You use the commercial TurboChef oven in your five-star restaurant, Seeger’s, where quality food is all important. What is your impression of the oven’s performance and the food that it delivers in terms of its speed and ability to deliver the quality you demand?
“With the specific products we prepare in the TurboChef oven, we’ve discovered speed and quality that we’ve never seen before. There is simply no question about it. For example, we bake whole Vidalia onions on the oven for our onion tart recipe. That takes three hours in a normal oven. We’re baking them in 8 minutes in the TurboChef oven. And on top of the speed, the onion retains its color. It stays snow white. That’s perfect for presentation which is very important to me. Whereas a typical oven will cause it to brown, which is not as desirable. On top of that, it’s delicious. The quality is perfect and that says it all. It’s remarkable.”
“With the residential unit the results are even better. Plus, we can extend the applications and do things that can’t be done in the commercial unit. I prepare a semolina soufflé in the TurboChef commercial oven that takes two and a half minutes. The TurboChef residential oven cuts that time down even further.”
“But I don’t want to just concentrate on the speed of the oven. For me, it requires quality. That is the beauty of this oven. Even delicate items come out perfect. There is a dish I make with fresh fish and vegetables en papillote that will cook in four minutes and goes from the oven directly to the table ready to eat and delicious. The cooking process firms up the fish and retains its moisture. So its taste and texture are fantastic. I really love the fish dishes that come out of the oven. And this recipe is great because it makes an instant meal in one step with the fish and vegetables cooked all together.”
When you first heard about TurboChef, what were your thoughts? Has cooking in the oven changed your perception?
“The first impression was, "How can this be? I’m cooking something in two minutes that normally takes fifteen. It’s simply not going to work." But then it does and it is amazing. But of course the true test is when you taste and eat the finished product. That’s all that matters in the end. The question for me is always, "Is it good enough to be served in my restaurant." And the answer is consistently yes.”
What do you cook with at Seeger’s in the oven?
“We started with preparing our soufflés in the oven and the results where very impressive. Whether it was chocolate soufflé, a semolina soufflé, or a fromage blanc, it would always hit a home run. We make a very savory stuffed tomato that is fabulous. For baked and roasted meats we get excellent caramelization and browning that is very desirable. And it goes beyond roasting, but there are a number of additional applications. We love to steam items in the oven. And with the residential oven you can even grill fish and meats now.”
Do you have any recipes that you’d like to share?
“We’ve developed a number of recipes that when cooked in a TurboChef taste just like the dish they would have if they came to Seeger’s. And in this oven they are simple to cook. There is a roasted poularde will cook in 12 minutes and come out perfectly delicious. There is a very flavorful and beautiful onion tart that would normally take hours to prepare, but now it takes only minutes. And an excellent raspberry clafouti that I think is fantastic. Two and a half minutes. That’s amazing.”
How will this help the home chef as it crosses over from commercial to residential kitchens?
“The interface that offers automatic cook setting is incredibly useful, it’s easy to use, and takes the guesswork out of speed cooking. The oven does all the work for you. It is an intelligent oven. A chocolate soufflé, which is a relatively difficult item to master in a regular oven, can be cooked perfectly in about two minutes. And the home chef and their guests will be amazed every time they open the oven door. The results are bulletproof. It delivers success for the home chef every time.”
“And the possibilities are tremendous for home application. We talk about fine foods and five-star gourmet, but there are a lot of people that are going to appreciate the practical aspect of it. There are "real" items that people cook every day that will look and taste great. The oven performs well at every level - from fine food to every day food - the entire spectrum of cooking. My cooking can be adopted to the residential oven. But it also can grill a steak, sear a tuna and bake a pizza in a few minutes. That’s pretty incredible. So I think that makes it even more valuable in a home kitchen. If the oven only cooked five-star cooking, that would be good for me. But it also has to do that frozen pizza. That’s very, very important.”
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