It’s Not Just a Pipe Dream
BANG! BANG! Bang! Bang bang bang baa… Imagine this is the sound of 10 whole nutmegs bashing around a stainless steel Thermomix bowl. But wait, it’s getting steadily quieter… and now I can’t hear any banging at all. It’s only been 30 seconds and Thermomix has wowed four chefs by grinding whole nutmegs to a fine powder.
We go on to peel garlic, chop herbs and make fresh breadcrumbs in three seconds. Several chunks of Montgomery Cheddar are grated in about six seconds. Then we make a delicious fruit sorbet in under three minutes.
But as you either know already or might have guessed, Thermomix does so much more than even these amazing tasks, so we go on to cook and stir a gorgeously smooth crème pâtissière (that thick filling for éclairs and choux pastry) in just six minutes with no stirring, followed by a beautifully green pea purée which positively delights the soul with its silky smooth mouth feel. And before that, we made beautifully kneaded bread dough in just over two minutes!
Mike Matthews of Pipe Dream Restaurant has just gotten himself a Thermomix and Madame Thermomix has gone to show him and his fellow chefs how to use it. That evening, amateur chef Barney Morgan is living his dream by running his own restaurant-for-a-night and we go on to make a cauliflower purée as part of his cauliflower cappucino amuse bouche.
Thermomix blends the most gorgeously silky purées and this one is no exception. It tastes good, too, but it’s somehow lacking something. More garlic? A squeeze of lemon? MasterChef 2011 Champion Tim Anderson is there to lend a hand that evening, and I can see his brain working, searching for his trademark taste combinations. Tim suggests we add some grated cheese. “Grated cheese? How weird!” is our initial thought, until of course we make the connection to the quintessentially English dish called Cauliflower Cheese. For my American readers, this is simply cooked cauliflower covered in cheese sauce and baked in the oven. It’s on a par with what we call Macaroni and Cheese but the English seem to drop words here and there and call it Macaroni Cheese. A rose by any other name… would taste the same!
Getting back to the point, Tim’s suggestion hits the mark and the cauliflower purée takes on a deep and satisfying flavour. It’s now perfect.
But what do a couple of amateur chefs and a MasterChef champion have in common?
They all are living their dream, and thanks to Mike Matthew, it’s no pipe dream! A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve. With the amazing number of cooking shows on the telly these days, it’s no wonder so many people are looking to change careers and go into the catering profession. You see TV interviews with contestants saying their dream is to one day run their own restaurant. But, as Mike says, “a restaurant is an expensive venture and for most it remains just a dream. Pipe Dream is dedicated to making that dream a reality, where a chef or restaurateur can live the experience of running their own restaurant.”
In July of this year, 2011 MasterChef Champion Tim Anderson opened Pipe Dream with three sold-out nights of World-influenced cuisine. “I’ve always dreamt of running my own restaurant, but even after winning Masterchef it’s a long way off. Pipe Dream gives me the opportunity to get my ideas off the ground quickly and easily.”
Jackie Kearney, a top 4 semi finalist in the same series of BBC One’s MasterChef 2011 as Tim, treated Pipe Dream guests to her Asian street food in September, a few weeks after Barney’s French-inspired evening of cauliflower cappucino fame.
And coming up on November 22nd, Madame Thermomix’s pal Cyrus Todiwala OBE of Cafe Spice Namaste joins forces with Pipe Dream to support two outstanding causes, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and The Clink Charity and demonstrate Pipe Dream’s commitment to the wider community.
So if you’re a budding wannabe chef or restaurateur and want to try your hand at your own restaurant-for-a-night, contact Mike Matthews at www.pipedreamrestaurant.co.uk and live that dream because thanks to Mike’s amazing idea, running your own restaurant is no longer a pipe dream!
Bon appétit !
