How do you make cooking sexy? That is, the actual process of putting food in an oven and letting it do its thing—which is, after all, kind of just sitting in a really hot environment and going from raw to not so raw in varying degrees. Sounds about as exciting as watching grass grow.Such was the challenge for TurboChef, a company with a long history of manufacturing professional-grade ovens, with the introduction of its first consumer model. (Through the magic of Airspeed technology, the new oven can cook a 12-pound turkey in 42 minutes.) The solution was to invite some 250 media types, foodies, and influencers to a live demonstration of the product at Guastavino’s on April 11, featuring celebrity chefs and helpers (roles assigned according to individuals’ culinary abilities) demonstrating the appliance’s quick-cooking voodoo. “We thought we’d invite them to the stage to cook and show how easy it is to cook with the TurboChef,” said Steve Beshara, the company’s chief branding officer. “It’s all so quick with gourmet results.”
The company created a three-oven set in the spare and elegant space and enlisted chef Charlie Trotter to sing the praises of the TurboChef. Through the product’s amped-up technology, he did, indeed, cook a rack of lamb with eggplant and fennel in under 15 minutes. (The meal was cut and served to anyone curious enough to sample it.)
The $7,895 oven-on-steroids was no doubt impressive. But when Trotter emerged 45 minutes after the event’s 6 p.m. start time, he had a hard time with the unforgiving acoustics of the beautiful but high-ceilinged Guastavino’s. And with perhaps a couple of glasses of wine in each of the assembled guests, the cavalcade of cooks of varying abilities and star power (Ted Allen, Kim Cattrall, Alan Wyse, Cynthia Rowley) ended up competing with the din of cocktail chatter. By 7:10, Allen was moved to say, “You guys should pay attention to this, because this is a really easy way to make something stylish and cool.”
—Mimi O’Connor
Posted 04.17.07
Images: © Eric Weiss (Trotter, rack of lamb), © Patrick McMullan (Trotter, Cattrall, Wyse, and Allen), BizBash (appetizers, flowers, set)
The company created a three-oven set in the spare and elegant space and enlisted chef Charlie Trotter to sing the praises of the TurboChef. Through the product’s amped-up technology, he did, indeed, cook a rack of lamb with eggplant and fennel in under 15 minutes. (The meal was cut and served to anyone curious enough to sample it.)
The $7,895 oven-on-steroids was no doubt impressive. But when Trotter emerged 45 minutes after the event’s 6 p.m. start time, he had a hard time with the unforgiving acoustics of the beautiful but high-ceilinged Guastavino’s. And with perhaps a couple of glasses of wine in each of the assembled guests, the cavalcade of cooks of varying abilities and star power (Ted Allen, Kim Cattrall, Alan Wyse, Cynthia Rowley) ended up competing with the din of cocktail chatter. By 7:10, Allen was moved to say, “You guys should pay attention to this, because this is a really easy way to make something stylish and cool.”
—Mimi O’Connor
Posted 04.17.07
Images: © Eric Weiss (Trotter, rack of lamb), © Patrick McMullan (Trotter, Cattrall, Wyse, and Allen), BizBash (appetizers, flowers, set)
Chef Charlie Trotter headlined the introduction of the TurboChef residential oven. Cooks Tim Allen, Kim Cattrall, Alan Wyse, and Cynthia Rowley joined him in the kitchen later in the presentation.
Guests snacked on appetizers made in TurboChefs on-site; the recipes appeared in the cookbook from the night’s gift bag, with contrasting cooking times for the TurboChef and for conventional ovens noted for each. Offerings included beef filet on Parmesan crostini.
TurboChef kept the visual distractions from the ovens to a minimum. Aside from two sets, decor consisted of simple arrangements of white flowers and candles, seating with clean lines, and the architecture of Guastavino’s.
Trotter’s rack of lamb, in his words: “medium-rare, and succulent.”
In addition to the main cooking set, TurboChef also constructed a smaller set to film a TV segment with Cattrall.
Chefs Trotter, Cattrall, Wyse, and Allen prepped asparagus for the TurboChef treatment.
