THE FUEGO BLOG

Check out The Greatest Snack Food Stadium Ever Built. Now this is my idea of a Superbowl spread.

- RB

I guess it's true what they say, 'Don't mess with Texas!'  Especially when it comes to BBQ.

Thanks Stewart!

My job takes me a lot of places. All across the U.S., China, Singapore, Taiwan, England, Germany, Italy, etc. Lots of places you'd expect design and manufacturing to happen. But over the last year, I've developed a design relationship with a company in a place I'd never expected: Dubai.

First of all, let me tell you about Dubai. You've all seen the images and the news specials. It is a place of open possibilities. The tallest buildings. Communities rising out of the sea. Disneyland-like malls, hotels and entertainment centers. Development on a scale never seen before. It really is mind boggling. For example, you probably have seen the Burj al Arab. The famous hotel that looks like a sail, built on a man made island just off Jumeirah beach, in which the rooms start at US$1,700 a night. Well, when Sheikh Mohammed decided to build it, it was a $2 billion project. In a $10 billion economy! He spent 20 percent of their GNP on a hotel. Well he was right. It has come to symbolize Dubai and catalyzed the region as a destination. If you Google Dubai, half of the images will be of the Burj al Arab.

Given that this is my inaugural entry for the blog, it seems fitting that it’s about the latest Fuego product, the Modular. After Alex and I created the 01 and 02, we had a serious “so, what’s next?” moment. So we started with the foundation of what Fuego is all about: outdoor living, modern design, and socializing with friends. Looking at trends in outdoor grilling, the obvious target to apply our philosophy to was the outdoor kitchen, a growing trend among homeowners.

When we observed what was out there, we saw more of the same old stuff. Pseudo industrial appliances jammed in permanent stucco and tile structures. Pretty boring and nothing Alex and I would want in our back yards (if I had one – I’m a city dweller). So we decided to bring the Fuego idea to the outdoor kitchen and the Modular was born.

What the Fuego Modular is about is an extension of the 01 and 02 to a larger scale, with more capability and social content. We decided on a modular system so that customers really could design their own Fuego. We defined what we wanted in it: grills, cook tops, storage, warming drawers, refrigeration and a sink, along with the famous Fuego ability to hang with the cook, a tenant of the experience. The first thing I decided was that I wanted this to feel freestanding, like a big piece of furniture. Light, strong, but independent from the architecture of the home. This n...