As said by ATUM Desserant’s Jason Ho, the person putting on a performance for guests must not only be confident of his / her skill in cooking but also engage in conversation with guests whilst doing so. With these two elements in their pocket, what other tools will they likely require to complete the task? And we also look at some items specifically made for diners to interact with food to a certain extent.
FONDUE SET
A chocolate fondue pot can be manual and uses a tealight to keep the melted chocolate at a consistent temperature. The pot for this is typically made of earthenware, ceramic, porcelain or tempered glass and could be suitable in a dessert bar styled like home or nature-inspired and where chocolate fondue is something available but not exactly the “house special”. For businesses selling this specialty on a larger scale, an electric set will ease operations as you just need to plug it in, set the temperature and let your guests dip. Fondue fountains will add to the aesthetic value with the constant flow of chocolate. Consider serving dipping items in a multi-compartment tray – various colours and textures of food together in a single focal point draws attention.
BLOWTORCH
The nifty tool gives a nice browning and crusty finish to desserts like creme brulee, meringue, marshmallows or even cupcakes. It is more efficient to get a trigger-style igniter as it does not need a spark-making striker to star t. Check the BTU output as low flames might affect the food product; for example, taking too long to torch the sugar on creme brulee can cause the custard beneath to curdle and break.
PORTABLE STOVE
Induction heats up faster and gives you the ability to adjust the cooking heat instantly and to a sharp precision which might be a helpful factor for cooking delicate desserts at the table. It also offers safety as only the area where a vessel is placed will be heated. You will need electricity supply which might be inconvenient for some places; in that event you could consider a portable single stove with an attached gas cylinder for more mobility.
SQUEEZE BOTTLES
Nearly indispensable in any kitchen for providing a way to keep sauces and dispense easily; it is also used by dessert chefs to squeeze out dots of purees or semi-liquid elements to decorate the plate. The small dispensing nib helps with portion control and can be snipped off if intending to dispense items thicker in viscosity. Many have found it useful to dispense pancake batter as it is less messy and also useful to create cute patterns with it.
WHIPPING SIPHONSWhen chefs no longer decorate with plain old whipping cream, the siphon comes into the picture and it is a flexible tool that allows chefs to top a dish with foam, infuse fruit and whip cream, of course. Typically a metal container, it pressurises liquids with nitrous oxide (N20) and the pressurisation results in different effects such as foams, froths, liquid infusions or carbonated food; also depending on the thickening or stabilising agents added into the liquid prior to being dispensed from the nozzle.
ANTI- GRIDDLE®(POLYSCIENCE)Bringing the opposite of heat, this tabletop size unit features a -30°F / -34.4ºC plate that allows rapid uni-directional freezing. Known as flash freezing, the technique lets you create frozen desserts with cool and liquid centres or use fresh ingredients as lollipop sticks for flash frozen lollipops; even freeze a round ball of sauce that will melt on the dessert upon serving.
