KAMADO, A MILLENARY ART
The term Kamado dates back some 2,500 years in Japan. It means: cooking place, a broad sense of the art of cooking or simply all the uses they gave to it: CLAY OVEN, GRILL, STOVE, SALAMANDER AND SMOKEHOUSE.
The name “Kamado”, according to the Japanese, is uniquely associated with the one made from clay that were manufactured with a manual technique. This ensures unique flavor transmission and flavor retention characteristics. We, in Argentina, comply with this premise, achieving a superior design material to the Japanese due to the quality of the quarries in Argentina. The manufacturing technique also surpasses the Japanese, having achieved greater resistance to high temperatures and greater heat retention.
This puts it at an advantage over Chinese imitations or industrialized reproductions that use “ceramic compounds” or metal, which do not possess any of the qualities necessary to be called or associated with the concept of “Kamado”.
25 YEARS CREATING KAMADOS
In the United States, it was introduced in the 50’s by US AIR FORCE pilots, from post war Japan, under the brand name “HIBACHI POT”. Due to its success, many BBQ manufacturers introduced the “KAMADO POT” brand in the market, referring to the fact that it was cooked in a clay pot. Finally, the name evolved to “IMPERIAL KAMADO”..
In 1966, an Argentine pilot took a course to learn how to pilot a C-130 Hercules at the “TRAVIS” air base in San Francisco. There he got to know the product under the name "HIBACHI". This pilot shared Argentinean barbecues with the Americans, while they invited him to eat with their HIBACHI. In 1968, the product was brought to Argentina and placed on a balcony. This was the first record of a Kamado in the country.
In 1994, the D.I. Martin Béraud contacted a HIBACHI manufacturer in Japan to import and sell the product. He was granted the exclusive right and brought the first batch. In the following years, a new live cooking show was born in a closed enclosure that caused a sensation among the attendees due to the low smoke.
