Crafted with Purpose
Some things have remained constant, though. Since 1947, AGA cookers have been made at our factory in Telford, in a part of England with an extraordinary history of ironmaking, engineering and specialist manufacturing.
It’s a fitting home for a cooker built around the remarkable properties of cast iron, and for the specialist skills that go into making each one. Many of those skills have been developed and passed down through generations, creating a depth of knowledge that is increasingly rare.
The team includes some of the world’s finest enamellers, who apply the vitreous enamel that gives every AGA cooker its distinctive finish. Made from a blend of natural minerals, glass particles and metal oxides, the enamel is applied in layers over three days, with each piece fired in the kiln at least three times. It’s a process that takes skill, precision and a practised eye, creating the depth and lustre of colour that makes an AGA so instantly recognisable. Slight variations in the finish are completely natural, and the colour can appear to change subtly with the light throughout the day.
From the cast iron at its core to the vitreous enamel that gives each cooker its distinctive finish, each element reflects the same enduring commitment to quality.
Cast iron is fundamental to the way an AGA cooker works. It is not simply part of the cooker's iconic silhouette.
Inside, the large and substantial ovens are also made from cast iron, absorbing and retaining heat before gently radiating it from every inner surface. This creates dedicated cooking environments for roasting, baking and slow cooking, and gives AGA cooking its distinctive character. Behind it all is a simple belief: that cast-iron ovens bring out the best in both food and the cook. It is an ingenious marriage of material and construction that turns the remarkable properties of cast iron into a way of cooking unlike any other.
That same ingenuity has allowed the AGA cooker to evolve. Most of today’s AGA cookers have been designed so they no longer need to be fully on 24 hours a day. Ovens and hotplates can be turned on and off independently, allowing you to choose which parts of the cooker you use and giving you greater control over the warmth it brings into the kitchen. All while retaining the cast-iron cooking that makes an AGA so distinctive.
It is, in part, because of this that the AGA has always found itself at the heart of very special and distinctive homes. If you’re renovating a kitchen or working with an interior designer, choosing your AGA can become part of the pleasure of putting the room together.
The AGA Bespoke service gives you even more freedom to make an AGA cooker your own, with custom colours, finishes and carefully considered details that allow you to make the cooker very much your own.
See the details, feel the materials and experience the craftsmanship for yourself at your local AGA retailer.