Cuisinart and an update from Babette

27th February 2021

Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director 

Well, my email almost didn’t happen this week because I’m pretty pushed for time and in any case, there are precious few lines of new stock that have arrived other than everlasting Le Creuset and I just know I’d have a riot on my hands if dared mention them again. However, in the nick of time Em came to my rescue this week. But just before I get to that, I’d like to thank you if you were one of the 46 people who bought one of the lovely Le Creuset Jugs or the 71 pieces of that company’s Craft Kitchen Tools, the clear winner of which, was the Spoon Spatula. That’s a lot of product by our standards, so yes, thank you very much.

On another note, Babette is now back from her stay at the Arcadia Clinic and has written an update, the link to which is at the bottom of this email (in a bid to encourage you read everything else beforehand!) well this is a commercial endeavour…

So back to Em, she had just taken delivery of a couple of new Cuisinart lines that really appealed to her, so let me tell you what she and I discussed. In fact, not only that, but this week, after I’d written the first draft, I asked her to suggest some other uses for both the machines and I got a little more than I was counting on, so as it flowed, I left in her additions written in blue!

Now, for years Cuisinart have been about to discontinue there ever popular but dated “Mini Chopper / Food Processor” that, for small jobs around the kitchen such as chopping nuts making mayonnaise etc, worked a treat. For the last 3 or 4 years they’ve been heavily promoting them, down from 49.00ish (if I recall correctly) to £35.00 and we’ve sold quite literally several hundred over this time. It looked a bit cheap and old fashioned, but being Cuisinart quality, it did what it said on the can. Now, sadly it is no more but they have brought out a replacement called The Mini Prep Pro for £49.99.

The Mini Prep Pro
It’s slightly larger than the old one and has a decent capacity of 0.9litre or just over 1.5pts. The lid, like its predecessor, has a couple of small holes for drizzling oil in to make your mayonnaise, it works, we anticipate, very fast like the old one (we did plug it in to see). And, like the old one, at full tilt it makes a sound reminiscent of a child in a supermarket who has not got what it wanted, and wants the rest of the shop to know how mean mummy is. It’s light in weight, which means it’s not a handful to take in and out of the cupboard (or a deep draw) where you might keep it. A real little gem of a product I think, and a worthy replacement for the old one. A cracking little helper if you're a curry paste maker. The blades sweep the bottom of the bowl so every little bit of your ingredients should get pummelled. So blitzing a paste and marinade for butter chicken takes seconds – garlic, ginger, shallot, spices and yogurt...simple. Big enough to take a can of chickpeas for a homemade humus, add some olive oil, celery salt and a pinch of paprika for a different twist. [Another idea that springs to mind is that when I was doing training this morning in Banstead, Denise mentioned wild garlic pesto, yummmmm] 

3 in 1 Cordless Blender
The other product is their “3 in 1 Cordless Blender”. This is a pretty serious bit of kit, selling as it does for £130. So, for this money you get a battery driven blender, with a charging stand that I imagine one would keep out on the countertop. Good for soups, baby food, puree or even Pâté (I do a very herby chicken liver Pâté with cognac and garlic). The reason for it’s title, is that you can replace the blending blade with two other attachments. There’s a whisk which really flies, but because the machine has 5 speed settings you can whisk stuff up in a jiffy, but as well flying through the job, when the double cream is just about “getting there” you can slow it to a crawl to get it “just so”. And when in a hurry, if you lift the business end out a touch too enthusiastically, it doesn’t redecorate the kitchen for you, (on slow speed) great! It has some sexy lights that reminded Em of a spaceship, an indicator light shows the battery level and a second funky light shows what speed you're set at, and it also has a mash potato attachment (not just potato, all sorts of vegetable mash can be made...as long as its soft enough to squish. I think it feels, all-round, like a quality bit of kit. Downside? I didn’t like the safety feature that prevents you accidentally switching it on with your fingers in the wrong place. Sensible but a little awkward I felt…but then I’m a bloke, so I don’t do safety…

Babette’s update can be found here.

I trust you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.

Kind regards

Andrew

Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director