Thermador Test Kitchens

Last week, my husband and I headed off to Southern California to the Thermador Test Kitchens in Irvine. If you’re not familiar with Thermador, it is an upscale kitchen appliance manufacturer. They also make the BOSCH and Gaggenau brands. We went with a National Association of Home Builders 20 Group that my husband and I are part of, since we are self-employed custom home remodelers. Thermador is one of our corporate sponsors and they were gracious enough to host our meetings at their new Test Kitchen facility, feed us incredible meals, and teach us about their awesome appliances during an interactive dinner where our group became chefs!

The meetings were amazing. We arrived each morning to a full breakfast – prepared by their chefs. I really could get used to people serving me food!! Fresh berries, home made cinnamon rolls, bacon, sausage, yogurt. There was always something for everyone. And I loved this coffee maker. It ground beans and brewed one cup of coffee or espresso at the touch of a button. Could be dangerous in my house!
Thermador toured us around their showrooms. They had Bosch, Thermador, and Gaggenau showrooms. You’re probably not surprised that this herb garden wall caught my attention immediately! I’m trying to figure out where I could put one in a future house. I love the idea.
They also had one kitchen set up with all of the competing appliances – ready to cook on so a person can learn the difference. We learned about steam and convection ovens {a much better and healthier way to cook, compared to the microwave} and induction cooktops. I was pleased to see cast iron and tri-ply skillets in the kitchens! I really enjoyed watching the chefs and learning a teeny bit from them. Some day, I would love to go to culinary school. I have a friend who just finished up at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and I am totally jealous of her!

For two days, the Thermador chefs cooked us amazing breakfasts and lunches. I didn’t want to go home. The food was incredibly delicious and I didn’t have to cook or clean. My favorite lunch was an Asian mix with sticky ribs, won tons, soba salad, and fried rice. They sent the recipes home and I am going to try really hard to recreate part of this meal.

I also found a new favorite soda! I don’t drink much soda anymore, but these Sanpellegrinos were really good.

 After our second day of meetings, our group headed into the test kitchens and got to cook our own dinner. The chefs had everything prepared for us and all we had to do was try to follow directions. It was pretty funny. I was thrilled that I knew how to reduce liquids and made a great sauce for the rotisserie chicken, but honestly, some of the directions were a little hard to follow and I heard some funny stories about the chefs’ reactions to some of our interpretations of the directions. 😉

It didn’t help that the beer and wine flowed very freely that night. 😉 But we were still able to prepare an amazing meal:

Arragoant Bastard Beef with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce and Fingerling Potato Coins
Rotisserie Chicken with Dijonaisse Sauce
Bread Pudding with Fresh Berries

The food was amazing! I’m in love with Thermador appliances and can’t wait to get a forever house to put them in. I’m making some of these fabulous recipes in the weeks to come and will share them with you as I do!

For now though, I am off to Arkansas – by myself – on my first solo getaway in over NINE years. I’m heading to the first ever Social Fabric Conference and can’t to share with you what I learn there!!

Have a great weekend!