There are those among us who relish every minute they spend cooking, just as there are people who would rather do anything else.
The Tokit Omni Cook C2 from Chunmi, an independent smart kitchen appliance subsidiary of Xiaomi, is for folks who fall somewhere in between the two extremes. It won’t cook entire meals for you from start to finish, but it promises to reduce the time you spend in the kitchen considerably.
It could also mean you save on counter space, as it can supposedly do the job of 21 kitchen appliances. That’s probably part of the reason why it costs R20,000 locally.
Cooking made simple
Occupying a footprint of 355 x 244 x 364mm, this Wi-Fi-enabled kitchen helper uses a motor with 30 gears (20 forward, 10 reverse) and a speed range of 40 to 12,000 RPM. The motor won’t need Wi-Fi to operate — that’s so it can access “a global repository of recipes” that is consistently updated, along with precise temperature control (35-180°C).
Follow the steps on the 18cm colour touchscreen, via the website, or the free CookNJoy app on your smartphone, which provides access to “more than 3,000 recipes.” And if nothing tickles your fancy, you can add your own.
If you know your way around the kitchen and don’t need step-by-step instructions, you can use the functions individually. There are 21 in total; they are:
- Sauce machine
- Meat mincer
- Rice cooker
- Grinder
- Sous vide (under vacuum)
- Electric steamer
- Wok
- Ice crusher
- Blender
- Food processor
- Scale
- Yoghurt machine
- Fermenter
- Kneading machine
- Slow cooker
- Juicer
- Kettle
- Shredder
- Stirring rod
- Whisk
- Soybean milk machine
We’re almost sure some of those will prove more useful than others, but we’ll have to confirm that for ourselves.
There are also extra attachments, like a slow-cook plug or double-layer steamer, that allow the Omni Cook C2 to do even more. When you’re done cooking, the device will activate the auto-cleaning mode to help cut down on your clean-up time.
Nicolas Thoenen, founder and director of the Tokit Omni Cook C2’s local distributor, Swiss Diversitas Group, says, “Smart all-in-one cooking machines can be used by both the novice home cook, culinary enthusiasts and professionals. Beginners who follow directions will turn out good food and impressive dishes, while busy folks get what amounts to an extra pair of hands.”
“Just as cell phones reshaped society, we believe that the integration of smart cooking gadgets into daily life will change how we interact with food,” adds Thoenen.
We’ll have to see about that.
