Abstract: The present invention provides an article of cookware bearing a thermally cured sol-gel coating that is transparent, adherent, and exhibits excellent durability and chemical resistance. Preferably, the sol-gel coating composition, which includes a colloidal suspension of hydrolyzed metal alkoxide particles in an organic solvent, is applied to bare metal such as aluminum and its alloys or to porcelain enameled metals or other substrates using a conventional wet application technique such as spraying. The sol-gel coating composition is then thermally cured at a temperature below about 500° C. to provide a durable transparent inorganic polymer coating that exhibits excellent physical and chemical resistance. The present invention also provides a method of making such an article of cookware.