Miele Steam Tox Retreat & a peek at their countertop steam oven

Press events come in all shapes and sizes. Some are casual, low key affairs; while others are epic. Last Monday, I went to a press event which definitely fell into the latter category.

I was with a group of bloggers and journalists who were invited by Miele to what they called their Steam Tox Retreat. The venue for this intriguing event was the stunningly beautiful ‘ultra-luxury’ Rosewood Hotel, in High-Holborn.  I think this was the most beautiful hotel I have ever been to; you can tell a lot about a place by the bathroom and this was amazing!

We hadn’t been invited to hang around in the immaculate marbled bathroom, no we were going to be introduced to Miele’s countertop steam oven. I am quite a poor cook, so anything that gives me a glimmer of making me look better in the kitchen has seriously got my interest. I am also on a quest to lose weight and eat good ‘clean’ food; so steaming is perfect to help me achieve these goals.

Miele developed the first ever countertop steam oven to complement its extensive Built-in Steam Oven range. This allows people to enjoy the benefits of a Miele Steam Oven, without having to fully refurbish their kitchen, which let’s face it doesn’t happen everyday!

We were treated to a cookery demonstration by Frederick Forster, Head Chef at Le Pont de la Tour. He showed us a few recipes that are perfect for the steamer.

“Steaming is one of the oldest, most reliable and healthiest ways to cook but it’s incredible to see just how much can be done with this technique. The possibilities are endless and people are starting to realise just how creative and innovative they can be in the kitchen with steam,” said Frederick Forster

So why is steaming so good for the food you eat?

As Frederick says, steaming has been around for centuries. It has been shown to preserve flavours, colours, textures and keeps more vitamins, minerals and nutrients in your food. Studies have shown that vegetables which are steamed retain 50% more vitamin C than those oven cooked of boiled.  As the natural flavour is retained, you don’t need to add as much salt and also the steam keeps moisture in meat, so there is no need for as much fat to be added.

The thing that struck me most while watching and listening to Frederick was that there seems no almost no limit to what this steamer can do; defrost, re-heat, blanch, stew; you can even steam your cleansing cloth or sterilise your baby’s bottles in it!

The tech stuff

Featuring EasySensor technology; the minimalistic 7-segment display shows temperature and cooking time and the oven is controlled using integrated sensor-touch buttons. Simply place a full water container into the steam oven and the MonoSteam function will enhance the flow of steam in the smaller compartments. The steam is controlled before it enters the cooking compartment which allows for precision control of temperature.

It was great to watch a professional chef at work, I was totally in awe of his knife skills!  Frederick begun his career with the likes of Gordon Ramsey, working for many years at Aubergine.

While the bread Frederick was making was proving, we were invited down to the Sense Spa to try out some wonderful therapies.

The spa was amazing, I felt more relaxed as soon as I set foot in there. We were taken the the circular central room where I was treated to a foot massage, followed by a steam facial and then a hot towel foot treatment. They were all totally divine!

I could have stayed in the spa for the rest of the day, it made such a change to my usual Monday morning!

When we were massaged to the hilt, we were taken for a manicure, which was a real treat.

Then it was time to head back for lunch and to sample the food that we had watched Frederick cook.

I am lucky enough to be carrying on working with Miele on this project and am going to be testing out our very own countertop steam oven, to see if it can turn me into Nigella!  Well, I would settle for a stress free cooking experience.

Over the next few months Miele are going to send us some ingredients and challenge us to good certain things using the steamer. I can’t wait to get to grips with it!

It was such a fabulous event and a great mix of learning how to use the steamer to revolutionise our cooking to being totally and utterly pampered in the spa.

I made a video of my day in the big smoke, I hope you enjoy!

Thanks so much to Miele for the invitation and I can’t wait to see what I can cook up with our new countertop steam oven.

Do you steam in your cooking? What is you favourite thing to cook in the steamer?

Disclosure: This post has been commissioned by Miele. All views are my own honest views.