to them if you’re looking to carry a product that stands out from the crowd. If you’re a consumer looking for a more stylish outdoor living space, check out their website for ordering information.
Eno
What’s the worst part of using a griddle? It’s the clean-up. Eno is a griddle brand that you might not know about, but you should if you’ve ever felt like not cleaning your griddle.
Their griddle top is different than all others on the market. Rather being cold rolled steel or cast iron, the cooktop is high quality enameled cast iron. That means it’s non-stick, but it’s not like non-stick cookware that you have to be gentle with.
You can still use metal utensils with it, which is a relief for people like me that can be rough on their griddles. Eno had their latest griddle there, Enosign, and to demonstrate how durable it is they had a ball of steel wall that you could rub on the surface.
Eno is a French brand with their North American headquarters located in Canada. They make their griddles (AKA planchas) in France. If you like How It’s Made like I do, here’s a short video with more about the brand and their manufacturing.
Eno is starting to move more into the US market, and the Enosign is the perfect product to do it with. In addition to the unique cooktop, it had an overall quality feel to it, and a stylish design. Another great thing about it is Eno believes in their product so much that the enameled cooktop carries a lifetime warranty.
BSTRD.
A new Kamado brand that’s making their way to the US market is BSTRD. or Bastard. It’s a Dutch brand that’s focused on functionality.
The Bastard has great looking ceramics, coupled with features that make cooking with a Kamado easier. It has an ash clean-out bucket inside, a strong spring assisted hinge, folding side shelves, and tons of available accessories.
There also were a couple features on the models at the HPBExpo that I was impressed by. The first is the shelf section of the side shelf popped out, while leaving the frame for it intact. This makes way for possible future accessories that you could put there in place of a shelf.
The other feature I really liked was the cast iron plate setup they had. On other Kamados you use half moon shaped ceramics to control heat. The Bastard on display had a circular cast iron plate with a rotating center section. This let you open or close it without taking plates out, or worrying about plate storage.
Zwilling
For those that are willing to spare no expense on German over-engineering, I give you the Zwilling Flammkraft. It turns out the company known for high quality knives can also make an amazing grill. It launched last year, and I’ve been waiting to see it in person.
Rather than conventional gas tuber burners, it has two infrared burners in the main cook area. They run side to side, and they’re angled to provide more even heat.
There’s also another infrared burner next to the main cook area. This one provides direct heat for either grilling, or you can swap out the grates for a wok.
The Flammkraft is basically high quality stainless steel filled with infrared burners. It’s glorious.