High flyers

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the latest incarnation of cooker hoods! Prepare for some serious pulling power

If a cooker hood could speak, it would tell this tale about its sorry early life: “I was ugly, noisy, unsociable and they shoved me away where no-one could see me – but I’m all right now.” Cooker hoods are revelling in their new status as iconic design statements. With the aid of advanced aesthetics and canny technology, they have become the supersonic stars of the kitchen, hovering quietly above the cooking area or discreetly vanishing when they have completed their mission. The days of ear-splitting thunder have thankfully passed.

The key point for the kitchen specialist to remember is that stunning appearance must be matched by stunning performance, says Neil Parker, sales director for Allied Kingwood. “Many of the designs available today are architecturally dynamic, truly stand out from the crowd and make that aspirational statement. However, it is important that they have the functional and technological benefits to ventilate the kitchen effectively and are not simply eye-candy.”

Mark Bristow, md of Coolectric, the UK importer for Viking, believes the challenge now is to provide the most comfortable environment conducive to open-plan living. “This means a high extraction rate of odours and moisture, capturing the grease within it, which becomes even more critical if the area includes soft furnishings. This must be achieved at a low noise level in what is a very social part of the home.”

He singles out top-end recirculating models that use paper and carbon filters as antiquated because they clog quickly and “become as inefficient as a vacuum cleaner with a full bag. Ducted models with external motors that pull the steam and fat from the outside of the cooking area combine efficiency with quiet operation. The selling trick for retailers is to demonstrate what happens if you don’t have an efficient extractor system.”

Only the best will do for consumers according to Whirlpool category manager Juliana Sado.“The importance and technological development of cooker hoods will continue to grow. Looks are important but it is no longer acceptable for a manufacturer to produce something that does not deliver on performance.”

Consumers will continue to be spoilt for choice, giving the imaginative kitchen specialist a host of selling angles. We are likely to see a split field between stunning decorative hoods and more minimalist models that trade chiefly on their subtlety and technological wizardry. Richard Walker, sales and marketing director for De Dietrich, explains: “These streamlined models feature touch controls as opposed to soft touch or button controls, and in some cases use intelligent sensors. The ultimate in minimalism is the downdraft extractor which is hidden from view until required. When activated, it rises to extract all the steam and fumes and then retracts within the worksurface at a single touch.”

For now, however, it is designer extractor hoods – flamboyant and often surreal in appearance – that are driving the market. The misty days of cooker hoods being regarded as inconvenient necessities now seem prehistoric. Baumatic’s marketing manager Rita Balestrazzi concludes. “Consumers regard the latest designer extractors as must-have aspirational products that will enhance the look of their kitchen. Although led by practical factors such as size and price, they are prepared to part with money to achieve the look they want. The latest extractors are seen as status symbols in the same light as range cookers, wine coolers and American-style fridge-freezers.”