What is round, soft green in color, made of space-age ceramics, weighs 140 pounds and is, in a design sense, 3,000 years old. It's Big Green Egg®, the kamado cooker with an army of EGGheads (Good EGGs) determined to convert everyone they know into an EGG® owner. And speaking of an army, it was U.S. servicemen in Asia who shipped kamados back home after World War II. They had learned from experience that this grill cooked better than anything else they had ever used and they feared they would never be able to get one when they returned to The States.

But in the mid-1970s, Ed Fisher decided that the time had come to develop a better barbecue grill than the traditional metal ones then available. He started with this old Oriental kamado concept, improved on it, gave it a catchy name and started selling it out of a little store in Atlanta, Georgia. Initially selling the EGG one-on-one to curious customers who came into his store, he found that his buyers soon became his best sales people as word of mouth helped him gain awareness and slowly begin to grow his business.

Thousands of EGGs later, Fisher, president and founder of the Big Green Egg Company, has enjoyed more than thirty years of increased annual sales and he can hardly believe how successful the company has become. "It's rather amazing we've been able to take a cooking concept virtually unknown in the U.S. and catapult it to one of the most talked about barbecuing products in the country," Fisher says proudly. He readily admits that the cadre of EGGheads has been one of the Company's strongest marketing tools, but he reveals that "these enthusiastic EGGheads have also been very instrumental in improving the EGG. They love to talk about it and they readily report changes they would like to have made based on heavy usage of their cooker. Of course we test every idea extensively before actually making changes," Fisher assures.

When they first asked customers what they wanted in an outdoor cooker, Fisher says "their response was that they needed a perfect, trouble-free cooker that would not crack from extreme weather or regular use, a wide range of cooking capabilities for year-round use and fuel economy with easily controlled temperatures."

Kamados in the Orient were made from clay which eventually dried out and cracked more readily, a problem solved by making the Big Green Egg® from space-age ceramics actually developed for NASA's space program. It is so durable people can cook in rain, snow or freezing weather without worrying about damaging the EGG. In fact, they are so confident about the EGG's durability that the company actually offers a lifetime warranty.

"We emphasize that the EGG® is a grill, a smoker, and an oven, which gives it unmatched cooking flexibility," Fisher volunteers. "You can keep the temperature low-and-slow for smoking and tenderizing less expensive cuts of meat, yet the EGG will reach 700-plus degrees for steakhouse searing, and everything is cooked with the lid closed, which is unique to outdoor cooking." This. we learned, is accomplished by simply opening and closing the vents at the top and bottom of the grill -- which can hold the temperature you want within a few degrees for many hours.

In the end, of course, it is all about taste when it comes to outdoor cooking and the EGG turns out the most moist, fork-tender, flavorful food you will ever taste. Fisher says that Big Green Egg dealers are encouraged to frequently do demonstrations so that potential customers can taste the difference for themselves. "When we get someone to taste how good the food is, they usually decide that they want to own an EGG," Fisher says smiling.

It is no wonder that Big Green Egg retailers all over the country who once wondered how they could possibly sell even a dozen EGGs, now get them delivered by the truckload year around. To learn more about the Big Green Egg, including finding a dealer in your area, log onto www.biggreenegg.com.