For many home chefs, entertaining in the kitchen is about creating a delicious meal, and sharing a few laughs - and a bottle of wine or two - with good company. But some kitchen appliance manufacturers are taking the description of "entertaining kitchen" a bit more literally. --Lauren Hunter
At the 2007 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas May 8 to 10, Siemens unveiled its new Multimedia Range Hood. Featuring an integrated television, DVD player, and CD player, the unit maintains a modern aesthetic with clean lines and stainless steel, while also making the user's favorite TV shows, movies, and music available right where they want them. The 17-inch LCD screen is embedded into the chimney portion of the hood, but don't worry about the volume of your favorite cooking show being drowned out by the unit itself. The hood emits only about 40 decibels of noise when in use. Look for the new model to become available in the U.S. July, at a retail price of about $2,500. Siemens. www.siemens-home.com. 888.474.3636.
Also available soon will be LG's HDTV Refrigerator. The new premium model builds on the company's award-winning Weather & Info TV Refrigerator. The side-by-side model incorporates a digital, cable- and DVD-ready television tuner with a 15-inch high-definition LCD screen. Moreover, beyond weather, time, and temperature information, the model's Weather & Info Center also offers a bank of recipes from the Culinary Institute of America, and can upload the user's digital photos for a refrigerator-mounted digital photo album. Available in the second quarter of 2007, the refrigerator will retail for $3,999. LG. www.lgusa.com. 800.243.0000.
