Viking Range Brand Garage

Today we crank up the heat in the Garage as we pull Viking into bay number seven (okay, some of it spilled over into eight and nine as well). The place hasn’t smelled this good since Bobby Flay did a fuel-injected throwdown at Buz & Ned’s Real Barbecue up the road. Is that Emeril over there next to the grease gun?

Viking used to be just a serious, high-end chunk of cooking metal, a professional range that took its queue from restaurant-quality cooking prowess and built a range for the home. That was then, this is whoa.

Viking now makes all kinds of kitchen appliances, cookware, cutlery and even outdoor cooking machinery. They created a hotel, restaurant, a spa and a cooking school. They have a sophisticated program called The Viking Life, which combines all of Viking’s considerable culinary skills from travel to food to wine into an online and real experience that doesn’t stop at the kitchen door on the way out to the rest of your life.

Today’s Viking is a long buffet line from where Fred Carl started back in the 1980’s when there were really no practical options for professional chefs who wanted to cook at home. So he designed and built the range he and his wife, Margaret, couldn’t buy for their home – a heavy-duty, commercial grade range that was safe enough for home use but powerful enough for a professional experience.  

Viking started a trend that changed kitchens all over the world and in doing so created its own competition in the very market it once owned. With this in mind, let’s turn the knobs and sauté some verbiage about this legendary brand.

TT:  The Food Network? I’m surprised they don’t have The Viking Channel. These guys started with a pure vision and have aligned themselves inside and out and connected almost every critical point of contact both internally and externally. The only issues I see are rapid growth that may cause some quality or identity problems and how fast they can innovate while the competition tries to close the gap. But what they have done in a mere 20 years is impressive, to say the least.

GS: They DO have the Viking Channel. It’s called The History Channel – but not exactly the Vikings we’re talking about here. And this ain’t Minnesota.

Now, I’m no world-class chef. In fact, for me, baking a potato involves tossing it in the nuclear accelerator and pressing the “potato” button. But I’ll admit more than a heapin’ helping of chef-envy whenever I walk into a home with a Viking-studded kitchen. There are other professional-grade premiere brands out there, but Viking takes and bakes the cake in the minds of most consumers. Like Leatherman’s pocket-sized Jack-of-all-trades tools, Viking might not have invented appliances, but they created a whole new niche industry. One built not just on stainless steel, but the complete lifestyle experience of their unique brand.

They have indeed grown fast and furious. And you’re right about one danger – getting singed by the flames of their own rapid success. There’s no shortage of praise for Viking appliances, but there are a few burnt edges, too. And although they created a niche market, other high-end predators like Wolf were soon nipping at Viking’s well-heeled consumers.

Add to this arrangement the usual suspects like GE and Frigidaire who now offer more than a range of stainless steel-clad appliances for a wallet-friendly high-end flair. No doubt these are not the elite Iron Chef appliances, but they are capitalizing on the lifestyle perceptions created by Viking. There’s a lot of chef in this kitchen, so just how does Viking do it?

They elevated the home into something more. More than just stainless steel, they cooked up some juicy culinary marketing magic.

TT: It is interesting how fast Viking created a desire to build your kitchen around such a beautiful chunk of technically advanced metal that gives such old-school pleasure. I remember when the kitchen was a pretty average place. Not anymore. How many people do you know would – if they had the money – love to park a big Viking in their kitchen if for nothing else, just to show it off? A lot.

ST: Having recently shopped everywhere for a new range, I can tell you that the brushed steel Vikings and Wolfs jump out of those enameled white appliance showrooms like Brad Pitt at a geek convention. And like that, their appliances become the center of attention in your entire home, not just the kitchen.

TT: Viking completely recreated the kitchen experience in people’s homes by changing the kitchen paradigm in their heads first. Bathrooms have been changing for 15 years as well.

In kitchens all over the world, the range/stove/oven has been reborn from a utilitarian appliance into a sexy, professional-level status machine that delivers a great meal experience. And these things look amazing even – like my wife’s need for that 4-wheel drive – if we never even turn them on at all.

In reality, what Viking did, in a rudimentary way, was go back to the way TV first changed the home in the 1950’s by refocusing the entire family experience around the “one-eyed monster” as my grandfather called his old TV set. He used to sit on the porch and talk to his neighbors until he got that first Zenith. Then his whole experience in his home was built around that tube.

Viking brought people back to the kitchen to hang out because the coolest thing in their homes was cooking up more than food. It was cooking up a very personal experience.

GS: Old school ideals infused with new school ideas. The Viking is the “American Chopper” of the kitchen—sex appeal with performance to match.

ST: Absolutely.

GS: Like “Choppers”, this return to the kitchen is a very American-centric phenomenon. Preparing and sharing of meals is a very important family and social dynamic in most cultures. Indeed, it was television that replaced the dining table with TV trays. This resurgence in hosting is a dynamic that owes itself to Martha Stewart and Food Network as much as the new high-end appliances.

But the appliances have led the resurgence of the kitchen as the epicenter of the home. And what beautiful epicenters they have become, with fixtures befitting display in MOMA or the Guggenheim. The “galley kitchen” has become the “gallery kitchen.”

There’s more to these easy-bake beasts than just good looks. There’s a lot of tech under these stainless hotrod hoods.

TT: Innovation is the key in this category and there is quite a bit. Recently, there was a story in the Wall Street Journal about fast appliances for impatient cooks. These new stoves and ranges and dishwashers and such are hyper-fast. Talk about flying, Viking has a high-speed convection over that can roast a 5-pound bird in 38 minutes. Wolf has an energy-saving induction cooktop with fast-boil water capability. The “smart” TurboChef oven has 500 pre-programmed settings and even features recipes. GE has a fridge with an “ExpressChill Drawer” and Sears has a Kenmore fast-brew coffee maker and quick-brown toaster.

Price, however, is not something that warms the heart of people looking at any of these machines because they are expensive. One of Viking’s new, fast ovens that blows hot air at 44 mph and cooks food 5 times faster than a regular oven starts at $2,300. TurboChef’s oven that cooks 15-times faster costs $6,000. One of these things can cook a rack of lamb in 4 minutes. Is it cooking or windburn?

Some of the cooktops from Wolf costs between $1,500 and $3,000. I know people who spent 12 grand on one of these high-end ranges. So I guess they should be the focal point of your kitchen.

GS: Okay, this is where I see a potential chink in the proverbial armor. The great Kitchen Renaissance is somewhat diluted by the 5 minute roast. There is an art to cooking that seems at odds with this instant gratification microwave mentality. From hard boiling eggs to a four-course meal, it’s requiring a new approach to everything. And I know more than a few avid home chefs who might appreciate the technology, but abhor the idea of ‘instant dinners’ and are even a bit intimidated by the learning curve. Hmm, someone’s going to make a mint off of translating the complete volumes of the Joy of Cooking into the 5-Minute Meal Master.

But because aesthetic design has become increasingly homogenous between brands, it seems that “innovation” in the kitchen is now synonymous with “speed.” In fact, some of those turbocharged blowers sound like a day at Daytona and I half expect to see a Dale Jr. at the wheel of a Viking range.

So, is the cost of time worth the price of entry into this hyper horsepower cooking phenomenon? Not to everyone, but certainly to the cooking elite.

DB: I’m parking in this garage because I knew years ago I wanted one of these things. Which flies in the face of my “you can pretty much get whatever you need at Target” man-tality. But, sooner or later, I was gonna have one of these babies. Justifying this major purchase to myself, however, and more importantly, to my wife took some calculated vanity. My logic:
#1) I like to cook.
#2) This would always hold it’s value and help with selling our house when the time came.
And, #3) Hell yeah.

TT: I can see all sides of thinking on these things. Some people want a solid, metallic chunk of high tech chef-appeal, others want to savor the broil, and some want culinary speed. Others just want one. From looking at these machines, they are capable of accommodating all desires. And they should be at these prices.

DB: I can tell you, I did not come about my purchase lightly after saving for so freakin’ long. I looked at a lot of spec sheets and Consumer Report surveys and talked to trained sales-type guys (they have that car commission gleam in their eyes). TT, you even set me up with some cool lit on the subject because you knew I was on the big range prowl.

TT: All I did was get you some free brochures. You got a gas range that’s bigger than my car. LOL

DB: I love the fact that they are pandering to the manly decision-makers with names like Viking and Wolf and Vulcan. Makes you want to go out and kill something to drag back to your oven.

TT: That is an interesting observation. You never see one of these things called Fluffy Oven. It’s more like BraveHearth.

DB: In my quest for fire, I finally did figure out what I wanted, and – sorry Conan – it was not a Viking. Sorry Emeril. Sorry to the nice folks in Greenwood, Mississippi. But it was a smug bit of delight when I walked into the high-end appliance store in my rattiest work clothes and told the salesperson exactly what I wanted. I think she thought I was there to clean the restrooms. But now my kitchen is adorned with one shining monument of kitchen excess accompanied by a blower that must have been engineered by the folks at Boeing. I wanted the guy at the end of the alley to smell the rosemary in my seared lamb chops, by god.

TT: I’ve seen that gleaming monster you have and you could blow leaves across the street with that kind of power.

DB: The marketing of these tools seems to fly in the face of the boldness of their stature. The emphasis is one of subtlety. Key product placement and marriage of celeb chefs. Seems to be more of a seduction than a grab and hold. I’m not sure when and how I got caught in the web. Justin Wilson probably gave me the first nudge. That guy was a hall of famer. That’s it! We start the cooking Hall of Fame!

TT: That is a good idea. The Food Network would probably buy that from you unless Bon Appetite has already done it. But I’ve never heard of it. I like that.

DB: With the upswing of McMansions and high-end kitchen renovations, I don’t see a bottom to this market. I foresee advertising and marketing getting cutthroat as more competitors enter the field. And change will come. Do you remember when the stereo market suddenly made the move to black over silver? Black Wolf. Just sounds so gangsta.

GS: If mere stainless steel clad crisp bodylines is the price of entry, then the competition has been lighting the fires for a few product cycles now. But there is certainly a clear upscale price of entry to race with the big boys. Viking is the BMW of the kitchen—the ultimate cooking machine. And the cost-cutting competition may find ways to match Viking’s looks and newfound speed, and ultimately pull ahead in sales. But a Hyundai is still a Hyundai in the minds of a German automobile enthusiast. And it’s the high-end lines that set the trend pace.

TT: But Hyundai is a darned good car these days and giving the other automakers sticker burn. They have engineered that type of quality into their products and are killing the competition with price, dependability (JD Power) and warranty.

GS: True, but this isn’t JUST about the machine, it’s about status trumping stigma. We’re not merely keeping pace with the Joneses, we’re blowing their double-dutch oven doors off. This is about lifestyle.

TT: That’s it exactly. It’s not just the appliance; it’s the truth and core beliefs of that brand. It’s the vision, as we like to say – that’s what people are buying.

GS: A total Viking experience. And like many brands today seeking to embed themselves in every crease of the consumers’ minds, they’ve created something called “The Viking Life.” Encompassing travel, food and wine, it seems most akin to an online version of Gourmet magazine.

TT: It’s an attempt at smart multi-product branding. Like Starbucks ice cream and Fraps in the bottles at other stores. It’s brand expansion.

GS: But it just doesn’t quite mesh with the mystique of Viking for me personally and I wonder if this and some of their less “core” products (blenders, etc.) will tarnish their satin finish just a bit. I mean, a Viking range is one thing, but I’ll keep my Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid mixer, thank you. I don’t want a “Viking Kitchen” if it means staring at oversized Viking logos slapped on everything. A Viking range needs no introduction. It commands attention.

They sell a lot of different little trinkets too. Is my “Viking Lifestyle” best expressed through some logo-studded gold balls, beverage coozies, pocket knife, Maglight, tape measure, Wallstreet portfolio and pen, or even Mississippi Mint Julep cup? I think not.

There’s a point where brand extensions become superfluous and downright silly.

TT: I wonder how that big Viking logo would look on the front of a Viking pick-up truck?

GS: It has that feel.

BH: Sorry to jump into this debate but I have a few thoughts. First, I was not a car guy in high school, and my house has no garage. But I’m flattered to be in the company of creative grease monkeys trying to tune this business. I do cook. As The Comfort Brothers, my friend Lefty and I are personal chefs. We do high-end dinner parties and drink while we cook. We like to play with fire and sharp knives. Lefty has a Viking cook top in his kitchen and I have worked over that eight burner on many occasions. All I can say is, in my opinion, having been in a number of commercial kitchens, that it empowers the cook in a quite comparable way to the (professional) Vulcans I’ve been in the company of over the years.

Another friend, and coincidentally, a Mississippian who loves to cook has recently added a Viking to his kitchen. His has ovens as well. He has a new swagger. Bill has not turned into Gordon Ramsey (Hell’s Kitchen), but he’s gaining on him. The Viking has imbued him with a confidence that hasn’t necessarily improved his cooking, but he definitely has a new attitude. It’s the Viking.

TT: That hits it right on. They’ve combined the serious chef aura with professional engineering and metallic panache.
 
BH: My only other admittedly jaundiced opinion as far as media, is that the Food Network has lost it’s way. Google Anthony Bourdain and read the interview in which he skewers the likes of Rachel Ray among others. I don’t think those serious about cooking watch it much anymore. Check out the food bloggers or sites like eGullet.com for the real deal. And in closing, remember what Mario Batali says of food: “If it’s slower than me, dumber than me and it tastes good – pass the salt.” 
  
ST: Okay, I have to say something and I don’t know another way to say it except to just spit it out. I love Viking’s products and the look of their print ads. But I am so creeped-out by their commercials on the Food Network. Those eerie reflections of people on their kitchen appliances look like ghosts of the former owners in the TV commercials. It’s like the kitchen is haunted or something.

TT: I have seen those spots and while I think I know what they are trying to accomplish, I must admit, that same thought crossed my mind when I saw the commercials as well. Maybe Viking has a better brand than those spots portray? It works much better in print?

ST: I think that’s it.

GS: Or perhaps they haven’t really tapped into what it is to cook with Viking. They talk about the experience, but only show empty kitchens and beauty-shot products. Cooking is a marvelous and messy art. It is a orchestrated ballet of fire and heat and stirring and boiling and basting and baking things up real good. It is passion and energy. It is visceral. From what I can tell, a Viking kitchen is a gallery space that the maid cleans every day to keep things shiny.

FM: It’s interesting how Americans used to use their cars to state to the world their status.  But, now many BMWs have CarMax stickers on the left back, which kind of throws a curve into the pitch (no offense to Car Max).  Alas, now it is the kitchen where – with a high end Viking and Subzero refrigerator – you can shout out – “Hey, I’m doing OK, thank you very much.” 
I think the Viking school is a brilliant idea. People can put these highbrow, awesome pieces of cooking equipment to the test (remember the popularity of high performance driving schools?).
 
FM: Seems like the next frontier in the high, high class cooking arena is the outdoor kitchen and Viking is right there with a huge line of products.  Those things are amazing and the Viking brand has every right be the most excellent major player in this high priced, growing market.  Drinking margaritas while having lobster tails grilling on your envious steel rotisserie, with a little risotto simmering under the moonlight sky blows my mind like a 50 mph convection fan.  The Viking boat needs to row strongly in that direction.

TT: I agree. The outdoor cooking area has gone from tepid coals to a flame thrower after years of tinny backyard charcoal grills to substantial gas grills to the set up I saw in one of Viking’s killer photos the other day. They have the whole shiny buffet of stainless outdoor accoutrements. I can’t imagine any direction that involves cooking, eating or living large that Viking hasn’t got a plan for down in Greenwood.

While we can all debate this and that about their ads or the competition, the core of what Viking has created is as solid as one of their 48” open burner, duel fuel ranges.

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Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not necessarily of Big River and may not have been reviewed in advance by Big River.