Monday, December 18, 2006

Warning! It's Christmas lunch - but not as we know it

Pipettes, heat lamps and nitrogen dioxide charges - award-winning chef John Campbell, from the Vineyard in Stockcross, was asked to find out what turkey and all the trimmings might look like in the future, using kitchen technology available now.

You wouldn't necessarily want to serve this meal on 25 December -you'd probably want to stick with traditional roast chestnuts, sprouts and cranberry sauce. John Campbell, the innovative chef who invented these dishes, agrees. 'My aim was purely to show what is possible with the techniques and equipment available. And no, you wouldn't find this on my menu!' Some of it doesn't taste half bad though, so if you insist on trying this at home you will need the following: a pipette, an acetate tube, an iSi Gourmet Whip or soda siphon using nitrogen dioxide rather than carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide cartridges, a sauce pistol to separate stock from fat (similar to a baster crossed with a funnel), a Thermomix mixer (which cooks and mixes at the same time), a Silpat mat (a reusable sheet which is used in the same way as parchment paper), a spike to serve the meat on, heat lamps, a gravity feed slicer (which is like an industrial meat-slicing machine), a home vacuum-packaging machine (widely available) and a Clifton water bath.

Enjoy.

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