Long regarded as the world’s leading brand for premium kitchen appliances, Miele is a household name synonymous with the world of gourmet creations and luxury living. Over the course of its 117-year history, Miele has garnered support from both professional chefs, gourmands and homeowners alike. However, far from resting on its laurels, this iconic German brand continues to forge ahead by investing heavily in the research and development of domestic appliances that not only cater to your needs but resonate with your lifestyle too.

During the recent Eurocucina fair (the world’s most widely anticipated kitchen fair) held in Milan, Miele made an impressive presence with a 760sqm display under a “Best Solutions For A Better Life” theme.

Miele launched a designer line of built-in appliances for an entirely handle-less kitchen; a new generation of dishwashers; innovative cooker hoods; and a number of attractive programme additions for cooking and refrigeration.

On this range of appliances called ArtLine a light tap on a hidden sensor is perfectly sufficient to unlock the door before it gently glides down into the horizontal position.

“Where kitchen and living room meet, there is always a call for elegant, clear and puristic forms,” says Miele top designer, Andreas Enslin, “and with ArtLine we meet this market need more consistently than any other manufacturer.”

At the same time, Miele also took the opportunity to present its unique vision for the kitchen of the future in a special event held away from the main fair area at the Zona Tortona Designer Mile. Promising visitors a treat for the emotions, the invite to Miele’s Invisible Kitchen offered to take guests on an exciting journey to a futuristic kitchen, one that’s networked and convenient, providing inconceivable cooking and culinary experiences, which could soon become reality.

More than 23,000 visitors witnessed this historic occasion, considered by many to be one of the most outstanding presentations at the Milan Design Week.

The Invisible Kitchen by Miele

The Invisible Kitchen brought visitors into a darkened arena, decked overhead with a ring-shaped installation spanning eight metres in diameter. Two kitchen chefs prepared a three-course menu, supported by a virtual cooking assistant software embedded into the glass cooktop. The virtual assistant compiled menus, weighed ingredients, supplied tips on preparation and on a sustainable approach to food. The intelligent programme took into consideration the user's level of cooking expertise and only intervened when things threatened to go wrong. When the cooking was completed, the assistant also proceeded to suggest the most ideal serving presentations by guiding the users through a step-by-step plating process.

Above all, the objective of the event was to fuel inspiration. “The Invisible Kitchen brings a new sense of creativity to the game. Cooking once again becomes exciting and is fun,” says Axel Kniehl, executive director of the Miele Group, responsible for Marketing and Sales. “This kitchen is invisible in the sense that no single appliance is given prominence of place; instead, the focus is squarely on the needs of users. The technology behind The Invisible Kitchen stems from research scenarios and projects under the auspices of the Miele Design Centre.”

While Miele’s invisible kitchen may still be a vision that is in development at the moment, the brand is using the presentation to reassure homeowners that when the world is ready for a kitchen revolution, Miele will continue to be ahead of the competition.

“The long-term success of a brand such as Miele depends not on its product characteristics; it needs to fascinate and inspire. This is what we are looking to do in Milan with our ‘Invisible Kitchen’,” says Kniehl.