Although I love cooking there are some days (many days) where it seems like hard work. I want something quick and tasty and filling but that needs lots of effort and planning. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you had a machine which you could just throw everything into, turn on, and it would cook dinner for you?! Well luckily there is just such a machine: the Tefl Cook4Me is pretty amazing. It does the cooking for you and takes all the stress out of it.
Not only is the Cook4Me an incredibly useful kitchen gadget but it looks great too. It has a sleek black and silver finish with a large display panel and doesn’t take up much counter space.
The Cook4Me is very simple to use. It has 50 pre-programmed dishes which makes cooking dinner so so easy. We chose a sausage and bean casserole as our first recipe to try, perfect for this time of year. There is a recipe book which lists all the ingredients you need and states for how many people you are catering for. You prepare the ingredients and then turn the Cook4Me on. Once you choose the recipe you want it guides you through the whole process. This would be an amazing present for a uni student or someone who has never cooked for themselves as it really does make straightforward.
The first step is for the machine to warm up. This takes a couple of minutes. This recipe instructed us to brown the sausages, take them out the pan and then soften the onions. I was so impressed with how easy it was to do this. Plus no extra frying pan was used – it is all in the same pot – which means less washing up – yay!
Once those that step is done then you just have to add all the other ingredients, in this case, carrots, beans, chopped tomatoes herbs and red wine. Press the button. Then it cooks them for you and you can put your feet up and enjoy the rest of the bottle of wine.
There is an exciting count down on the display so you know how long the food will take. This recipe took less than ten minutes to cook, when normally I would expect it to take several hours in a slow cooker.
If you want to prepare your meal in advance you can also set the timer for up to 15 hours. This is great if you are coming home late and want a meal in minutes. Much better than buying an expensive unhealthy take away. It also keeps food warm for up to 90 minutes after cooking.
You can lift the bowl straight out to serve.
The finished meal was delicious and I couldn’t believe how quickly it was ready. It is brilliant for parents with little time to think about cooking as you don’t have to stand around stirring a pot for hours.
As there is only one pot it is very easy to clear up afterwards. The ceramic-coated bowl is non-stick, removable and dishwasher safe.
We are currently working our way through the recipes. There are starters, main courses and puddings with lots of variety to make week day meals interesting. You can also cook individual ingredients on their own. It is going to be cooking lots of jacket potatoes in our house! On top of this you can invent your own recipes and there are hundreds already circulating on the internet. The Cook4me costs £250 (although it is currently on offer at Lakeland) I really can’t believe that price for such a great product which will make your life so much easier. I’m already starting to wonder how I did without it.
Now all I need is Tefl to make a KidsToBed4Me to get the children to bed so I can enjoy my dinner in peace and everything will be perfect.
Disclaimer: I was sent the Cook4Me for the purposes of this review.
