Fisher & Paykel Takes To The Airwaves

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 11/17/2008

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. — Fisher & Paykel's cooking appliances have been cast in two separate TV shows.

The New Zealand manufacturer's DCS line will be showcased on "America's Test Kitchen," the top-rated PBS series, while a Fisher & Paykel grill and a DCS cooktop will appear on chef Emeril Lagasse's new "Emeril Green" series on the Planet Green network.

Under a three-year partnership agreement with "America's Test Kitchen," the products will begin appearing on the show's 26-episode, 2009 season starting in January. In addition, DCS products will also be featured in the 2009 season of a spin-off production, "Cook's Country TV."

"America's Test Kitchen," currently in its eighth year, is touted as the most-watched cooking show on public TV, with up to 2 million viewers tuning in per episode. The series features test cooks and product testers who prepare recipes, solve everyday cooking problems, test equipment, and sample supermarket ingredients. The show is taped outside Boston in the actual 2,500-square-foot test kitchen of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

Its new spin-off has achieved 98 percent carriage on public TV stations across the country and recently began shooting its 2009 season.

Specific products to be used on both shows over the next three seasons include DCS by Fisher & Paykel's 36-inch, six-burner gas cooktop, 30-inch wall oven, 36-inch and 48-inch professional grills with portable grill carts, microwave oven, 31-inch flat-door stainless-steel refrigerator and Fisher & Paykel's double Dishdrawer dishwasher.

"We see this partnership as a great opportunity to showcase the performance of our high-end professionally styled cooking equipment on a national stage," said Fisher & Paykel's sales and marketing VP Laurence Mawhinney.

Separately, Mawhinney said the vendor's partnership with Planet Green underscores its heritage of producing energy-efficient home appliances with environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, which stretches back to its start in New Zealand more than 70 years ago.

As part of the partnership agreement, Fisher & Paykel will also be identified as a sponsor in the open and close of "Emeril Green," as well as the in-show question-and-answer session.