The salmon, the pear and the Celebrity Chef

Delightful, sunny evening this week at our latest cookery demonstration with lovely guests, a celebrity chef, some salmon, a little wine and a pear. Paul Foster (he of Saturday Kitchen and Mallory Court restaurant) prepared short eats for guests to sample while he cooked the salmon with fresh broccoli and pickled radish which was sampled by everyone along with an Adnams Anjou Rose; just the right lightness and balance. Paul then poached the perfect pear – sous vide style, with sorrel, a caramel sauce and a medium Muscat from Italy (well, from Adnams actually). Everyone agreed it was a fresh and tasty combination and an easy, relaxed way to spend a couple of hours on a Wednesday evening.

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The next cookery demonstration is with Celebrity Chef, Paul Foster is at the showroom at 34 Gloster Rd, Martlesham on Saturday 20th June and it’s FREE.
Online booking is available through www.angliafactors.co.uk or by calling 01394 383646
Pop in and see us, we’re here to help.

SPRING COOKING DEMO – Wednesday 29th April 2015

7pm – 9pm *FREE*
Not long to go now until celebrity chef Paul Foster, head chef from The Dining Room at Mallory Court is showcasing his culinary expertise using the range of kitchen appliances here at Anglia Factors! This is your chance to see first-hand how the appliances we supply work in practise whilst relaxing and having the opportunity to sample the results and ask questions of any of the experts.
The event is free to attend although seats are going fast so if you haven’t booked your place, don’t delay! Book here: https://v1.bookwhen.com/angliafactors
or call: 01394 383646
There will be a raffle in aid of St. Elizabeth Hospice to support the fundraising efforts of our owner Daniel Barr and his son who are taking part in the 300 mile Team 100 London-Paris cycle race later this year.

Robot kitchen anyone?

UK-based Moley Robotics unveiled an autonomous kitchen machine on Hannover Messe 2015 that uses two UR5 robot arms from Universal Robots and robot hands to reproduce the movements of a human chef from a 3D-recording of a cooking process that maps every individual motion. In the space of 25 minutes, the robotic gourmet prepared a bowl of crab bisque from a recipe developed by Tim Anderson, a previous winner of BBC’s Masterchef competition. Its UR5 robot arms, which are mounted above a kitchen surface including a hob and a sink, move up and down as it scrapes butter off a spatula. They even wipe the ladle on the side of the saucepan to prevent drips.
Or….pop in and see us, we’re here to help.

Vanilla spread

An annotated Anglia Factors kitchen in this month’s Vanilla Magazine

Pop in and see us we’re here to help

See Neff appliances in action at free cookery demonstration

Dawn Elsom at a recent demo

Anglia Factors, Suffolk’s leading kitchen specialist, is showcasing the latest Neff appliances at a cookery demonstration on Saturday 16^th May at its recently extended showroom at 34 Gloster Road, Martlesham.

The demonstration, led by Neff’s home economist Dawn Elsom, will take place on the purpose build demonstration kitchen. Dawn will show the audience the advantages and practicality Neff appliances offer by creating a range of dishes for guests to try, while offering explanation and answering questions throughout the demonstration.

Daniel Barr, Owner of Anglia Factors, said: “Neff is the UK’s market leader in built in appliances. Its Slide & Hide oven doors have been in the spotlight recently in the Great British Bake Off tent. These demonstrations have been very popular with our customers. It’s a fun, relaxed way to see how to get the best results from Neff appliances while having a nice time. As a provider of Neff appliances, we want to show people what the appliances can do and invite them to see first-hand how they produce tasty and nutritious food.”

The event is free to attend although booking is essential as places are limited. There will be two seated demonstrations: 10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.00pm – 3.00pm. There will be a raffle in aid of St. Elizabeth Hospice to support the fund raising efforts of Owner Daniel Barr and his son who are taking part in the 300 mile Hospice Team 100 London-Paris cycle ride later this year.

To book a place at the cooking demonstration visit: bookwhen.com/angliafactors or call 01394 383646

Wifi kitchen gadgets

This year has seen the market flooded with a slew of wifi-enabled gadgets and home automation products, and even regular kitchen appliances are getting the high-tech, “internet-of-things” treatment. At the popular American blog OnePlus blog they recently listed just a few of the latest connectable gadgets.

WeMo-Enabled Gadgets
Belkin has been partnering with various home brands to bring their “WeMo” home automation platform to everyday appliances, notably resulting in wifi-ready slow cookers and coffee brewers.
The Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker allows you to control cooking times and temperatures straight from your smartphone via an Android application. It will also send notifications when cooking is complete.

Mr. Coffee’s WeMo-enabled coffee brewer takes the form of their 10 Cup Smart Optimal Brew Coffeemaker. Similar to the slow cooker, settings can be altered and brews can be scheduled via the WeMo application. How did we ever survive without the ability to make a pot of coffee from 500 miles away?

Phillips takes the concept even further with their HomeCooker neXt protoype. Like something straight out of the Jetsons, this auto-dinner contraption is a sort of Frankenstein’s monster, combining a food processor, steamer, blender, and electric cooker. Using an Android application to browse and send recipes straight to the device, users will be walked through the entire cooking process. The HomeCooker neXt will even stir the cooking food at the correct intervals, making the entire process rather fool-proof. The bad news is that Phillips has yet to announce a concrete release date, so our evenings will still be filled with regular cook-it-yourself grub for the time being.

Nomiku Sous-Vide
We have been strong proponents of sous-vide cooking for a while now. French for “under vacuum,” meats or vegetables are placed in air-tight plastic bags and then into a hot water bath. Because temperatures are much lower than with other cooking methods, it can be a long process (taking days in many instances). It’s worth it, though, as the resulting food is impossibly moist and evenly cooked. Our celebrity chef Paul Foster frequently uses our KitchenAid sous vides during his cookery demonstrations.
Unfortunately, this process is… difficult. Without precise temperature control and timing, things can go horribly awry. Like, petrol-station-food-at-3 am awry. If your budget doesn’t run to a KitchenAid system then a gadget known as sous-vide immersion circulator can handle most of the process for you, leading to consistently-perfect results. And, this year, a company called Nomiku took the next logical step: adding wifi. Users can browse, create, and share recipes via the aptly named “Tender” mobile application. Then, instructions can be sent straight to the device from your phone.

Vessyl
While not strictly a kitchen gadget, Vessyl helps to monitor your intake of sugar, protein, calories, fat, caffeine, and more. A seemingly ordinary (albeit beautifully-designed) cup, Vessyl is lined with sensors that identify what beverage you are drinking and how much of said beverage you’ve drank. What makes Vessyl a solid piece of future-tech, though, is its ability to differentiate by brand as well. If you pour, say, a Diet Pepsi into the Vessyl, sensors will automatically recognize the drink by name and send all relevant nutritional data back to your smartphone. Simples.

It’s a great office party accessory for your informal “who has consumed the most absurd amount of coffee today?” competitions.

LG’s HomeChat
This is where things get a bit spooky. LG recently released its HomeChat line of wifi-enabled home appliances in South Korea (though international versions are being planned). In the kitchen, this line includes the “Smart Refrigerator” and “SmartLightwaveOven.” Both are controlled using Line, a hyper-popular texting application in parts of Asia.
The idea here is that you literally “talk” to your home appliances via text messages. For example, text your SmartWaveOven what food you will be cooking, and it will automatically preheat to the correct temperature. Send a text to your Smart Refrigerator letting it know that you are going on vacation, and power-saving mode is wirelessly enabled. The Smart Refrigerator even includes an internal camera that keeps track of your supplies, so users can check what foods need to be purchased right from the supermarket. And, because your newfangled refrigerator knows what foods you have on hand, it will happily suggest compatible recipes (which take into account your health requirements and BMI). Great. Now your appliances will tell you that you’re fat.
Something for the future perhaps – but do pop in and see us, we’re here to help.

Learn cooking techniques at our Neff Feb cookery demonstration

We are holding another of our popular cookery demonstrations at our new showroom in Martlesham on Saturday 7th February from 10am until 4pm. The event aims to help people get tasty, nutritious results from Neff ovens by giving practical demonstrations. We like to give our customers the opportunity to ask questions and see the Neff appliances in action. It is being held in aid of St. Elizabeth Hospice’s Hospice Team 100 London-Paris Cycle, September 15th to 20th 2015 in which Daniel and Alex are taking part. Dan says: “We source the best appliances on the market in order to design and build kitchens that our customers, and team, can be proud of. We want our kitchens to look great but we also want people to use them to cook delicious and nutritious food for their friends and family. For those looking to replace their oven or their whole kitchen, this event is a chance to see a top appliance in action – and taste the results.”

The demonstration will be led by a leading home economist from Neff who will explain the various cooking styles and advantages of the company’s ovens. Neff is the UK’s market leader in built in appliances and their ovens cover steam cooking, the leading circotherm technology and, as a result of the Neff oven’s rapid air assisted temperature gain, you don’t need to pre-heat the oven – a valuable energy saver!

Pop in and see us throughout the day and watch a range of dishes being prepared using fresh, seasonal produce. We’re here to help.

Our last cookery demonstration

Our last cookery demonstration

Our last cookery demonstration

Our last cookery demonstration

Our last cookery demonstration

Our last cookery demonstration

Accommodating Christmas wine

As we approach the ‘Season to be Jolly’ our minds turn to festive feasts and bacchanalian booze-ups. The fact is that, however large the fridge we sell you, it will fill up in no time. At this time of year the situation becomes extreme. It is not surprising then that white wine, always essential, becomes an unwelcome visitor in the fridge door and even in-fridge racking seems better used for that salami or jar of mayonnaise.

With refrigerators packed as tightly as a Jamaican sprinters shorts, how to ensure the Chablis is served at 8°C is up there among the top First World Problems. Fortunately most kitchens we supply feature wine storage and often, a wine cabinet. A place where the Meursault can rest unmolested, the Puligny at peace. If you don’t have one – or yours is on the blink now’s the time consider a special present to yourselves.

Come in and see us, we’re here to help.

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Try induction

A KitchenAid induction hob at a recent demonstration

An induction hob is simply an electromagnet you can cook with. Inside the attractive glass hob there’s an electronically controlled coil of metal. When you turn on the power, you make an alternating current (one that keeps reversing direction) flow through the coil and it produces a magnetic field all around it and (most importantly) directly above it. And that’s all that an induction hob does: it simply generates a magnetic field. It doesn’t generate heat. You can put your hand on top of it and you won’t feel a thing unless it’s recently been used for cooking because of the heat from the cooking pan that’s been standing on top of it.

When you stand a suitable cooking pan on top of an induction hob that’s switched on, the magnetic field produced by the hob penetrates the metal of the pan. As it swirls around inside the metal’s crystalline structure, it dissipates its energy. So the metal pan gets hot and heats up whatever food is inside it.

Benefits include: –

Efficiency and speed

A Neff Induction Hob with Elica extractor above

A traditional cooker generates heat energy some distance from the cooking pot or pan. With induction cooking, the heat is produced in the pan, not the hob, and much more of the energy goes into the food. That’s why induction cooking is more energy efficient than most other methods (around 84 percent compared to 71 percent for a traditional hob).

Induction cooking also gets energy to the food more quickly; typically, it’s around 25–50 percent faster than other methods.

Convenience, control, and safety

Induction hobs add energy efficiency and clean lines

Induction hob are usually easy to clean, wipe-clean ceramic or glass cooktops.

You can turn the heat up or down with as much speed and control as a gas cooker (unlike an electric hob which takes some time to heat up or cool down).

There’s no open flame on an induction cooktop and (until there’s a saucepan actually present) no heat to burn you. Heat appears only when the cooking pot is in place. Electronically controlled cooktops can detect whether pots are standing on them and how much heat they’re producing, and most will cut the power out automatically if they’re left on by mistake or if a pot starts to boil dry.

Induction cookers built into ceramic hobs are only a couple of inches thick so they can be fitted at any height (good for disabled people in wheelchairs who might want a low-level kitchen).

We stock Neff, Miele and Kitchen Aid induction hobs as well as others and have years of experience fitting them. many are on show in our newly extended showroom – pop in and see us, we’re here to help.

The same (clean!) hob as above showing pop-up, horizontal extractor

More teasers for the new showroom

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