Sous vide cooking at home – is it worth it? | The Tool Shed

Sous vide cooking at home – is it worth it?

Previously, Heston Blumenthal predicted that sous vide cooking would be the biggest change in the domestic kitchen since the microwave, and we couldn’t agree more!

You’ve probably heard Heston raving about sous vide ‘revolutionising the way we cook at home’, or seen the machinery being used on Masterchef and the Great British Menu, but we want to take a closer look at whether it is worth having a sous vide machine in your own kitchen.

Is Sous Vide cooking worth it?

A lot of home chefs rely on sight, touch, taste and smell, so the precision required by sous vide machines might be off putting, but it really shouldn’t be.

Cooking food using sous vide techniques requires little work and is great for cooks who want a worry free method; simply vacuum seal your food in a bag, place in your preheated water bath and leave to cook until needed again. No basting, stirring, simmering etc.

If you’re rushed off your feet or looking to cook food in advance, this method is definitely for you. Similarly, if you’re just looking for a stress free, simple way to prepare delicious, perfectly cooked meals, it’s highly recommended.

Benefits for the home chef

Mark Poynton, chef at Michelin starred restaurant Alimentum, explains how it’s not a gadget just for the professional kitchen:

“I’ve got two kids and I use the water bath all the time when cooking for them – it’s great. For example, because the veg holds all its nutrients, I know they are going to grow up knowing what a carrot is supposed to taste like.”

Bowl of Carrots

Other benefits include:

Simple

No matter what level of experience you have in the kitchen, it couldn’t be easier to get to grips with this method of cooking. Simply find the correct temperature and cooking times and leave the bath to do its job.

Precise

With delicate foods like fish, or precision dependent foods such as steak and lamb, traditional methods are difficult to get right every time. There is always the risk that you will overcook or ruin the texture of the food.

Sous vide cooking methods are extremely precise, and allow you to keep the food at the specific temperature for a long period of time without ruining the dish.

Flavour

You can let the food speak for itself; because it is cooked in a vacuum sealed bag, all the juices are locked in throughout the full cooking time to intensify the flavour.

Vacuum sealed dish

Time

As you are cooking the food at the perfect temperature, it can’t be overcooked. This means you are able to hold it in the bath at the control temperature for a long period of time, past its cooking time, without ruining it.

Improved Nutrition

Quite often, when using traditional cooking techniques, food loses the fats that add nutritional value. As with the food’s juices, sous vide cooking techniques keep essential vitamins and antioxidants locked in with the food.

What equipment do you need?

To get you started, there are three essential pieces of equipment:

These are all available to buy separately from SousVide Tools, or come as a three part promotion.

Or, for help choosing the right machines, contact us on [email protected].

Recipe suggestions for the home chef

Whether you’re getting started or looking for your next dose of culinary inspiration, we have a range of sous vide recipes perfect for the home chef:

Chicken Breast, perfect for salads, sandwiches and pastas
Sun-dried Tomato Lamb with Cous Cous, a great dish for dinner parties and family dinners
Steak, simply team with chunky chips and a sauce of your choice

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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