Most Ridiculous Appliance Awards 2012

For our second annual “Most Ridiculous Appliance” Awards, we have an even more impressive lineup than last year.

Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop – 3rd Prize

It’s hard to find something more ridiculous than a $5,000 induction cooktop. The Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop is further evidence that Thermador has been moving in the wrong direction. Cheap marketing gimmicks over substance, this cooktop boasts an entire surface of induction magnets, allowing you to place your pan (any size, so long as it’s induction compatible) in any part of the cooking surface. Leave it to the engineers at Gaggenau/Thermador to bring us a feature no one has ever asked for. While it’s touch screen controls are very pretty, this cooktop brings nothing new to the induction technology other than a useless gimmick and a stratospheric price tag. Slated for release July / 2012.

Neff AirDeLuxe Wall Hood D99L11N0- 2nd Prize

I’m not sure if this one even requires commentary. The picture speaks for itself. Is it a wall hood… or a cooktop mounted on the wall? This invention by Neff is a beautiful piece of modern appliance art mounted in the perfect position to get chipped and scratched by your cookware. My heart goes out to the poor cleaning ladies who will continually have to clean the splatter marks off the black glass backer. This hood is a obsessive-compulsives nightmare and its so ridiculous we just couldn’t resist. European-only, retailing for around  € 1,800.

Fulgor’s Hidden Oven – 1st Prize

No one designs more ridiculous (and unreliable) toys as the Italians. The Fulgor CPLO6013TC, dubbed the “Lift”, is a full convection oven mounted into a cabinet much like a cooktop. One press of the button and it rises out of the top of your counter to greet you. This is ridiculous on so many levels, I’m not sure where to begin. For one, every single decent cook I know likes to peek through the window of the oven to check the progress of the food. Oh, and by the way, those pretty glass racks are not movable. So your food better fit. And who doesn’t like hot food rising out of their counter-top? Or the risk of chopping off a finger when closing your oven door? In all fairness they do have a sensor to detect stray fingers. Which is mildly comforting. Price on this brilliant piece of cooking torture is a mystery to me, although it’s no doubt expensive.