Head Chef Justin Lesso and his team at the Kitchen at Bench still like to prepare some things traditionally.
“We love being able to cook in the RATIONAL manual mode; it keeps the spirit of cooking,” he said. “We still braise traditionally – it’s easy because the probe will track when the right temperature is reached, and then the unit will keep the temperature at the precise level. It’s almost like a sous vide without the water bath.”
His favorite thing to cook in the RATONAL? Lasagna, with a picture-perfect crust every time.
He likes how the RATIONAL can transition quickly from dry to moist heat. “This is such a powerful tool for blanching and is so much faster and safer,” he said. He reduces oil usage by shallow-frying chicken wings in the RATIONAL at 500°. It’s a cleaner take on deep frying, but still has a great taste.
It helps with labour savings, through the self-cleaning function and because the cooks don’t have to monitor food while it is cooking, allowing them to work on other things.
He also appreciates that the RATIONAL is self-contained and keeps the heat inside the unit and out of the kitchen.
“RATIONAL simply makes my life easy,” he said.