We really didn't want to design our own charcoal grill...

But it was the only way to get what we wanted. Once we started, we got very serious about it.

We spent four years perfecting our designs. As engineers, we wanted tools that would stand up to hard use, give you new ways to use sophisticated technique, and generally honor the art of fine grilling. (Yes, we think of grilling is an art, and an essential skill for the accomplished cook.)

We wanted a grill that would let us do everything from a 30-second sear to a day-long smoke. So we set out to create the ultimate grilling tools.

When you set out to master a skill, you want a different class of tools—the kind used by artisans, professionals and serious students. Here's how to spot great tools: they develop over years of use, give quiet pleasure every time you use them, and make you better at your craft.

This is pretty high-minded stuff for a company that makes charcoal grills, but even with something as "basic" as cooking over charcoal, if you love to do it, you want proper tools. And most great tools are visually attractive as well as functionally attractive.

You have a beautiful deck, nice outdoor furniture, and lush landscaping. Why would you add something that looks like a giant avocado? Or a little black bomb with spindly legs?

To us, that grill rusting away in the backyard isn't a necessary evil, it's a design challenge. We worked long and hard to give you a charcoal grill that you don't have to hide—in fact, you might even be proud to own. And one that, when you actually grill on it, the light bulb will go on over your head as your skills expand and you easily move into more sophisticated techniques.

We're building the best charcoal grill you can get—at any price.

Bad design is usually bad in multiple ways

A good product design takes into account at least three factors: appearance, materials, and function. Let's be honest, most charcoal grills aren't very good products. They're not attractive, they're flimsy, and they don't work very well.

Go to any big box store and check out the charcoal grills. Using these three criteria, you'd have to agree that they are not very good. There are some fairly nice gas grills, but you won't find a clever well-designed charcoal grill.

Most are made by huge companies who aren't really interested in grilling—they're interested in making money. Their grills are crude, low-grade steel, stamped out by the thousands in China and are borderline junk.

Most of us seem to think this is perfectly OK—there were seven million cheap charcoal grills sold last year. People either don't care, or they just swallow hard and buy one and after it rusts away in the backyard for two years, they junk it and buy another one.

(As a side note, it's strange to us that the folks who make the world's most famous charcoal grill seem proud of the fact that it was not designed to be a grill. The story is part of their inbred corporate legend. Somebody took a rejected navigation buoy from the factory and fashioned it into a "grill". It seemed to work OK, and pretty soon his neighbors wanted one. His big innovation was adding a cover so you could grill in the rain. Wow!)

We thought we could do better. We went through a dozen prototypes. We agonized over details that you may not even notice. Good products are difficult to design. They don't happen by pulling something out of the junk pile.   

 Our logo badge

As a small example: our badge uses the same materials formerly used by three famous German car makers for their logo badges—nickel-plated bronze,and fired-glass enamel.

The carmakers have since switched to plastic—a shame.