They say that a bad workman blames their tools. Could the same be said of a bad cook? If you’ve ever watched shows like MasterChef or seen TV chefs at work in their kitchens & longed to have their equipment, from today you can. However it could set you back about £65,000.
Electrolux have launched the first professsional kitchen aimed at the home market. Henrik Otto, the Swedish company’s design director, said the system was aimed at “the extremely devoted foodie who wants to dive further into their hobby and the big socialite who sees it as an investment in their social scene”.
In fact the bill for having this kitchen is like to be more like £100,000 once you’ve had a full briefing from a top chef and the help of an architect and interior designer.
The Grand Cuisine System includes nine tools including a sous vide (an advanced boil in the bag device which can also preserve fresh fruit & vegetables out of season, (great for those who want to eat strawberries all year round) and a Molteni iconic French-style cooking stove, designed with the help of award winning chefs such as Tom Aikens and Alain Ducasse.
“I can honestly say the vacuum sealer and sous-vide is my favourite gadget and cooking method,” said Tom Aikens. “The fact is once you’ve tried cooking sous-vide it will change the way you cook forever.”
Sous vide cooked Monkfish wrapped in Parma Ham by Chris Horridge
Ennio Pippia, Director of R&D, Electrolux Professional said “Our research has shown that whilst many home cooks are experimenting with expert cooking techniques, the missing ingredient for creating a restaurant experience at home has been access to professional tools. With Electrolux Grand Cuisine, we have created an interactive and intuitive, intelligent system that will help the at home chef achieve the same world class results you’d expect from a Michelin-star restaurant.”
The Evening Standard report that the “The blast chiller lets cooks prepare a meal in advance, such as a Sunday roast, then put it into a state of “suspended animation” to finish off a few minutes before serving.
The programmable combination oven contains a hi-tech “lambda sensor” that measures temperature and humidity at six points. This makes it easier to control the rate of cooking in different parts of the oven so that for example, a roast chicken is succulent in the middle but with perfectly crisped skin”.
Going back to the bad workman blaming their tools analogy, the Grand Cuisine System does not guarantee an end to bad food or kitchen disasters but Henrik Otto says the system would give hosts a “sense of calm self-confidence”.
What do you think? Do you believe that expensive kitchen gadgets can make you into a better cook? Is there a gadget that would really turn around your cookery or one item that you’ve always longed for if money were no object? Let us know over on Great British Chefs Facebook page.
