SUMMER KITCHEN ESSENTIALS EVERY FAMILY NEEDS

Summer in Australia isn’t just a season, it’s a lifestyle. Warm evenings, music drifting through the backyard, friends dropping in unannounced, cold drinks in hand, and food sizzling under the sunset sky. Whether you're hosting a casual gathering or a full-blown summer celebration, the right summer appliances can transform your home into the ultimate entertainment haven.

With smart outdoor cooking tools, icy drink machines, and great fridges, your backyard can become amazing. You can also add fun dessert appliances. This will transform your space from just "nice" to truly impressive. Here’s how to design a setup that delivers style, fun, and unforgettable summer moments.

BRING THE HEAT AND THE FLAVOUR: OUTDOOR COOKING ESSENTIALS

There’s no better centrepiece for outdoor entertaining than an outdoor pizza oven. These powerful, high-heat machines bring restaurant-quality pizza straight to your backyard, fast, fun, and full of flavour. No fuss, no waiting around, and no delivery fees.

An auto-rotation gas pizza oven heats up to 400°C, cooking pizzas in as little as 60 seconds. The result? A blistered crust, melty toppings, and a flavour you simply cannot achieve in a traditional oven. It’s the kind of appliance that turns any ordinary night into a memorable event.

But your outdoor kitchen doesn’t stop at pizza. Using your oven with other functional appliances can enhance your outdoor cooking.

For example, you can use rolled ice cream plates and iced coffee makers. This combination creates a fun cooking experience. The Panthera Premium Ice Cream & Frozen Treat Maker is perfect for summer desserts.

Imagine this: pizza for dinner, iced coffee after, rolled ice cream for the kids, and freshly churned gelato for dessert. With just a bit of planning and a bench or two, you’ve transformed your backyard into a fully functioning, summer-ready mini-kitchen.

THE PANTHERA DIFFERENCE: AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE SUMMER APPLIANCE BRAND

One standout brand leading Australian summer entertaining is Panthera, a premium, innovative home appliance range exclusive to Giftbox. Panthera is quickly becoming a well-known name in affordable, high-performance appliances. They have over 200 five-star reviews for products like the Slushie Machine, Ice Cream Maker, Pizza Ovens, and Air Fryers.

   Customers praise Panthera for:

Exceptional quality

Beautiful design

Intelligent presets

Affordable premium performance

Reliable results, every time

The Panthera Ice Cream & Frozen Treat Maker has become a summer icon. With options for ice cream, soft serve, sorbet, slush, gelato, dairy-free treats, and mix-ins, it helps everyone. Kids, families, and dessert lovers can make café-quality frozen treats at home without any skill needed.

WHAT YOU CAN MAKE WITH THE PANTHERA ICE CREAM MACHINE

A wide range of creamy ice creams and smooth gelatos

Light and refreshing sorbets for hot summer days

Soft serve-style desserts with café-quality texture

Custom mix-in creations using chocolate, fruit, biscuits, or toppings

Dairy-free and vegan frozen treats tailored to dietary needs

Low-sugar and healthier dessert options for mindful indulgence

Ultra-smooth results using the Re-Spin function for added creaminess

Want more ideas?

Visit our Panthera Blog Hub for Ice Cream Recipes, tips, flavour inspiration, and step-by-step dessert guides.

A legendary summer setup needs a legendary drink station and this is where the magic happens.

INTRODUCING THE NEW & IMPROVED PANTHERA SOFT SERVE & SLUSHIE MACHINE PRO

Explore our new version of our popular Panthera Slushie Machine. It is bigger, better, and made for those who want more than just cold drinks.

The Panthera Soft Serve & Slushie Machine PRO is the most advanced drink-and-dessert appliance Panthera has ever created. It takes all the great features of the original machine and improves them. It adds soft serve, new drink textures, faster cleaning, and more functions.

This upgraded model is perfect for summer entertainers. It can make icy, creamy, smooth, thick, or chilled drinks from one compact unit.

7 Unique Presets (Exclusive to the PRO Model)

A true all-rounder with a preset for every occasion:

Soft Serve: silky smooth, ice-cream-style texture

Slush: classic frozen slushie consistency

Spiked Slush: ideal for alcoholic frozen cocktails

Frappé: quality icy coffee drinks

Milkshake: thick, creamy, and indulgent

Frozen Juice: refreshing icy fruit blends

Cold Drink: perfectly chilled drinks without freezing

Rinse Cycle Function: A Major Upgrade

One of the PRO Machine’s smartest improvements:

Rinse Mode agitates without cooling, making it easy to clean the unit quickly.

Effortlessly switch between flavours — slush → soft serve → cocktails → frappés — with no waiting time and no flavour crossover.

This upgrade makes the PRO far more convenient for parties, events, or multi-drink households.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE OUR NEW PANTHERA PRO+ SLUSHIE MACHINE FOR SUMMER

One appliance replaces several machines

Perfect for entertaining: from kids’ treats to adult cocktails

Supports a wide range of textures icy, creamy, blended, or chilled

Ideal for drink stations, dessert bars, or weekend gatherings

Delivers Panthera’s signature reliability, performance, and stylish design

The ideal upgrade for anyone searching for the best slushie or soft-serve machine in Australia

The Panthera Soft Serve & Slushie Machine PRO isn’t just an appliance; it’s an experience. It transforms your summer entertaining, giving you endless drink and dessert possibilities in seconds.

DRINKS & CHILL: ICE, SLUSHIES, SODA & MORE

A legendary summer setup needs a legendary drink station and this is where the magic happens.

Soda Water Maker Machine

Perfect for:

Sparkling water lovers

Healthy hydration

Making spritzes or mojito mocktails

Kid-friendly fizzy drinks

Cocktail mixers

A soda maker eliminates bottles and lets you create fresh sparkling drinks instantly, ideal for eco-friendly entertainers.

 companion for hosting unforgettable pizza nights at home.

BEER DISPENSER

Pour like a pro at home with the Refined Gifts Perfect 6 Pack Beer Microfoam Dispenser, the ultimate party upgrade for beer lovers. This sleek countertop tap fits six standard cans and uses micro-foaming technology to create that smooth, creamy pub-style head every time. It even includes an ice pack to keep your beers cold, plus it’s portable and battery powered, so you can take the good pours anywhere, BBQs, game nights, camping, or the patio.

WHISKEY ICE BALL MAKER

A small touch that makes a big impact. Slow-melting ice spheres elevate:

Whiskey

Gin & tonic

Rum cocktails

Mocktails

Cold lemonade or soda for kids

It’s a statement piece for any drinks station.

COOLERS & FRIDGES: KEEP IT FRESH, KEEP IT MOBILE

Not all gatherings need a full outdoor kitchen, you just want chilled drinks at arm’s reach.

SWIG Portable 16L Car Fridge

Perfect for:

Backyard seating areas

Picnics

BBQs

Road trips

Poolside setups

Camping

Compact, stylish, and surprisingly spacious, the SWIG fridge keeps cans icy cold without relying on your indoor fridge.

Playboy Mini Fridge 9L

A bestseller for good reason, it’s stylish, compact, and incredibly practical.

Use it for:

Drinks

Skincare

Desserts

Bedroom or office use

Outdoor entertaining

X Echo 2-in-1 Cooler & Heater

A year-round favourite.

Summer mode? Ice-cold drinks anywhere.

Portable, lightweight, and essential for anyone who entertains often.

Dessert, Coffee & Frozen Treats: The Sweet Finish

A perfect summer night ends with something cold, delicious, and refreshing. Your outdoor dessert station ties the whole experience together.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR BACKYARD SETUP: TIPS & LAYOUT IDEAS

Designing your outdoor entertaining space is half the fun. Here’s how to plan it like a pro:

Pick a good spot

Think airflow for ovens, shade for drinks, and access to power where needed.

Design around function

Do you want:

A Pizza Zone?

A Drink Station?

A Dessert Hub?

Or all three?

Planning zones creates flow and makes entertaining easy.

Think convenience

If your kitchen is far from your outdoor space, add a portable fridge or cooler to reduce back-and-forth trips.

Prioritise easy cleanup

Choose appliances with simple, wipe-clean surfaces and removable parts, especially for:

Slushie machines

Ice cream makers

Coffee machines

A clean space means you’re always ready for the next gathering.

Build a Summer Space Everyone Will Remember