Compiled by MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY
Be prepared to be impressed
Chef and TV presenter Andrew Rudd isn’t used to losing his audience’s attention, but at a recent cookery demonstration he was giving, quite a few of us found our focus veering away from his tips on easy entertaining towards a magical machine he was using. It chopped up vegetables, sweated them, cooked them through and blended them into a super-smooth pea and mint soup.
The über-gadget was a Thermomix, a German-designed machine that weighs, chops, grates, whisks, blends, kneads, cooks and steams. Although it is intended for domestic use, professional kitchens have really taken to the machine, which is about the size of a small bread maker, as it allows chefs to make silky soups and sauces without any stirring or straining. “It’s the one piece of equipment I’d miss most; it’s in heavy use all day here,” says Mickael Viljanen, of Gregans Castle in Co Clare, who is the Restaurants Association of Ireland chef of the year 2011. “I have several German guys in the kitchen, and they say their mothers all have them. I’ll be buying one for home as well.” Almost all professional kitchens have at least one, and they are exactly the same as those sold for domestic use.