 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Get Thee To a Scullery The Westye Group Southeast 1700 Executive Drive South Duluth, GA (866) 710-1226 www.westyegroupse.com by Christine Woodhouse Sooner or later, as a true student of gastronomy you must take your culinary ambitions home for further exploration. And, unless you are already blessed with a gourmet kitchen, you may find that everyday appliances cannot deliver the caliber of fine food to which you have grown accustomed. If you find yourself in this position, you will want to mapquest your way to the Westye Group’s showroom in Duluth, posthaste. Take the day off and prepare for full immersion into the world of high-end appliances. Here you will learn about Sub-Zero refrigerators with custom wood paneling to match your cabinetry; Wolf rangetops capable of 16,000 BTUs; Asko dishwashers that are absolutely silent AND ecologically friendly; and important accessories like convex curved hoods and recirculating flues with charcoal filters. The Westye Group’s 14,000 square foot showroom includes eight separate kitchen vignettes (each created by a different local designer), a live demonstration kitchen, wine storage gallery, laundry room, billiard room and outdoor barbeque area. All are designed to lavishly display high-end appliances formerly reserved for professional venues, complex cooking shows and wealthy gourmets. This is your all-access pass to an exclusive world of culinary extravagance. The space invites home-owners, architects, designers and dealers to wander and explore, imagining their own incarnations of domestic splendor. The most alluring feature of the Westye Group showroom is its culinary center, offering food lovers and would-be designers the chance to learn and experiment on the actual equipment. Once a month they offer complimentary demonstration classes that provide a brief introduction to product capabilities. This not only gives inquiring customers the chance to test-drive the appliances, but also enables those who have already purchased products to learn how to use them. For adventurous types who want to delve deeper, interactive cooking classes provide students the opportunity to work at their own station, alongside corporate chef Jonathan St. Hilaire. Teams of two pair up at one of eight stations, each with an electric cook top, oven, refrigerator drawers and prep sink. In yet another section of the culinary center, a chef demonstration area seats 25 people and offers two big screen TV monitors to assist in viewing the chef’s food preparation. Chef Jonathan St. Hilaire leads most classes, providing his own draw to the culinary center with classical training from the French Culinary Institute, engaging personality, and a long list of accolades. He won the Gold Medal in the “Southern Pastry Classic” in 2000. Bon Appetit magazine named him “Best New American Chef in Atlanta” in 2002 and Atlanta magazine recognized him for the city’s “Best Chocolate Dessert” the same year. In a single class, Jonathan relays skills gained from years of study and practice at New York City’s, and later Atlanta’s, finest restaurants, including Terrace Brennan’s Picholine, Payard’s Patisserie and Bistro, Danny Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park, Bouley Bakery, Canoe, Spice and the Four Seasons. He periodically relinquishes control of the state-of-the-art facility to area chefs like Joel Antunes, Christian Czerwonka of Emeril’s and Don Diem of Bitter-end Seafood Restaurant for classes on special topics. (See complete fall schedule online.) Despite the customer-friendly, open atmosphere, the general public cannot purchase products directly from the Westye Group. Think of it as more of a playground where you can look, touch and taste the difference between mainstream retail and top-of-the-line products. Of course, once you’ve experienced the grandeur of Sub-Zero built-in refrigeration and wine storage, Wolf ovens and range tops, Asko dishwashers and laundry appliances, and Independent and Best range hoods you will most likely want to own them. The Westye Group will happily refer you to one of their "dealers" and/or designers who are fully qualified to make your kitchen dreams come true. In the meantime, keep watching your favorite kitchen remodeling and cooking shows. Take notes. Dream big. And visit the Westye Group often. ~ CW |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from top: Assorted culinary creations; Chef Jonathan St. Hiaire; Photos of showroom and classrooms. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
