Amongst the rolling hills of rural Waimauku sits a handsome outdoor wood fireplace with million-dollar views.

The fireplace belongs to a young family passionate about outdoor cooking – and it’s no mistake that it doubles as a professional outdoor kitchen.

Father of three boys and BBQ connoisseur Andy was intrigued when he saw the Escea EK1250 Outdoor Fireplace Kitchen being assembled in the Love Kitchens workshop across the way from his home. So, he stopped in his driveway to take a closer look.

“He was instantly impressed with the quality of the Escea EK Series and how we could custom build any surround to fit – 2 hours later we had nutted out a location and design, and we ordered the Escea EK1250 that very evening” – Rhys Mellor, Love Kitchens.

While the family already had a sophisticated outdoor kitchen setup, they wanted to create a separate cooking area where they could fully indulge in the ritual of open-fire cooking – surrounded by nature with lots of space for the family to lounge, and chat amongst the flames.  

waimauku by love kitchens ek1250 close up
waimauku by love kitchens ek1250 close up

"The space that they had earmarked capitalised on the best views on the property, so it was only a natural fit to locate an EK1250 there with a Love Kitchens setup, and still only 20 meters away from the main kitchen."

The EK1250 is a modest hero – purposefully situated to the side to let the rural scenery take pride of place in the landscape.

“We wanted to keep to the surrounding greenery and not take it away when standing at the kitchen.  Going a dark colour like charcoal really complements the surrounding areas, and almost hides it. Positioning was also very important; we didn’t want to disturb the view, so it was located to the right for full effect.”

waimauku by love kitchens ek1250 side on
waimauku by love kitchens ek1250 side on

The fireplace surround was made in the Love Kitchens workshop using Kitset framing and the flanking bench was made of silicone sleepers, moulded from real timber to mirror the rustic tones and textures that make up the surrounding vistas.

“This material was fantastic as it’s not a timber product, it means that it will never rot, fade or distort under heat.”

While the logistics of moving the almost 1.2 tonne structure was challenging – the end result is worth every effort as the fireplace finds its permanent home.   

“As a passionate amateur outdoor chef, the EK1250 works perfectly with Andy’s cooking style, with lots of fire and heat. There was really no other choice. The Ross family did investigate other options, even looking at friends’ fireplaces, but after seeing the quality of the EK1250’s in our workshop, no other fireplace came close”

The Escea EK series comes with all the functionality you would expect in a kitchen – grills, plates, meat hooks – an ember generator and even a pizza oven accessory. Everything Andy needs to hone his flame grilling skills in the outdoors.

Find out Rhys’ advice for creating your own outdoor kitchen here. Or get closer acquainted with the Escea EK Series Outdoor Fireplace Kitchen here.