Earlier this year, entrepreneur Stanley Cheng, founder of the largest cookware company in the U.S., unveiled his latest culinary enterprise, Hestan Commercial. Cheng opened a state-of-the-art 70,000 square-foot facility aimed at producing the most advanced commercial kitchen appliances available. Cheng established the Meyer Corporation that makes iconic cookware brands including Anolon®, Circulon® and Farberware®.
Built entirely in the USA and with six utility patents and five design patents pending, Hestan Commercial is a contemporary kitchen line designed with input from some of the world’s top chefs and leading kitchen designers. The industrial series is slated to roll out in spring; the outdoor and residential collection will follow in 2016.
The company made big news in Metro New York last month. Hestan Commercial announced that they have signed a pact with New Jersey based TD Marketing to represent the firm with Metro New York and Pennsylvania’s dealers and consultant community.
For New Jersey based rep TD Marketing, Hestan Commercial offers a number of key features as they continue to forge a line-up of creative solutions for their Metro New York customer base. “We are very excited to be able to offer American made cooking solutions,” noted the firm’s president Frank Doyle. “Customers truly want American-made products because they want to support their country – it’s a patriotic thing.”
“We are looking to create a new model for the relationship between the chef and the dealer and consultant community that serves them,” noted Hestan’s General manager Eric Deng. “It’s not just about selling equipment. It’s about going through their specification process, build-out, installation and years of service support to follow.”
“Stanley has been successful with his ability to bring something unique and innovative to stagnant industries,” Deng added. We see that opportunity with heavy-duty foodservice equipment and Stanley wanted to do something unique — improve performance, the accuracy of performance, the appearance of products, the flexibility and the, what I call, “cleanability.” Chefs talk about how important it is to clean their equipment. The better they clean and maintain their equipment, the longer it lasts.
Chef Thomas Keller was drawn to partner with Hestan Commercial Appliances because of his ardent support of American based manufacturers and entrepreneurs. Hestan’s commitment to excellence in design, a principle synonymous with his restaurants, including The French Laundry and Per Se is another key component to this partnership.
“Stanley Cheng is an engineer in the truest sense of the word, and to be able to work with someone with that level of knowledge and skill is an honor and an extraordinary opportunity,” says Keller. “His remarkable initiative with Hestan Commercial, illustrates Stanley’s commitment to design. The added knowledge that he’s teamed with Eric Deng, whom I had the pleasure of working with on design development when he was General Manager of Viking Range Corporation, makes me entirely confident that Hestan Commercial will produce the highest quality of appliances in the United States and around the world.”
Just as Cheng revolutionized the world of cookware, Hestan Commercial is set to do the same for the professional kitchen. The entire stainless steel line is “purpose-built,” in response to the challenges that chefs experience on a daily basis, including performance, maintenance, energy use and durability. This includes dual-ring sealed burners that adapt from small pans to large pots seamlessly and counter-balanced, hydraulic-assisted oven doors that provide a soft open and create less wear, to name a few.
Hestan Commercial’s lineup includes freestanding ranges, island suites, countertop equipment, convection ovens, griddles, char broilers, French tops, hot tops, planchas, salamanders, cheesemelters, fryers, pasta cookers and refrigerated bases.
Adds Cheng, “Having Chef Thomas Keller as an integral part of the Hestan family from the beginning helps us establish the highest standards for design, functionality and performance and ensures our commitment to being the best in the commercial marketplace and in kitchens around the world.”
Hestan Commercial is a premium appliance manufacturer specializing in high-end stainless steel commercial appliances and is a subsidiary of Meyer Corporation, the largest cookware supplier in the U.S. and the second largest in the world. Hestan Commercial was designed with input from some of the country’s top chefs, including, Timothy Hollingsworth, Walter Manzke, Corey Lee, Rory Herrmann, Marcus Ware and Amar Santana, and renowned kitchen designer Mark Stech-Novak. The product line is built entirely in the United States.
Renowned for his culinary skills and his impeccable standards, Thomas Keller is the chef and proprietor of The French Laundry, a Yountville, California landmark that has been hailed as the finest restaurant in the world. Ten years after opening this, his first restaurant, in 1994, he followed with Per Se, which brought his distinctive fine dining style to Manhattan. Today, both restaurants enjoy three-star Michelin ratings, making Keller the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious dining guide. Chef Keller has also opened Bouchon, Bar Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc, each of which contributes to the new paradigm he has set within the hospitality industry. More than one million copies of Chef Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestsellers “Ad Hoc at Home” and “Bouchon Bakery,” and “The French Laundry,” “Bouchon,” and “Under Pressure,” a book devoted to sous vide cooking, are in print. Keller was designated a Chevalier of The French Legion of Honor in 2011, the highest decoration in France, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to the traditions of French cuisine and his role in elevating cooking in America. He is only the third American culinary figure to be so honored.
Stanley Cheng is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Meyer Corporation, U.S., distributor of Circulon gourmet cookware. He is an engineer by training, with a penchant for developing technologically advanced products that enhance the experience of cooking at home. Established in 1981, Meyer Corporation, U.S. is the largest cookware company in the United States. Widely recognized cookware brands distributed by Meyer Corporation, U.S. include: Circulon®, Anolon®, Farberware®, Ruffoni®, Cake Boss®, Rachael Ray®, Paula Deen®, SilverStone®, BonJour® and FineT by IQ Innovations®. Together with wife Helen, Cheng also established the award-winning Hestan Vineyards in Napa Valley. Renowned for his innovative thinking and pursuit of excellence, Hestan Commercial is a worthy namesake for the company’s latest commercial kitchen line.
