Who wants vacuum-packed watermelon?
A guest at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, who orders a portion of grilled ribs in the dining room, will receive a chunk of meat that was cooked for 42 hours in a tub of warm water in a high-tech kitchen in Virginia, inside a vacuum-sealed bag. The chefs in the hotel only have to heat up the meat, still in the bag, and then decorate the plate. If the description of the entree doesn’t make you feel like calling your travel agent and reserving a vacation in Phoenix, you are not alone. In the mid-1990s, it became known that some of the entrees served at the chain of French restaurants Chez Margot had been prepared by the technique of cooking inside vacuum-sealed bags. A short time later, the chain went out of business. It is strange to discover, therefore, that the technique of cooking in vacuum-sealed bags (in French, sous vide), is one of the hottest trends among the greatest celebrity chefs in the world – from Joel Robuchon, Paul Bocuse and Alain Senderens, to Charlie Trot
