LE MARQUIER chooses PEUGEOT Design Lab to design its new planchas

LE MARQUIER, creator of top-of-the-range planchas near Bayonne in southwest France, has called in the expertise of PEUGEOT Design Lab to design its Allure planchas in accordance with its industrial equipment to take advantage of its high-quality manufacturing methods. The designers at the studio came up with a convivial, ergonomic and elegant plancha with a subtle Basque identity in its curvaceous lines. Its design was specially studied to allow it to be manufactured using Le Marquier’s existing facilities. The Allure planchas, available in electric or gas versions, are sold on the lemarquier.com website and via Maison LE MARQUIER extensive retail network.

 “First of all our cooperation with PEUGEOT Design Lab was an enriching human experience. The teams at the studio immediately understood what we wanted: to give our new collection of planchas a boost thanks to a modern and convivial design while keeping the excellence and quality associated with Maison LE MARQUIER and ensuring that they could be manufactured with our existing production set-up. When I took charge of LE MARQUIER three years ago, this company was the standard-setter for planchas. I wanted to preserve the 50 jobs at the workshop in Saint Martin de Seignanx (near Bayonne) and also to assure the future of our French know-how. Our planchas are certified Guaranteed French Origin since 2013. I also had to refocus the offer of planchas, a booming market, while sustaining our other product ranges of barbecues and fireplace accessories.” declares Régis Flusin, CEO of Maison LE MARQUIER.

To design this ”plancha of the future“ for LE MARQUIER, PEUGEOT Design Lab was able to count on its industrial design expertise and its past projects in the culinary sphere. The studio has designed the food truck called ”Le Bistrot du Lion“ for PEUGEOT, the ”Milan“ salt and pepper mills for Peugeot Saveurs, as well as a very practical, nomadic oyster bar for the Gillardeau Oyster House.

A design evoking conviviality, quality, and identity and devoted to user pleasure

 ”We came up with an attractive, convivial, softer, more feminine, and less technical shape to modernise the design of the planchas. The angles and buttons are rounded and the front plate more streamlined. The size and shape of the new planchas are not so different from the existing models. There was no question of starting from scratch and redesigning everything so that the new planchas could be made with the existing production equipment" declares Céline Venet, PEUGEOT Designer.

The ergonomic design is all about pleasure for the user. The control buttons are inspired by those of cooking hobs and have a pleasant grip-surface for the fingers. Thanks to the integrated piezo ignition, the user can turn on the plancha and set the temperature at the same time. A tray in the front plate collects the cooking juices and opens thanks to a buttonless push-pull system inspired by modern furniture.
The elegant style of the “Allure” planchas radiates quality and is a subtle reflection of LE MARQUIER’s roots in the Basque Country and the Landes region of France. The curved lines of the cooking plate suggest the waves of the Atlantic, the sand dunes, and the rolling hills of the Basque Country. This dealignment visually centres the control buttons and makes the plancha more streamlined. Especially in the “duo” version with two colours, where the upper part in black steel contrasts with the lower part in stainless steel.

The excellence of the materials is typical of the quality of LE MARQUIER. The SIGNATURE Allure planchas come with a lifetime guarantee, which applies to their enamelled, cast-iron cooking plate and the stainless-steel burners of the gas planchas. The electric version is equipped with radiating elements which allow a heat increase from 0 to 300°C in just 9 minutes. The French colours of the “LE MARQUIER” logo, riveted on the front plate, give the finishing touch to the plancha.
The Allure collection comprises three models. The gas-powered “Duo” model, with its front plate in stainless steel and steel painted with black epoxy, is proposed at the price of €549 tax included. The “Inox” model, with its front plate entirely in anti-corrosion stainless-steel that is resistant to sea air, comes in electric or gas versions at the price of €599 including tax.
The Allure planchas can be purchased via the lemarquier.com website, and are also proposed throughout the Maison LE MARQUIER retail network (DIY stores, garden centres, specialist stores, etc.). List of retailers available on lemarquier.com