Soufflé is a French direct-to-consumer cookware brand founded by entrepreneur Rocco Ghrenassia. Soufflé’s mission is to reinvent responsible and attractive cuisine, bringing people together through their appetite for food and fine craftsmanship.
Soufflé’s products are as sustainable as possible, taking into consideration the materials, manufacturing processes, the amount of energy used during cooking and the location of factories, which are all in a small area of Northeastern France. Only non-toxic materials are used and each product is independently tested and certified free of lead, cadmium, cobalt, aluminium and arsenic migration.
Pentagram developed the industrial design of Soufflé's porcelain bakeware range following on from the successful design work completed on the brand identity, carbon steel cookware range, packaging and visual identity. The bakeware range comprises a rectangular lasagne dish, round pie dish and lozenge-shaped gratin dish. All share the same design language as the original cookware range.
Porcelain was chosen for its inherent properties of mechanical resistance to shocks and drops as well as its thermal resistance. Porcelain is considered an ecological material, the raw materials (clay, silica and flint) are widely available and extracting them has minimum negative impact on the environment. The manufacturing of porcelain produces little waste, the raw materials can be recycled and the products themselves can be recycled at end of life.
By working closely with the factory throughout the process, the design team were able to maximise the opportunities of the material, adding ergonomic details such as handles which are unusual on ceramic bakeware. The range is designed to be used from oven to table and a series of matching wooden boards were developed to function as trays for carrying and presenting the dishes, doubling up as tight-fitting lids to keep leftovers fresh.
