Blog Event / Product Review | Foodathon … and the Philips AirFryer. A ‘crisp’ idea!

“If we’re not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn’t settle for junk food.”
Sally Edwards

“Has it come? Is it here yet? When can we have the 80% less fat French fries Mama?“…questions that the teen shot at me faster than I could answer but all well worth it! The ‘it’ in question was the Philips AirFryer I was lucky to win at a recent food event called Foodathon in the NCR, North India.

When sketchy event details started making the rounds on FB, we giddily thought it was going to be an ‘eat till you drop‘ event, a food marathon of sorts! Such a happy feeling. The suspense finally ended with the formal invite…

FOODATHON is a platform that will host the city’s online food influencers and connect them relevant brands. The event would see multiple angles of food represented in the form of food and lifestyle bloggers, F&B brands, photographers and experts. The primary sponsor for the first FOODATHON is Philips, and hence the event is being called the Philips FOODATHON. Our other sponsors include The [V] Spot Café and Dunkin Donuts.

The event itself was packed with food related stuff. I got in late {post lunch} so missed the Philips AirFryer demo. I really wanted to experience it in ‘action’ as I had missed the launch which was held this summer as I was off to Goa!

There was a interesting talk on food photography by ace photographer Hemant Sud who  talked us through the different genres of photography,  limitations of the camera, common issues that crop up from time to time related to shooting food, and commercial food photography.

There was also a plating / food presentation by Executive Chef Darren Conole at the Shagrila, New Delhi. I’ve met him a few times, most recently at the MasterChef breakfast meet. He has a great sense of humour and is a good orator like Hemant Sud. Together, they kept us in splits! Darren did a  small demonstration on old school or classic food plating which is the way we grew up looking at food …. flat across a plate, almost ‘scattered‘,  ‘relaxed‘ and quite nostalgic!

Obviously loads has changed since we grew up. The contemporary style of plating {the plating I did on the left above} is more dramatic, vibrant and ‘built upwards’ as opposed to plated horizontally. The comparison was refreshing. Points to consider while plating – the choice of platter, colours and layering of food, focal point and importantly garnishes. I enjoyed the talk, though spent a lot of time giggling with the girls!The demo was followed by a short crisp talk by Sid Khullar about blogging, the connect, the learning curve and making money from blogging. He conducted a quiz, where some of us who answered correctly were asked to participate in a contemporary food plating contest. I was picked one of two winners.

The concept of  a Foodathon is good though I’m not too sure that the location sponsor V Spot Cafe was geared up for an event of the scale, or if it was the best location. On our way out we were handed boxes of Dunkin Donuts Diwali Special boxes, tees from Philips Foodathon and colourful coffee mugs from V Cafe.

The donuts created to herald Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, are quite a nice idea. The garnish and  flavours match traditional flavours like cardamon, pistachio  saffron etc, the colours vibrant & festive. The son dived into the box … “Mmm NICE! Just like the ones we had in Sydney!”

When the AirFryer arrived I wasn’t prepared for the size and ergonomic design. It took my breath away. How pretty and how simply put together! We used it … LOTS! First out French Fries…that’s the ‘signature dish’ that the fryer is well known for and one that uses 80% less oil. It’s true. 2-3 large potatoes, 1 tbsp oil and seasoning is all it takes to deliver this deliciousness.

Then the super excited lad marched me to make crumb fried chicken and potato crisps, both winners! How crisp can crisp be? Outstanding stuff, minimum oil, minimum fuss and easy clean up! The fryer was now on a roll. Next morning saw French Toast {which did get a little caught on the grill} but I’m learning as I go, then for lunch paneer tikka, and the left over marinade went over baby potatoes!

Dessert was chocolate lava cake. Cake because Sangeeta mentioned in her post that at the demo they said that the AirFryer bakes too. I HAD to have a go. Followed the recipe from the AirFryer cookbook but used whole wheat instead of plain flour. The cakes was slightly on the sweeter side yet had wonderful texture. Gooey, chocolaty and warm, these were done in 4 minutes flat! {The paneer tikka took longer than the book said. The recipes for both the baby potatoes & cottage cheese was my own}.

The fryer is quite exciting. I believe it can do loads of veggies too. The only negative is the small size therefore limiting the amount you can cook at a go, so for parties etc it can mean waiting between lots.

Otherwise it’s simple to operate, has an alarm which is a great built in feature, is kid friendly, really easy to clean up, designed beautifully with smooth knobs and the mesh ‘drawer’, and a retractable wire {like the Thermomix}. The AirFryer and Thermomix are ‘counter cousins’ in my kitchen now, black & white, sitting side by side!I got even more adventurous yesterday and baked a cake in the AirFryer! I believe that the AirFryer comes with it’s own special cake tin. Mine didn’t but I found a tin that fit. The cake post is up next, so please stay tuned. Yes, it’s a Fryer that bakes cakes too … and it’s darned good! Good for people on diets or restricted diets, good for kids and a good lifestyle kitchen appliance in general!

{Disclaimer: I have not been paid anything for this review, nor have the sponsors asked me to write a review on the appliance. All views are my own.}

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India