Nothing is forever
This post is homage to a faithful companion, my TM31 Thermomix.
(For the purpose of the post we’ll call him Timmy).
It’s been a reluctant decision, but a harrowing sabayon the other week and a painful buttercream for a birthday cake has highlighted that perhaps Timmy’s tour on the kitchen front line, has reached an inevitable end.
I’m hoping that somewhere out there on Ebay is a tinkerer of all things electric, who can rejuvenate Timmy’s weary parts and give him a second wind.
After nostalgic conversations we are ready to let him go, he’s earned his keep many times over; his retirement is due and it’s time to bring on a successor.
This kitchen soldier can no longer keep up with the march. His joints are weary and he doesn’t take instructions like he used to. He can get confused and is beginning to struggle to keep a consistent pace. Even today he remains in full service but the performance is compromised. He blended a smoothie this morning (with only a few fluctuations) and is making bread this afternoon. Never a grumble, never a day off and never a night in the cupboard. Our Timmy has a permanent place on the kitchen side.
The Thermomix is well known in professional kitchens but not so well known in the UK on the domestic market. It seems to have a greater domestic presence across Europe and even Australia, but the average British cook often hasn’t heard of it.
I bought a Thermomix when I was starting to do more private catering in 2011. In these situations you often had a very difficult logistical task of tricky catering, in awkward spaces with poor equipment.
Anyone who cooks a lot will be aware that cooking can require a lot of different equipment which can then clutter up your equally precious worktop.
Despite the bum clenching cost of acquisition, having a Thermomix gave me multiple advantages.
- For such a powerful piece of kit it has a very modest footprint, crucial in tight kitchens.
- It’s incredibly versatile so minimises different equipment required onsite – great when working abroad and travelling for contracts.
- It can become a second pair of hands, dutifully watching over demanding recipes like hollandaise or béchamel without error – great when working alone.
Timmy has worked alongside me through three Swiss winters, three Corfu summers, in Austria and on various jobs in the UK.
When I stopped working on private contracts in 2015 he simply took up residence on our kitchen side and has been used pretty much every day since.
For anyone who hasn’t used one, the Thermomix could be considered a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none.’
Like any piece of equipment it has a learning curve to understand both its potential but also its limitations. It could be argued that it doesn’t perform as well as other premium kitchen appliances and in a given context, I would kind of agree.
It isn’t quite as functional as a Kenwood Chef or KitchenAid mixer when it comes to certain baking or patisserie tasks and (one of my few regrets) doesn’t have an accessory to roll out pasta. It possibly isn’t quite as good a blender as a Vitamix 3500i. It’s induction cooking probably doesn’t equal a PolyScience Control Freak and it isn’t as versatile a processor as a Magimix.
With all equipment however there are always compromises and specialist tools will always trump generalist tools at their specific task. It’s a bit like saying there are better olympic lifters, calisthenics athletes, runners or rowers than Mat Fraser.
True, but none have them have the title of ‘Fittest Man on Earth’.
The crux is that the Thermomix can do most of what these other tools can do, most of the time, with the addition of a few tricks up its sleeve. It has one footprint over many, integrated scales, recipes and guided cooking. It can be used to steam, slow cook, even sous vide now. It might not be a master of any one thing, but it’s pretty good a lot.
I’m sad to admit that Timmy, such a loyal piece of equipment, is due for retirement after 10 years of gruelling service. However he leaves behind a legacy for the Vorwerk brand .
There are other competitors on the market now, but after the past ten years I’m excited to welcome his younger sibling, the TM6 to our home to continue in the family honour.
Farewell old friend, together we faced our own Thermopylae and now your time has come…..
