“By concentrating operations in a single container, the Thermomix can follow a recipe from A to Z by minimizing unnecessary moves and retaining maximum flavor. For my cooking games/techniques, quality of its results/ rendering is essential to me”.
Chef Eric Guerin (La Mare aux oiseaux, at Saint Joachim and le Jardin des Plumes at Giverny, France) (pictured on right)
“I have used and abused many blenders in my time as a chef and none have been able to withstand constant use as well as the modern day version of the Thermomix. The Thermomix has become an integral part of the day-to day running of our restaurant”.
Aiden Byrne, Chef Proprietor, The Church Green, Lymm, Cheshire.
“Thermomix is a great gadget…it will save you loads of time and effort”.
Heston Blumenthal, The Fat Duck (3 Michelin star restaurant).
These are just few examples out of the list of testimonials from professional chefs about the Thermomix. Apart from the array of large equipment in a commercial kitchen, it may come as a bit of a surprise that the small 6.3kg appliance, assumed to be based in home kitchens are widely used in the commercial setting. Indeed, it did begin as a simple blender in 1961 when the company, Vorwerk introduced the VKM5 universal food-processor that quickly became popular amongst home chefs and consistent development saw it evolving to become a nifty multifunctional cooking appliance that fit in seamlessly in any environment; even pastry and chocolate producing kitchens.
In a regular food processor, you would usually have multiple attachments for the different results you require but Thermomix’s only has one stainless steel knife with its 4 blades that runs at more than 10,000 rotations per minute, at 250km/h. What’s interesting to know that while the blade spinning clockwise breaks down food products, the counterclockwise action is meant for delicate ingredients so as not to “damage” them; for example stirring spaghetti at 40 rotations per minute. There are almost 50,000 Thermomixinspired recipes worldwide with every 1,000th person in the world owning the appliance; its potential is limited only to a user’s ideas. Need to prepare a multiple course meal? The Thermomix , cooking with one “hotplate” on three levels, one above the other, allows a soup to be simmering in the mixing bowl while the Varoma attachment cooks potatoes, vegetables and fish. Intelligent calibration means it stirs and heats at the same time without food burning or boiling over therefore if a chef was to cook a risotto or sauce that traditionally requires constant stirring, TM31 will free him to do other tasks. It is also a master of improvisation with its ability to turn coarse-grained sugar into fine icing sugar, a time-saver when you run out.
Chef Ricardo Raimundo using the steaming function
Despite its multi-purpose workload, the accessories are minimal and come as part of the complete set such as the Varoma attachment, simmering basket, and a butterfly for whipping up emulsions. Beyond that, it is simple to tuck away after use while cleaning only requires a little mix of water and detergent into the mixer and allowing it to spin for a few seconds before rinsing off. It might be small in size but its speed of work makes up for it and chefs are still able to churn out relatively high volumes of chopped vegetables, fresh fruit sorbets, grated cheese, emulsified dressings, quick pastries without large processing machines. Of course, investing in a Thermomix should be based on the type of menu you serve and the number of people you generally cook for daily.
A GLOBAL NETWORK
This revolutionary product often referred to as “the smallest, smartest kitchen” is born out of entrepreneurship back in 1883 by Carl and Adolf Vorwerk who founded the carpet factory Barmer Teppichfabrik Vorwerk & Co. in Wuppertal. The company’s divisions include the Kobold vacuum cleaner, JAFRA cosmetics, the still retained carpet business, akf banking group and the HECTAS Group that collectively has a workforce of approximately 600,000 all over the world. Thermomix’s affliates are found in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Taiwan, Mexico, China, Austria, United Kingdom and the Czech Republic while local distributors in 40 other countries make the product available in more markets. The company continuously engages its customers post-purchase through avenues like a recipe book, cooking classes, videos, smartphone app whereby one can plan a meal on-the-go with over a hundred recipes to choose from. It also fosters a community via the Facebook social media platform where users can share recipes and have discussions. Meanwhile, on the professional side, Thermomix chef partners bring greater awareness on the product’s benefit to the commercial cooking arena. For more information on Thermomix and your closest distributing region, visit www.thermomix.com
THERMOMIX FACT SHEET
• Functions: blending, beating, chopping, cooking, emulsifying, milling, mixing, kneading, weighing, steaming, precise heating and stirring.
• Motor: maintenance-free reluctance motor with continuous speed setting, gentle stir setting, clockwise operation (chopping), counter-clockwise operation (backwards rotation to stir without chopping), interval operation for dough.
• Heating: Integrated in the mixing bowl (thick film technology, power consumption up to 1,000 W), adjustability of temperature from 37°C to 100°C (10°C steps possible, +/- 2°C precision), integrated temperature sensor, illuminated temperature indicator (actual and programmed temperature).
• Energy consumption: Energy savings of 50% when compared with a stove, energy-saving mode.
• Integrated scale: Max. 6 kg (up to 2 kg per scale step), 5 to 100 g measuring range in 5-g-steps, 100 to 2,000 g in 10-g-steps, tare button for weighing. • Patents: 13 granted (e.g. Varoma process, built-in thick film heating element, motor, water-tight heating contacts)
• 10 Speeds: Variable speed settings from 40 to 10,200 revolutions per minute.
** All images depicted in the article belongs to Vorwerk.
