Next on the agenda was a beverage. For that, we tested out the Swiss-made Jura coffee machine – it looked like the Impressa J9.3 RRP $2899. In went La Zumba beans, and out came a medium strength coffee with plenty of lovely thick foam from the in built steamer.
Welcoming remarks were made by National Sales Manager for Tefal Australia Gary Cahill.
Tefal is part of the 140 year old Groupe Seb, with other brands including Krupps, Moulinex and All-Clad.The Cuisine Companion has been on sale in Europe for 18 months with strong sales demand.
Tefal and Harvey Norman staff on the night were noticeably excited about the machine which was nice to see.
Cuisine Companion Consultant for Tefal, Matthew was our chef and product demonstrator for the evening. Keep an eye out for him running demonstrations in your local Harvey Norman in Adelaide over the coming weekends.
Here are the 15 key insights I picked up about the Tefal Cuisine Companion:
2. The Tefal CC is sold through retail stores, with a 2 month exclusive deal with Harvey Norman as sale agent (by comparison,Thermomix is sold via parties).
4. Retail price is $1699.
6. It has 1550 watts of power from the motor (Thermomix has 1500 watts) and has a maximum temperature of 130 degrees.
7. It has a simple, large button, user interface, with a one line digital display (Thermomix has a larger digital display screen).
- an ‘Ultra blade’ to cut n dice, an attachment for Mixing,
- an attachment to Whisk, Whip and emulsify,
- an attachment to Crush
- an attachment to knead all standard
- a hardcopy Recipe book with 100 each of entrees mains & desserts, making 1 million possible meal combinations
- separate 1gm increment scales (Thermomix has built in scales to 5gm accuracy)
- Spatula
- Cleaning tool
- Apron.
10. There is a 24 month replacement warranty from Tefal
11. The machine is quiet.
13. Can swap the attachments mid recipe without emptying the bowl
14. The stainless steel bowl gets hot to touch during the cooking process
15. If you forget an ingredient, say the liquid component of muffins, then the machine can initiate it’s safety feature to turn off if overheated for half an hour.
How did the food prepared in the Tefal Cuisine Companion taste?
The texture was surprisingly still good in the Guacamole (Entree No 5). It was not super smooth, characterless mush, rather it still had some toothsome chunkiness. The recipe was good as it tasted great. It called for a teaspoon of Tabasco which made some in the audience gasp, (not me I’m a chilli fiend) but it was not spicy.
The Vegetable Muffin (Entree No 18) was mixed in the machine in accordance with the recipe. It was light and fluffy with plenty of properly cooked but not textureless vegetables throughout.
The Summer Vegetable Risotto (Main Meal No 133) was very impressive. The grains of rice were separate, not gluggy, and slightly al dente as they should be. The creamy sauce well coated the grains. It was very, very tasty, more than I had expected.
Rockmelon and Mango Gazpacho (Dessert No 274) came out silky smooth and thick, like a dairy free smoothie. I enjoyed the taste and texture though I couldn’t taste much of the ginger and lime.
Will I never chop by hand again?
Only if you want to. There is a pulse function on the machine that can do it for you (not the peeling though!). On the night, preparing the vegetables for the muffins, and the fruit for the gazpacho, was done by hand.
Is it all I need?
No, you still need other appliances and equipment, like an oven, pots & pans, and a freezer/ice cream maker. The machine can’t cook things like a loaf of bread, or sear a steak. Likewise, it can do the mixing component of cold dishes, like terrine or ice cream, but cant chill it inside the machine.
The bottom line?
It does seem like a labour and possibly washing up saving device. Menu planning is easy which would help with shopping.
At this price point, research into the options makes sense.
I also attended a Thermomix party and have compared seeing both units in action.
Special thanks to Harvey Norman employee Filomena for her hospitality on the evening.
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What do you like the look with the Tefal Cuisine Companion? Comment below!
good info thanks – have you been to the thermomix demo yet and if so, what are your thoughts?
Hi There! Yes I have now been to the Thermomix demo, and my thoughts are now live on the blog at: http://www.willungawino.com/2015/03/thermomix-vs-tefal-cuisine-companion-a-comparison-adelaide-march-2015.html Happy Cooking!
Great comparison between the Thermomix and the Tefal. Any chance you’ll be getting to try out the Kitchenaid Cook Processor? I’m interested to see how that compares!
Thanks and great question Jillian! I have just heard about the new Kitchenaid Cook Processor and hope to be able to see a demo or trial the new machine at home. Stay tuned!
Recipe for summer veg risotto please?
You said “will I ever need to chop by hand again”! And that you hadn’t observed a pulse function. If you have a look at the photo of the machine controls, on the lower left hand side you will notice a pulse and turbo button. These are used for chunky chopping etc.
Hooray! I didn’t get a chance to get up close with the machine, but that’s great news. Thanks for letting me know. Cheers, Louise @ Willunga Wino