Raymond Blanc Seasons Winter 2008/9

RAYMOND BLANC’s SEASONS KITCHEN
Kitchen tools
of the trade
Top chefs call it the batterie de cuisine – a set of essential items that will cope with every cooking need
from a simple casserole to a complicated Michelin-star status dish. Start your batterie with a set of
good knives and some high quality pans, adding items as you go to build up a collection a professional
would be proud of. BY JAN ORCHARD
M
rs Beeton, that fount of all wisdom on the middle and cooler around the edge. Tradi- ovens (BS 220 and BS 224). Six of the seven
all things culinary laid down advice on tional range cookers such as the Aga offer this models are 60cm wide and one of the Combi-
equipping a kitchen that (ash catcher kind of heat combined with fast and slow ovens steam ovens – namely model BS 280 – is 76cm
and a few other esoteric items apart) is still pretty below that provide perfect conditions for cooking wide. All these models are A rated for energy
relevant today. We’re luckier now than in the traditional British dishes such as roasts, casse- efﬁciency and ﬁnished in stainless steel or
great Isabella’s time. New materials such as non roles, creamy rice puddings and rich fruit cakes. aluminium to coordinate with Gaggenau’s award-
stick coating for pans, super-accurate ovens, Modern induction hobs are as fast and reac- winning new built in single oven range. For serious
high speed hobs and versatile electric blenders tive as gas and are used in many professional bread bakers (and many other uses) these steam
and mixers mean that one person can cook and kitchens because there are no naked ﬂames and ovens are the business. This company is also the
manage a kitchen rather than the six or more very little risk of ﬁre or accidental burns. ofﬁcial supplier to Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons
deemed necessary in the Victorian home. In Mrs Thanks to microchips and digital control, and the Raymond Blanc Cookery School.
Beeton’s time the dinner service with matching modern electric ovens really are multipurpose.
tureens, comports and meat platters was de Right at the top end, Gaggenau’s single and
rigeur. Today we’re more casual. Large plain double ovens include some very sophisticated
white plates mixed with colourful oven to table features such as a meat probe, steam cooking,
casseroles, serving dishes and large platters suit pyrolytic self cleaning, several different cooking
our more relaxed, laid back style – with the dinner functions to suit a variety of dishes, pre-
service saved for a starring role on Christmas Day. programmed one touch recipes and more.
If you don’t know how long your chicken will
The cooker take to cook the oven will work it out and will
The cooker and hob are the engine room of your keep the dish warm when cooking has ﬁnished.
kitchen. For pro chefs gas and induction are the Gaggenau also makes a large range of top rated
only choices when it comes to hobs – conven- induction and gas hobs and now also offers ﬁve
tional electric hobs are just too slow. Most chefs combination steam ovens (BS 280, BS 270, BS
cook on a traditional French top which is hot in 274, BS 250 and BS 254) and two pure steam
www.raymondblanc.com RAYMOND BLANC’s SEASONS 81
RBS12_kitchen.rky.indd 81 1/12/08 10:50:17 am
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