In The Ideas Kitchen With Rachel Allen & Panasonic

A few weeks ago I was invited to an event with Panasonic to test out their new Slimline Combi Microwave Oven and SD-ZB2512 Breadmaker. Having had a Panasonic breadmaker quite a few years ago that had been passed onto me by a family member who had it for a long time previously I can already vouch for their durability and great results but the new machine is on another level. The microwave is also pretty exciting with a slimline design but no compromise on what it can deliver. You can cook such a wide variety of food in it that it makes me wonder if you would even need a standard oven anymore!

The lovely Rachel Allen was demonstrating a few recipes for us in The Ideas Kitchen including the most incredible Dulce De Leche Brownies. Everything from Roast Beef, Foccacia, Baked Potatoes, Brownies as well as Lemon Drizzle Cake were made in front of us ( and by us ) in less than an hour using just the microwave and bread maker. Yes a joint of beef in the microwave and it tasted incredible.

The event was held at the truly gorgeous Cactus Kitchen in London which is famous for being the set for Saturday Kitchen Live and we even had a chance to take a sneak peek at the set which felt very strange when it was completely empty. I kept expecting James Martin to pop his head out from somewhere.

There were 6 bloggers at the event and we were placed in pairs to create two dishes for us all to enjoy at the end of the event. Myself and Gail from One Million Gold Stars were tasked with making Lemon Drizzle Cake and Roast Beef with Salsa Verde and it was all incredibly simple. I was incredibly impressed with both of the new machines and their ease of use. I was particularly excited to learn that the new breadmaker can be used to create artisan bread, rustic loaves and sourdough from start to finish..yes you can even use the machine to make your sourdough starter.

These were the end results:

It was a delicious meal with great company between my fellow bloggers, finally putting names to faces of people whose blogs I enjoy such as Karen from Lavender & Lovage and Sarah from Maison Cupcake as well as the lovely staff from Panasonic and Rachel Allen who I had met previously on a cooking weekend several years ago and I was touched that she both remembered me and asked after my daughters – such a warm, friendly woman.

I’m looking forward to my breadmaker arriving shortly and I will be sure to share what I think with you as well as my recipes I come up with.

* I was invited to this event by Panasonic and will receive a Breadmaker to review.