While most of us don’t give the fridge much thought as long as it’s cold, a chef will tell you that a mediocre fridge can turn a bravo meal into bleh. Keeping a consistent and specific temperature is critical to preserving some foods, and Samsung’s latest Chef Collection refrigerator is stuffed with features to do exactly that. Oh, and it looks sexy, too.
At first glance, the Chef Collection fridge appears to be a fairly standard four-door, brushed stainless steel chill chest, with a bit of a curve and a door-mounted icemaker. But wait, no handles? The doors are flat, and they’re opened with slots chamfered into the inner edges. There’s also no LED or LCD status panel as is common on most recent fridges. When you open a door or hit a button, the Chef Collection fridge has a huge microdot display drilled into the left door, making the large status readout appear as if it’s floating on the door metal. When not lit, the tiny holes are barely visible. This is a unique design feature that Samsung has applied to a handful of other appliances as well. Basic controls for ice and water are on the in-door dispenser, while the rest of the controls are hidden on the lower door’s top ledge.
Beyond looks, Samsung’s made a number of chef-inspired changes to the guts of the refrigerator itself. Unlike the plastic back wall found in most fridges, the Chef Collection’s back wall is a metal cooling plate. Since metal absorbs and conducts heat more quickly than plastic, it helps temperatures stay more consistent and recover quickly when warmer items are placed inside. Another chef-driven feature is the temperature-selectable bottom drawer. While a temp-controlled drawer is not a new concept, Samsung heard feedback that it needed to be colder for optimum storage of seafood, while allowing warmer temperatures to be set for fresh greens and other items that should not be stored below freezing. So the temperature of the “Chef’s Pantry,” as Samsung calls it, can be set to either 30 or 35 degrees. Another welcome addition is the inclusion of a pair of stainless-steel marinating pans that are sized to slide under the bottom shelves or fit in the Chef’s Pantry. They are oven- and dishwasher-safe, allowing for fridge-to-oven cooking in the same pan, which cuts down on the number of dishes needed.
Hands-on video
At 34 cubic feet, the Chef Collection fridge is plenty large to accommodate a major grocery haul. Samsung has not announced availability timing or pricing just yet, but since the Chef Collection represents a new premium line for Samsung, we’re expecting a price tag to match.
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