After spending a lifetime designing technology for use in space, Brian Kennedy has returned to Earth to invent a truly innovative kitchen appliance.
The 1959 Oxford High School graduate created the CoolCooker, a slow cooker with a built-in refrigeration unit.
It’s the first of its kind because no other slow cooker on the market is capable of keeping food cold and safe until it’s ready to be eaten.
‘We sold one to a woman in New Zealand,? said Kennedy, an engineer who spent approximately 40 years at the University of Michigan designing scientific instruments for satellites and oceanographic research.
‘I asked her how she found us. She said she went out looking for a device like this . . . and we had the only one she could find.?
Using the CoolCooker is simple.
Ingredients can be placed in the 3-quart removable, nonstick aluminum cook pot at any time, whether it’s for dinner that night or the next day. There, they remain safely refrigerated until the programmed cooking time is reached, then the device automatically switches to heating mode. There’s no need for anyone to be home to flip the switch.
Users can set cooking temperatures in one-degree increments, up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the equivalent of the low setting on conventional slow cookers.
Because of its programmable timer, the CoolCooker doesn’t overcook meals. Once it’s finished cooking, the device keeps the meal warm for up to four hours, then automatically reverts to refrigeration mode and basically serves as a mini-fridge.
‘We use it almost every day,? said Kennedy, who lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Dr. Anne Kennedy. ‘Virtually, the only thing we cook with is the CoolCooker.?
Kennedy said this appliance is perfect for his wife because she enjoys cooking, but she can’t spend long periods of time in the kitchen anymore due to her arthritis.
With the CoolCooker, a person doesn’t need to spend hours slaving away on dinner.
It takes an average of 10 to 20 minutes, including cleanup, to prepare a meal’s ingredients for the CoolCooker.
It can make just about anything including a whole slew of meat and seafood dishes, lasagna, soups, Mexican food, desserts, even yogurt.
Recipes can be found by visiting www.coolcooker.com. ‘There’s lots of recipes on the website,? said Kennedy, adding that many of them came from his daughter.
The 3-quart pot holds enough food to feed ‘four reasonable people,? according to Kennedy.
‘People keep telling me they want bigger ones, but what I point out to them is a lot of people are used to putting a lot of food in a 7-quart (slow cooker) to feed large groups or have food for later,? he said. ‘The idea here (with the CoolCooker) is you don’t have to do that because you can use it every day. You don’t have to (prepare) large quantities.?
‘And what I tell the people with teenage sons is you’d need a dump truck anyway (to feed them), so I’ll never make one big enough,? Kennedy added.
The idea for the CoolCooker was spawned at an Ann Arbor restaurant about 10 years ago. The Kennedys were dining with a friend and discussing how difficult it is finding the time and energy to prepare healthy, delicious meals while working full-time jobs.
Although the concept was conceived within a matter of minutes, it took Kennedy more than a decade of testing and tinkering with prototypes to make the device a reality.
Kennedy, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from U-M in 1963 and 1965, pointed out that legendary American inventor Thomas Edison once said, ‘Inventing is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.?
‘He’s wrong,? Kennedy said. ‘It’s 0.01 percent inspiration and 99.99 percent perspiration. In fact, even that’s wrong.?
Although it took him a long time to develop the finished product, Kennedy never felt frustrated.
‘I’m a technical guy. I’ve built a lot of stuff in my day,? he said. ‘I know this stuff takes time. Nothing ever gets done the way you hope it (will).?
Early on, Kennedy pitched the CoolCooker idea to established kitchen appliance companies like West Bend and Cuisinart, but they were ‘just not interested.?
Someone familiar with how these big companies operate explained why to Kennedy.
‘The amount of effort that I’ve had to put into this thing to make it work is not something they’re willing to fund,? he said. ‘If you consider what it would have cost to do this in a company where you’ve got to pay people a decent wage, benefits and things like that, it’s a very large sum of money.?
‘At that time, it wasn’t ready to be manufactured,? Kennedy noted. ‘There was still a lot of work left to do. It was long before it was ready to go into production. And I didn’t know that. I was not aware of the amount of effort that I needed to put forth in order to make this happen.?
Among folks in the ‘space business,? Kennedy said there’s saying that applies here ? ‘If I knew how hard this was, I wouldn’t have started (it) in the first place.?
After retiring from U-M in 2000, he spent a number of years working as a contractor for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Overall, Kennedy found the whole inventing process to be an ‘enormously rewarding experience.?
‘It was a lot of fun,? Kennedy said. ‘I got to work for myself. I didn’t have a boss ? except for my wife, but we won’t talk about that.?
To all the potential inventors out there, Kennedy offered this simple, yet sage, advice ? ‘If you aren’t ready to work, don’t bother.?
The Cool Cooker went into production in December 2015 and approximately 950 were manufactured.
It sells for $299 and so far, about 35 have been purchased.
To learn more about the CoolCooker or order one, visit www.coolcooker.com.