The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2019 - Issue 26

bite lifestyle Smeg R enowned for their quirky and iconic designs, Smeg was founded in 1948 by Vittorio Bertazzoni in Guastalla, a town near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy and is one of the country’s leading home appli- ance manufacturers. Interestedly, the Bertazzoni family were originally blacksmiths, but branched into building cookers. It was in the second half of the 1950s that they launched one of the first gas cookers with an automatic switch-on function, an oven safety valve, and a cooking programmer/timer. Smeg went on to launch a laundry and dishwasher range in 1963, followed by a 60 cm, 14 plate setting dishwasher in 1970 which was considered a world-first at the time. The mid-1970s saw the arrivals of the very first built-in hobs and ovens and the establishment of partnerships with internationally renowned architects and designers cementing their iconic and inventive quirkiness. In the 1990s, Smeg added even more products to their kitchen line including sinks, hoods and coloured retro 1950s refrigerators.