Tefal i-Companion XL Connect FE90C160

A Handy Kitchen Companion! – The Tefal I Companion is a great kitchen appliance. The instructions in the cook book and on the app are step by step and easy to follow. Initially, feeling a bit overwhelmed with all it could offer I signed up for the demo and this was very informative and went through each cooking program and what it was for and how to use it. A great reminder… Read more

in the demo was to think of the appliance as a pot and cook with it accordingly. I basically found this to be true. You can cook a whole recipe from start to finish, but the machine was not as good at browning or consistently frying meat as opposed to cooking a casserole or a soup.

The pros: How well it is supported with an app and its bluetooth connectivity, cookbook and demo, it is a great looking addition to any bench, you can replace other appliances with one machine, beautifully consistent soups, dips and mash, the ability to make tasty breads and cakes with the pastry function, the ease of the machine, quick and little fuss casseroles and risottos.

The cons: The only fault I had was cleared up after demo. A lock icon would often appear on the display and this is related to the lid not being closed or needing to be on or off depending on the heat of cooking. It may also relate to the machine not being in place properly. This was no where in the manual and I felt a troubleshooting page would have been beneficial. Also perhaps being clearer on when to change the attachments underneath the machine needed to be written into the instructions. The Tefal is a great addition to the kitchen once you are confident in its use. Like any new cooking machine you need to take the time to get to know it and then it is quite a handy, efficient companion!

I LOVE the pre-set cooking modes and synced Tefal app – This was a really great product to have been given the opportunity to test and review on behalf of Tefal & Product Review. My first observation on pulling the product out of the box was the high quality of the product and accessories. I was particularly impressed with the steel steam basket which is an included accessory and sits inside the bowl,… Read more

as opposed to some others where it sits on top. I currently have a Thermo Cook Pro-M, sold by Froothie Australia so I'm confident with improvising with these kinds of machines, but I was keen to take up the offer of a free, virtual 45 minute information session with Tefal to go through the different components of the machine. I really appreciated the run down and it gave me more confidence and a better understanding of the machine.

The Tefal also links with an app that syncs to the machine via bluetooth and allows you to follow the progress of the steps from afar. You can use the app to select recipes, some of which automatically set up the time, speed and temp on the Tefal. All you need to do is press Start. My husband and I have had fun trialing all sorts of recipes - some we make often, some were newly inspired, and some were purely a test for the machine. We had predominantly hits with a few misses. Let me go through the pros and cons:

Pros: - The use of the Tefal app to connect via bluetooth, select a recipe and work through the steps is a real pro. The fact that some of the synced recipes will automatically adjust the settings to reflect the recipe you've chosen is great. All you do is press start and keep working through the steps. Often a combination of manual and automatic settings. It's new & needs some polishing, but it's fantastic! - The quality of the machine and accessories are to a high standard. - The stabilising feature is highly effective, though I would express caution when using the grinder accessory & "supervise". - The automatic cooking 'settings' for soup, pastry and slow cooker are game changers for busy households. I love these features so much. As an example, I select Slow Cook P1 which browns my onion for 5 mins at 130 degrees. I then add my soup ingredients (let's say I'm making pumpkin soup), select the Soup P1 setting 1 which goes for 40 mins at 100 degrees. However, at about the 38 minute mark the machine kicks into blitz mode and blitzes my soup for 2 minutes. Then it's ready to go for the family. I've made soup a few times and this has just been fantastic. - Bolognaise came out perfectly and I found myself wandering around the house wondering what to do with my time, what with no pots to stir. Just brown the onions with the Slow Cook P1 setting, add the rest of your ingredients and select the Slow Cook P2 setting and in 45 minutes the sauce is ready to pour over the pasta you've boiled. - The quality and consistency of the food it blends is nice and smooth. I make hummus all the time and this machine makes much better hummus than my current one (same recipe, better consistency). - I find the Tefal I-companion gets to the temperature quickly and cooks evenly - The settings are intuitive and easy to use - Fudge came out fantastic - not having to hover over the pot while the i-companion stirred and maintained a consistently hot temperature for 25 minutes made this so ridiculously easy to cook (and we have done on more than one occasion)! - All the parts except for the rubber seal can go in the dishwasher. - The rubber seal is fixed to a firm ring so that it is much easier to manipulate on and off of the lid to clean. - The cleaning brush that comes with it is fantastic at getting into all the little nooks and crannies of the different attachments. - It's surprisingly quiet - It's easy to clean

Cons: - I think what lets the I-companion down is the quality of the recipes on the Tefal app. It doesn't currently have the community tried and tested recipes that some of the other more well known cooking machines have. In fact some of them are just inaccurate. This will improve over time I'm sure and is no fault of the machine, but it can be a great waste of food and time without well reviewed recipes. - The i-companion comes with a cookbook, but not many of the recipes are included in the Tefal app which was disappointing when I wanted to use that feature to cook one of the recipes in the book. - I prefer a bowl with one handle like a jug, rather than the two handholds that the i-companion has. It's really difficult to pour something out of this type of bowl when you need two hands to hold it, but you need a third hand to scrape out the contents of the jug. This is a downer for me. - The 'Slow Cook' setting is misleading - so before you jump up and down that this might actually slow cook your brisket, I'm sorry to tell you that it won't. The max cooking time is about 2 hours. When someone finally makes a thermo cooking machine that also slow cooks as well - THAT will be the gamechanger. - Cost is really going to make this an impossibility for many families, but it's comparable to many others on the market and the quality is definitely there. - The 'min' and 'max' words on the inner lid which can be adjusted depending on the amount of steam you want to let out are really hard to read.

Neither here nor there: - Some people will be disappointed that there are no built in scales. The I-companion comes with separate kitchen scales. - The lid is clear glass which is great except when you're cooking hot things because it steams up and you can't see through it anyway.

Overall, I really, really love the pre-loaded settings which allow you to press one or two buttons, walk away and come back to dinner ready for the family. When I look at this kind of machine I really want it to be something that fits in to the way our family already cooks, rather than us having to change our cooking style. On top of being able to tick that box, it has also opened new doors for cooking for us. It is so simple to use, and I highly recommend it. My husband wants to give it 5 stars. I give it 4 because I write the reviews, but as long as he keeps making the fudge, I may re-consider.

Restaurant quality food with a lot less effort – When Tefal contacted me to write a review about their new meal-making wonder I was a bit excited because in a sense I’m reviewing the freezer, the model T Ford, the Hanimex camera or the VHS television recorder. And I say that because it is easy to mock from a distance but we have a massive fight going on for minds and wallets when it comes to… Read more

meal preparation at the moment, and the future can go in one of 4 different directions: people shop for their own ingredients and cook their own meals at home, people have recipes and ingredients sent to their home, ready-made meals delivered hot to the home, or robotic chefs that do the cooking while you add ingredients. When the fridge was invented people laughed and said why buy a big machine when I can just use the ice man, yet look where we are now. And while people might have a titter about a bench top robotic cooker, pause to think how far mobile phones have come in 10 years and smart watches in 5. Ten years from now your watch could sample your sweat, respiration or skin cells and provide suggestions on what needs to change in your diet. The Tefal i-Companion XL could take data from your bathroom scales, your electric toothbrush and your exercise equipment and tell you 'if you want to improve at the gym you need to eat this'; 'if you want to add 10 years to your life do this'. It could also feed you what you need rather than until you’re full, reduce a lot of money on wasted food by ordering for you only what your recipes require, and then create an online marketplace where you could sell recipes you’ve made that people like. So let me be the first to say "watch this space". If you have never explored this space before, let me give you the blow-by-blow. When I pulled it out of the box there is a base that a bowl sits on with a glass lid, a set of beaters or choppers in a handy lockable case, a set of digital kitchen scales (I note Thermomix has the scales built into the appliance), and a few hand tools like a brush and a spatula, with a thick recipe book neatly placed on top. But if you’re searching for a quick start guide you’ll be sorely disappointed. I would love a sample recipe to get me going and start using the machine right away, or a set of YouTube clips that take me through a series of 10 recipes that also explore different capabilities of the machine. As it is, you need to read the instruction manual first and the introduction to the recipe book next before you get an understanding of what the machine can and can’t do, and the lingo they use to convey different ideas. Once you’ve done this, though, it is surprising the amount of recipes the machine can cook and the quality of the finished product. Unless everyone around me happens to be a genius in the kitchen, I would rate my skills in the kitchen as below average, but the risotto I knocked out was restaurant quality. I’m not just saying that either – the rest of my family also agreed that it was “pay for this” quality and they all wanted seconds. When I tried the recipe again, I did roast pumpkin, baby spinach, and mushroom risotto as a twist on the recipe book recipe and it also turned out great. While typing this I can hear people fighting over the leftovers in the fridge as a re-heat some days later; how often do you get that from home cooked meals? On reading the recipe book I found it has errors in it such as referring to butter in the risotto recipe but not including butter in the ingredients list. It also makes references to parts that need to be used such as the stopper, but it doesn’t say which setting the stopper should be put on for the particular recipe. There are also errors in the pumpkin pie recipe, pesto, and cheddar and chive scone recipes and differences between the book version and the app version. Like I said earlier, in order for this to work best a user needs to read the whole instruction section of the recipe book and the whole instruction manual before starting a recipe as references are made in each of these. For this reason, there is no real quick start option. You know that feeling you get when you get something new home and you just want to rip it out of the box and start using it with the least amount of reading possible? Well don’t try that here. There is a good 2 hours of reading for a reasonably quick reader to get a good handle on the machine before you would get a good understanding of the machine’s capabilities. Since most people don’t read instruction manuals this really needs to be changed to something like lessons on YouTube or change the recipe book to include more information about the machine in each recipe – a bit like “cooking for dummies”. What Tefal does offer is a Facebook group set up for Tefal i-Companion XL support and recipes for those who are au fait with Facebook and a beginners class via Zoom which is a bit of an introduction to the machine. But after this I was left wanting. The class I joined had 2 other new users and went for 40 minutes but we didn't cook anything and the Tefal i-Companion XL wasn't even turned on. This was confounding. It was like being in the market for a new Range Rover, turning up to the test drive and having the salesman say "Let's just look at it from over here!" What we also cooked was beef bourguignon and pizza dough a few times and we are adapting the machine to do lamb biryani as a step-by-step recipe where ingredients are added in the same fashion as the recipe book. The benefit to making a recipe in this fashion is that it makes cooking dinner very quick. All you need is to measure out the ingredients and have them ready so when the machine prompts to do the next step you’re all ready to go. We found the beef bourguignon recipe made the cheap cut of meat very tender but the overall recipe was a bit tasteless and the pizza dough tasted fantastic compared to shop-bought pizza bases but the dough didn’t rise as high as if left to proof the usual way. The clean-up of the bowl and mixing blade was a headache compared with something like a Kenwood Chef with a dough hook attachment. We were hoping the Bosch dishwasher would make short work of cleaning the dough out of all the nooks and crannies but this was not so (it normally has no difficulty with things like baked on lasagne and spaghetti stains). The recipe book allows for tweaks to the recipes for taste or function (such as getting rid of some oldish mushrooms in the fridge) so I may do that to some recipes too, but I am yet to find this adaptability in the app. The Tefal i-Companion XL is called as such because it can connect to an Android or IOS device via Bluetooth. Once the app is downloaded and the machine is in pairing mode, pairing the Tefal was a cinch and the look and feel and quality of the app is very good (not dissimilar to a bank or restaurant franchise app). And what I did like is that the permissions and links to social media accounts were avoidable so you don’t need to worry about the app being able to track you, trace you, and watch you while you’re sleeping. The app also connects automatically once pairing has been done the first time, so you turn the machine on, open the app and you’re ready to race. Nice! Recipes are searchable and the ingredients list can be exported to a shopping list but the list doesn’t yet combine purchases. For example, if one recipe calls for 300g of rice and another 400g, it will list the rices separately rather than making one item of 700g of rice. The app is very easy to use too but I haven’t yet tried it on a tablet at the time of writing to get a feel for a larger screen in a kitchen setting. Once open, connected, and all the ingredients ready to go and weighed and measured, the app takes you through a recipe step-by-step and then greys out completed steps. But in addition to this the app talks to the Tefal i-Companion XL and heats the bowl, spins the blades, turns the mixer for a set number of rotations during a program and beeps when next steps are ready to go. The steps are also contiguous and arranged to make the cooking seamless, quick and in a logical order. For recipes where you would have to periodically return to a slow cooker or pan on the stove to give a stir, the app tells the machine to do that stirring for you so you can get other things done in the mean time with your phone in your pocket, or just sit in front of the fire with a coffee or glass of wine, or not. Hey I just got 40 minutes of my life back! I should give you a word of caution, however, if you read “cooking robot” and daydreamed about Will Smith’s grandma on the “I, Robot” movie where the robot chops, minces, stirs, rolls out biscuits and puts things in and out of the oven while grandma takes a nap on the couch. You can’t throw out your pots and pans just yet! There is quite a list of things the Tefal i-Companion XL can’t do such as peel an onion or carrot, cut things into garnish or sliver, chop carrots into triangles, cut meat into cubes or mince, or quarter an onion, for example. So there is quite a list of things you will still need to do in preparation for a recipe and things need to be laid out on the bench on chopping boards and measured out in cups and jugs ready to go. We also found that once the recipe is past a certain point it is impossible to change the blade to the mixer, for example. If the bowl is full of carrots, rice or meat, the new utensil can’t be screwed onto the spindle without decanting the contents of the bowl into a second bowl to allow the blade change. Additionally, the bowl sometimes needs to be cleaned in order to complete a next step. While it can sometimes be a quick wipe out or whizz under some hot water with a soft brush, this does seem to be an inconvenient interruption (“damn!” as Gordon Ramsay would say) and buying a second bowl from Tefal is a shade under $250. But the shredder attachment for $169 can make grating and slicing very similar to a food processor and then the contents are already in the bowl ready to go. Clean up is a breeze too. The bowl, blades, lid, stopper, seals and everything can go in the dishwasher apart from the locking spindle in the middle of the bowl and the machine base that plugs into a wall socket; this part can be wiped down with a dishcloth or handy towel to remove any splashes or dribbles that go onto the machine base. The Tefal i-Companion XL also comes with a small bottle brush that is evidently used for getting gunk out of the nooks and crannies of the cutting and mixing attachments where no dishwasher could reasonably be expected to get to; and you don’t need to cook too many recipes to get to this point. So if you’re still with me I guess one of the final questions you’d be asking is whether the Tefal i-Companion XL is worth it, financially viable or even workable as a family option; so let’s break it down. If you spend $70 in one night on a meal delivery for a family of four and you do this once per week for a year, your total spend is $3640. The Tefal i-Companion XL with the optional shredder attachment and a spare bowl is around $2020 if you shop around, and the cost of the raw ingredients for a year works out to be around $1450. So if you replace 1 Uber Eats or takeaway meal per week with the purchase of a Tefal i-Companion XL your break-even point is around 12 months; after this you save around $2000 per year for the life of the machine. And the user interface (UI) is easy enough for tweens to manage once they have helped mum or dad the first few times so this is handy too. All things considered, is it worth the outlay? Well, we are doing precisely what I said in the previous paragraph to get some time back to do some reading in the evening or just chat with my wife outside the kitchen, and while it is early days, we think there is a small palette of recipes my children and I could manage week-on-week while we gain confidence and a bit of kitchen panache. So the one line summary is that we think the purchase makes sense and is a worthwhile investment.

This is a very good machine – I was asked to review this appliance by Product Review and was keen to do so as I have been using an older model Thermomix TM31 for years and was considering a replacement. My review compares my experience with the Thermomix TM31, which is now a superseded model. First impressions; the machine is good looking – white and chrome. The bowl is quite… Read more

a lot larger than the Thermomix model I have and the parts look more robust – the i-Companion steamer basket is steel, the Thermomix is plastic. The Tefal lid is a solid glass and steel arrangement with a silicone seal, the Thermomix is plastic with a smaller seal. I’ve been through several Thermomix parts – the stopper for the lid, the steaming basket, a seal, a blade set and a Varoma (steamer on top of the appliance) have all needed replacement at least once. Given I paid thousands of dollars for my Thermomix, I wasn’t that impressed with plastic parts that are essentially consumables. I unpacked the machine and was surprised to find it came with a very good Tefal scale set. This is Tefal’s answer to the Thermomix which has a built-in scale. I prefer the Tefal solution. The Thermomix scales aren’t all that sensitive, maybe 10g increments and I’ve hit the weigh button so many times on my Thermomix and somehow missed, then plonked my ingredient to be weighed into the machine, only to discover it isn’t weighing. That can be a hard mistake to recover from, especially with baking. Also, if I am using the machine for one thing, it isn’t that useful to have the scales built in, because I obviously can’t use them for anything else. A separate scale is much more flexible. The set provided is glass, low profile and easy to operate. The machine comes with the steel bowl, lid, steamer basket and 4 blades as standard. The blades are stored in a neat, lockable plastic container. This makes thing easy to find and safe - the sharp blade is really sharp (I sliced my finger on it reaching into the bowl, don’t do that!), but the storage box and blades are another thing to find a place for. The Thermomix only has one blade plus a whisk. A whisk is also part of the i-Companion blade set. The first thing I tried was mashed potato. Like the newer Thermomix machine, this machine has inbuilt recipes. It also comes with a large hard cover cookbook, which is very useful for ideas. I do find a book format easier to browse. The machine can also talk to your smart phone via Bluetooth. You can select a recipe on the i-Companion app and it will connect to the machine and both the phone and machine sync to the step-by-step recipe. This seems like a bit of a novelty, but has the advantage that the phone app actually does the machine settings for you. You just hit start. This is especially good for leaning what the machine can do and I had no trouble getting the phone and machine to talk. Back to mashed potato. You peel and dice your potato, then put it in the steamer basket. It took 25 minutes to cook the potato, which is longer than I would expect. Then you use the whisk blade to whiz up the potato, butter and milk and it was pretty impressive. I used a bit more potato than the recipe specified, and the result was incredibly fluffy, light mashed potato, with lumps in it. I think that is easily solved by scraping down the bowl and maybe whipping a bit longer for the extra ingredients. I would do mash in this machine again. I never mash potato in my Thermomix, tried it once and it was kind of pasty. Next item was creamed spinach, using the app recipe. This was really easy to do and produced a tasty result that we enjoyed. Rice was the next thing I tried. I always cook rice in the Thermomix, perfect every time. I had to do an internet search for a rice recipe for the i-Companion and I slightly undercooked the rice, but easily fixed by checking it. One fail was that the steamer basket for the i-Companion has gaps larger than rice grains. With Thermomix you use the steamer basket to rinse and cook the rice. With the i-Companion, I washed quite a lot of the rice down the sink and more escaped into the cooking water. It might be more successful to use the absorption method with this appliance, or use a rice cooker, I guess. I then poached some chicken and wanted to shred it for a soup. This is really easy to achieve with the Thermomix, and a big time saver, by running it in reverse – using the blunt side of the blades it just bashes the chicken into a shred. Less success with the i-Companion, which does not have a reverse function but instead provides a blunt blade for mixing without cutting. The mixing blade just pushed the chicken around the bowl. I then tried the kneading blade and that was more successful, but it produced a result that was more chopped than the Thermomix so I prefer the Thermomix for this slightly obscure function. I really hate shredding chicken by hand. I then tried pesto. This was really successful, using the app it produced a very good consistency. I think the recipe has more oil than I would prefer, so I added extra parmesan. That is just a matter of personal taste though. To go with the pesto, I made gnocchi. It is largely the same as the mash recipe, taking 25 minutes, which seemed a long time. The recipe then instructs using a ricer or masher instead of the whisk, not sure why, maybe the additional flour is hard on the whisk? My issue with this is that I could probably have cooked the potato faster on the stove or in a pressure cooker, so I’m not sure the i-Companion added much here. But the gnocchi recipe was sound and the family enjoyed gnocchi with pesto. I then made the udon soup with chicken and vegetables using the app. I noticed the ginger chopping was a bit courser than what I would achieve in the Thermomix, but it didn’t matter to this recipe and a possible fault with the Thermomix is that it tends to blitz everything. I think many cooks have taken cream to butter, missing whipped cream entirely with the Thermomix. This recipe was really sound as well. Garlic, ginger, leeks and carrot (the first 2 ingredients you blitz, the second 2 you chop yourself), sliced chicken, stock and udon noodles make a really tasty and pretty healthy Asian inspired soup. If I didn’t feel like chopping the leek and carrot, I’d be willing to give those ingredients a brief blitz as a short cut and the results would probably not be as good, but likely passable. I didn't understand the instruction to add the stock and vegetables, put on the lid and then add the noodles, so I put the noodles in at the same time. Turns out the machine will chime when it's time to put in the noodles; I'll know for next time. The whole thing took about 30 minutes. The final recipe attempted was the classic Beef Bourguignon. However you do this recipe, some advance planning is required. The beef needs to marinade in red wine overnight and it then takes about 2-3 hours of cooking. The i-Companion blitzed the onion nicely, again, more chopped than vitamised, which the Thermomix can tend to do. I was then able to sauté the vegetables and add the beef and stock. I stopped the recipe after 2 hours, because that was the point in the recipe to add the mushrooms, which a member of our family doesn’t like, so we cooked the dish for half an hour less than instructed. (the machine stops and waits for you to add the mushrooms if you are using it with the app, which makes it all pretty fail safe.) The sauce was probably a bit less reduced as a result, but the recipe was very good. An unctuous, tasty sauce and gently cooked beef that was super tender. I did wonder why I would make a meat dish like this in this appliance and not in the oven or slow cooker. The answer is that it saves dishes – you chop the onion (but not the carrot or mushroom) in the appliance, then cook the beef in it. But more than that, this machine frees you up because you don’t have to adjust the stove and check it isn’t catching, or stir, as the machine stirs for you and controls the temperature. It does make this kind of cooking easier. A couple of other observations; I was a bit lost when I first set up this machine. It has more buttons than the Thermomix and extra blades and I couldn’t find an introduction video that took me through in enough detail although there is some introduction in the cook book. However, I did do a 45-minute online owner session with a Tefal consultant (https://companion.tefal.com.au/ask-an-expert) and that was very useful in that they explain the different functions – for example that the ‘slow cook’ functions are really more of a simmering function than slow cook (the French word is mijoté), that there is a soup function for blended soups which blends at the end, and another for chunky soups. However, I wish I had taken notes or that they sent a cheat sheet at the end! It was a very useful orientation and I would recommend. There is also a Facebook group Tefal i-Companion XL Australia which might be useful, but I’m not a big fan of Facebook. The i-Companion also has a bigger capacity than my Thermomix, which is an advantage. I doubt my Thermomix would be able to handle the beef Bourguignon recipe, with 1kg of beef. I believe this machine also has a larger capacity than the newer Thermomix models. One thing I didn’t like was the i-Companion has no vertical handle on the bowl - like a jug; it has two smaller horizontal handles on each side of the top of the bowl more like a soup pot. I found the larger bowl quite hard to handle, particularly with hot ingredients, trying to tip food out of it; that could be improved. Another issue was that I am still learning to get the machine properly seated in the base and to negotiate the lid on, at this stage I’m finding that quite fiddly. The upside to that is that you don’t need as much force as my old Thermomix requires to get the lid locked on. All the parts of the machine can go into the dishwasher, which is handy, except the spindle for some reason. The machine is actually pretty easy to clean by hand and the steel bowl does not pick up odours. Like the Thermomix, this machine has quite few accessories. The ones I am most interested in, but haven't tried, are the baby bowl ($160rrp) which sits inside the main bowl and allows you to chop small quantities, like the aromatics for a stir fry. This could be really handy – the big machines are a bit painful with small quantities as the chopped ingredients end up all over the bowl and I am sometimes reluctant to wash the whole machine for only a small quantity. But you could probably buy an effective small chopping machine for much less than this. Like the Thermomix, the i-Companion has a steam basket that sits over the lid. Unlike the Thermomix, this option is steel and glass, not plastic and looks pretty solid, but my Thermomix came with the steam attachment as standard, this one is $220rrp. The accessory I really like the look of is the shredder slicer attachment. ($270rrp) This works like a traditional food processor, giving the option to slice and grate into the bowl. This the Thermomix definitely cannot match; in fact, when I got my Thermomix I gave away my food processor but bought a smaller machine that could grate and slice and I use it regularly. I use the grater function to grate things like carrot and zucchini into a bolognaise – I sometimes can’t be bothered to dice the vegetables and grating makes them less obvious to little people. One serious fail I had with this machine is that the first time I lifted it off the kitchen bench, I lifted it by the small, side handles at the top of the bowl near the lid. Don’t do that. Pressing the underside of these handles releases the bowl from the base and my base crashed to the floor. The base was damaged – the screen popped off and there were some internal plastic bits that broke. However, to the credit of the manufacturing, I was able to pop the screen back in and have cooked with it without problem since. But best not to try that. I am planning to try a dough recipe, a risotto and some serious spice grinding soon, I will update this review when I have done these. Overall, I think this machine is very good. It does quite a bit and if you are prepared to spend a bit more, the accessories would make it super flexible, more so than the Thermomix, although by adding the accessories, it is getting pricey. Post script - I have now made risotto in this machine several times. Both the Thermomix and the i-Companion make a good risotto compared with the commitment of standing over the stove for 40 minutes with a proper risotto. I think the i-Companion wins on this function though. The larger, wider bowl means the risotto mixes better in the i-Companion and you can fit more ingredients. Cooking plain steamed rice in the i-Companion would likely work in a similar way by dispensing with the steamer basket. Pizza dough was also pretty good in this machine, at least equivalent to the Thermomix. My only issue with the dough was that the recipe book isn't that well translated and it told me to mix the ingredients in the bowl, then leave the dough to prove in the bowl, which is kept warm for proving (the Thermomix does not heat without the blades moving, so you can't really prove in it). However, it failed to mention that I needed to turn the mix out and knead it into a single piece of dough, then return it to prove, so it didn't prove until I did this and tried again. I should have known better but it might confound someone making a dough for the first time.

The blue tooth app is a game changer for cooking – I am extremely grateful to have been selected to review the Tefal i-Companion XL through the Product Review Ambassador program. It is something I have long considered as I have friends with various thermo style cookers and they rave about them. Made in France, the Tefal i-Companion XL is an attractive and substantial machine. The lid is strong… Read more

and feels solid. It is made from stainless steel and glass and the bowl is also stainless steel. It came with four blades for mixing, cutting, whipping, and kneading and they are presented in a plastic case along with a spatula.

The Tefal i-Companion XL runs quietly. The stainless steel is a breeze to clean. Although I hand wash my kitchen equipment the majority of the i-Companion XL is dishwasher safe (excluding: the spindle that holds the blades in place and, of course, the motor). The rubber seal in the lid is easy to remove and clean, and a dish brush helps to clean in and around the bowl and lid. The plastic surfaces on the motor unit are easy to wipe down and keep clean too. For safety's sake I would suggest you only use it on a solid surface that won't move when the motor is moving fast. I would also suggest keeping to the recommended volume as overfilling could cause hot food to splash out at you.

Learning to use. We all learn differently and there are plenty of avenues to become familiar and comfortable in the use of the Tefal i-Companion XL:

. The instruction booklet that covers the basics of how to set up and look after the i-Companion XL . The included cookbook showing pictures of the recipes and instructions on the settings and blades required. . A small number of videos on YouTube (YT) ie: Everyday Gourmet (Justine Schofield) using the Companion. . The Tefal i-Companion XL app. . Groups (Communities) on Facebook for the Tefal i-Companion XL, and; . An exclusive 45 minute online session with a Tefal expert (via Zoom). This support covers basic, intermediate, and professional users.

I would recommend you make use of all. The instruction book got me started and the recipe book showed me suggestions. The Facebook group put me in touch with other users and I was able to ask questions and see how other people use their appliance. Seeing their posts and pictures gave me the confidence to begin to use the i-Companion and from there it led me to the Companion app. This app is a game changer. I added it to my mobile phone and chose a recipe that gave me step-by-step information on timings and settings in real time. It is a virtual hand holder. When you finish one step it leads you on to the next until the end of the recipe. I can see the future of cooking will involve more technology like this.

I chose to make mashed potato for my first foray into the i-Companion. It was easy to follow the instructions and the mash came out smooth and aerated. Hot on that success I made a Hollandaise Sauce. I found a YT video with Justine Schofield (Everyday Gourmet). She was making an Eggs Benedict recipe with boiled eggs but I poached mine on the stove and made the Hollandaise exactly as she did. Although the Companion machine that she used is a previous version they use similar principles so it is easy to transpose from one machine to the other. I threw all the ingredients in at once and the sauce came out silky and glossy in just eight minutes.

I chose Bolognese for the next recipe. What I appreciate about the i-Companion is that you can brown the mince/onion/garlic in the bowl and then throw all the other ingredients in and follow the prompts on the app until it is ready. It even stirs it for you so nothing sticks to the bottom.

Once I reached this point I knew I needed to fully understand the programs and the various blades so that I could use my own recipes in the i-Companion. From the Facebook group I discovered a link to make an appointment with the Tefal expert. It is a free service and I would urge anyone starting out to take advantage of it. Wow..what a wealth of knowledge this person shared. By the end of the session I had a very good understanding of how I could better use it. As I said before, we all learn differently and to me there is nothing better than being able to see and hear first hand how to use something. I am extremely grateful to Tefal for providing that.

I was told that the i-Companion is brilliant for making different types of dough. I chose to make bagels and I found it so quick and easy. While the bagels were cooking in the oven I threw all the ingredients into the bowl for a minestrone soup. Fifty minutes later it was ready and I have to say it was the best minestrone I have ever made.

I am still feeling my way around the Tefal i-Companion XL. I have a much better understanding now of how I can incorporate it into my daily cooking but still use the other equipment I already have. I did buy a few accessories like the double whisk attachment for egg whites/custards etc. I am not sure it was really necessary as the i-Companion XL comes with a whisk attachment but I will use it to make meringue for pavlova and hopefully it will help in making my sponge cakes lighter. I also purchased a steamer set that attaches to the top of the i-Companion. Again, I am not sure it was necessary as there is a steamer basket inside the unit but I felt this would be good to to steam vegetables and fish at the same time, and also to steam things like dim sims. I will update this review as time goes on if I find anything important to share.

I do believe the Tefal i-Companion is value for money. By comparison to similar products it is sitting at the high end, but in fairness it does have many more functions, like the blue tooth recipe function, than the cheap versions. As it is a substantial investment it would pay to shop around though because when I checked online the variation in price from one shop to another was as much as $600.

I do hope this review has been helpful and don't hesitate to ask questions. I know that's how I learn best.

Practical, versatile cooking companion – I enjoy cooking and don’t mind taking my time in the kitchen so when I was offered the opportunity as a Product Review ambassador to review the Tefal iCompanion XL Connect my initial thoughts were that it wasn’t an item that I would usually need or look to purchase so I wasn’t sure just how much benefit I would get from it. I will also add that… Read more

before unboxing I was initially overwhelmed about using it. I read about downloading apps and Bluetooth connections and thought it might be more complicated than it was worth.

Unpacking the item I soon found the 335 page cookbook offered a simple variety of dishes, drinks and desserts to get started with simple instructions. I also discovered the other inclusions - 4 blades/attachments, a steamer and a set of digital scales. The device came with everything I needed to get cooking!

I made several dishes in the Tefal XL Connect - from bread to soup to bliss balls. I never make bread at home but with the mixing, kneading and proving function all in this device it was super-easy and turned out perfectly (see photo). The kids loved it and the house smelt amazing! I have now purchased wholemeal flour so I can try making a wholemeal loaf.

After being overseas the week prior and ordering way too much takeaway we were ready for a detox so I also made the ‘Juliana’ soup. While I found the recipe instructions a little unclear (the recipe listed mushrooms though mushrooms are not featured in this dish) the resulting soup was one of the most delicious and tasty I have eaten.

We are vegetarian and I was also impressed by the number of vegetarian recipes available in the cookbook. For the other recipes I will just replace the meat with other protein as I usually do. I even prepared my son’s vegan pancakes in the machine, swapping out the recipe with one we have. They were perfect (photo attached).

Using the device is easy - the buttons and functions are simple and logical so that even if you’re not sure about using all the bells and whistles of such an intuitive machine, it is easy to use in manual mode. It is a well-built, quality machine and the one bowl preparation means it is also super-easy to clean. As the instruction manual suggests I would recommend cleaning the bowl shortly after using so as to avoid staining.

The Tefal iCompanion XL Connect is attractive enough to display on the kitchen bench. I am also really impressed with the quality digital kitchen scales, and have since replaced my old manual kitchen set. I have also been looking to replace my other appliances too including my food processor and slow cooker, which after many years of use are a bit worse for wear. I would especially love to replace multiple appliances with only one device. I think this may be just the machine to do so!

This was very close but I haven’t given a full 5 stars this time only for the reason that the cookbook contained some mistakes and at times was not overly clear in terms of steps to follow for the recipes to be entirely successful. I feel that more attention could be given to trying and testing the recipes to ensure they’re not confusing or incorrect, especially for novice cooks. On occasion I had to draw from my own experience and familiarity with cooking to ensure success. Having said this, I have thus far of course only tried a handful of recipes so I look forward to continuing to use the Tefal iCompanion XL Connect further. I have already picked out a number of recipes that I am looking forward to trying.

Overall this is an excellent device that I know I will continue to use to prepare meals for my family. As a mother of two young boys, the Tefal iCompanion XL Connect is a practical time-saver with a big enough bowl to accommodate delicious meals for the whole family. I am very impressed with it and very grateful for the opportunity to review this product.

What in the Elon Musk? Amazing quality product – I was initially apprehensive about what this product could achieve and to what standard it would do the job it was set out to do... when it heard me say that I'm sure the Teal i-Companion yelled back at me "challenge accepted" I was extremely impressed with the care that was taken when packaging, it was very tight and sealed up nicely with… Read more

Styrofoam to hold in place.

Upon first inspection, the product looks amazing with a very sleek look - white and stainless-steel finish. I really love how solid it feels, the quality of the product is evident before you even use it.

Things I love *Superior quality *Steaming basket and functions *Food scales *Sleek and stylish finish *Ease of use *Easy to clean *Cookbook *Free session with a Tefal expert via Skype *APP dedicated to step-by-step cooking and hundreds of recipes to choose from

Things to consider *OCD disclaimer: the on off button is not center to circle, does not affect use whatsoever but for all of us OCD peeps out there it is annoying. *Manual cooking will take a few goes to get used to, refer to the manual and dedicated Facebook page for tips and tricks and you will have it in no time. *Option to add ‘double the amount’ on the app would be nice.

The first thing I cooked was the risotto and o my it did not disappoint. Risotto is notoriously finicky to cook perfectly, and I will say without any exaggeration the I-companion made it PERFECTLY! My husband, who has been a chef for 20 years, could not speak highly enough of the product's quality and performance.

The app guided me easily and effortlessly step by step, it took the reins, and I just added the food! It heated with ease and adjusted itself as required, it heated evenly and cooked the best risotto I have ever tasted - it is like having your own personal chef.

The handles and lid remained cool to touch and only the bowl got hot throughout the cooking process.

Overall Exquisite product with ample recipes to choose from. Great customer service with your personal Tefal expert included, dedicated Facebook page, App, informative instruction manual and fantastic cookbook. Great accessories included such as scales, spatula, and multiple blades for various cooking functions - packed neatly into a clear container. It has made cooking simpler and opened our menu to variety and ease while enhancing confidence in the kitchen. My Tefal i-companion remained consistent in quality, performance and taste with various different recipes.

Great addition to our kitchen – We've been using Bellini and Thermomix thermal cookers for several years, and it's been a refreshing change to swap to the Tefal i-companion XL. It takes a little getting used to, but offers more versatility than competitors. Pros -Bluetooths to my phone to guide me through recipes is very simple to use. Its functions are easy to use when not… Read more

guided or when adapting recipes fro other machines. _the keep warm function is fantastic so you can set and forget until dinner time. -Bigger capacity bowel (3 litres v's the 1.5 litres we're used to) -Variety of attachments including mixer and beater... not just the traditional blade that cuts -Much quieter than the other machines -Blades and attachments can be changed mid recipe easily if you use the wrong one in error. -great looking machine -Glass lid allows you to see whats happening inside without removing the lid to see if something needs more time -45minute Zoom tutorial available for purchasers, hosted by i-companion XL expert. Much easier to learn the functionality of the machine when someone gives you the most relevant information, rather than reading instructions or trial and error and it was great to ask questions we had.

Cons -Scales not built into machine -silicon scraper gets cut easily on sharp blades -whisk is very time consuming to wash -blades and attachments have a hollow black plastic top making cleaning uncertain as you cant see inside to know if its cleaned properly. brush supplied is helpful, not sure where to buy one to replace when needed.

My family has used this machine for food processing, cooking meals, and making deserts. We have 6 people in our household, so this is the first machine thats been able to cook adequate sized meals to feed the whole family. Theres so many useful features: I used the recipe app on my phone when we received a ton of frozen raspberries from our friend. Just searching for recipes containing raspberries, I was able to select a raspberry sorbet desert and the phone guided the icompanion (and me) step by step through the recipe. So easy! We've used the processor to cook stews, curries, risotto, bread dough, custard, and sorbet. I've found that its possible to use my favourite recipes from my Thermomix and Bellini cookers; it just takes some conversion to figure out the speed settings and attachments.... so I'm not restricted to just the recipes provided by Tefal. The most simple side dish (and most notable for quality) I've cooked in the Tefal is mashed potato. It delivers restaurant quality creamy, silky mash fit for any lamb shank or slow cooked stew. The i-companion steams the potato rather than boiling (reducing the water content), and then whips the potato effortlessly. The recipe is on the app, so your phone can guide you step by step through process.

Conclusion If I had to choose one thermo processor, this would be it. It is far more versatile, allows for intuitive cooking, it's bigger, and quieter than the others.

A humble beast in your kitchen – A humble beast in your kitchen Tefal i-Companion XL Connect, replaces a quite few appliances in your kitchen. This humble little beast may look daunting at first, however the more you use it the more you will fall in love with it. Tefal i-companion replaces a range of kitchen appliances like, chopper, blender, mixer etc by providing you various… Read more

blades as attachment. The blades come well packed in a lockable see-through box, keeping blades safe and easily accessible. You will also get a recipe book, and a nice little digital kitchen scale. Apart from these blades it also comes with a steam basket. Cooking options are great by setting speed, time and temperature manually or the best way is to connect it to your iPhone or android phone app. The app is beautifully designed with step-by-step instructions of what and how to cook or you could do completely manual reading of the recipe book. There is also a plethora of options to cook, soups, make pastry dough, slow cooking, and steaming. Unboxing and pairing it to your phone app first time is a breeze and the pairing is done smoothly. The apps are available both on iPhone and android. You will have to register before using the app.

To test the appliances, I picked Thai Red Curry chicken from the app; just following the instruction and voila. See my attached video of how it is done. The main vessel is a of a very good quality, and the locking system is also not too complicated. Remember, to wash the main vessel manually, although you can do it in dishwasher. Dishwashing is a bit of an hassle as u have to dissemble the jar and can be quite daunting.

The downside is the unit is bit heavy and could be quite clunking and space occupying to store if you have small kitchen, however it does replace many of your other kitchen appliances.

As a brand ambassador, I was quite happy that I had an opportunity to review this product as it is quite expense but remember it replaces a few appliances.

Would I love to have in my kitchen? I would say Yes, this may look like a beast but functionally this is one helpful beast. Now all is left is to try out some receipes, especially Indian recipes as haven’t found many of those cooked using Tefal I-companion. Over all it is a worth investment for around $2000 and don’t regret if you can’t afford. This humble beast deserves a place in your kitchen though.

Good Companion for home chefs – We are three people at home. This is our first food processor, so we learned as much as possible before using this appliance. We also attended the Tefal exclusive demonstration conducted by Tefal Australia. We started to use the appliance even before attending the demo. Product Delivery: The delivery was excellent, with no damage to the box and… Read more

appliance. So I can say I’m confident in ordering online via Tefal.

Pros: 1. Quick Delivery 2. The box was packed well, and no damage during transit.

Improvements/Cons: 1. We ordered the TEFAL Cuisine Companion Vegetable Shredder XF3851 nearly a month ago but haven’t received the product.

Product Initial Setup: It was not that hard to set up, except for locking the main jar, which was much harder and tighter. We tried many times and it finally fit. You can’t operate the i-Companion without fitting the jar correctly, which is good for safety purposes. I downloaded the Tefal app on an Android phone. The i-Companion connected with the Tefal app without any issues.

Pros: 1. Easy setup except locking the jar to the base. It took me 20 minutes to set it up. 2. This product has enough length wire to reach the Powerpoint 3. It is heavier and sturdy

Improvements/Cons: 1. It is a bulk machine, so you need a big storage area to store this. 2. A simple video demonstration would be easier to understand how to fit all parts of the i-Companion. This will help the first-time user. 3. There were multiple Tefal apps that were confusing. Tefal has to provide one app to use easily.

Product First Use: The first time we tried to cook rice using steaming, the result was good. The rice cooked nicely. The second time, we tried the Chicken curry with the proper blades, and the outcome was excellent.

Pros: 1. Cooking was great 2. Easy cleaning after cooking 3. It looks like cooking is not harder 4. Can cut onions and other ingredients easily

Improvements/Cons: 1. The blade’s top part is made up of more rigid plastic. I understand that plastic is made to survive 150 degrees heat during cooking however, cooking with plastic is not suitable for me. So Tefal needs to identify a better solution such as stainless steel etc. 2. The taste of the chicken curry was good but not the best compared to cooking on the stove. Because when we used the stove, we sauteed the onion and other spices in a cast iron pan or stainless steel pan, which had a fantastic aroma and taste. But using the i-Companian, we can’t get a result like a pan cooking. Product further cooking: We made Pizza, Goat soup, Roti, Pongal & Vada (Indian dishes) etc. All these came nicely, and especially the dough was fantastic. We also ordered the TEFAL Cuisine Companion Vegetable Shredder XF3851 and are waiting for the delivery. We will also try this and update the review at a later stage.

Pros: 1. Monitoring the cooking through the mobile phone app is easier. Moreover, we will get notifications for the next cooking stage, such as adding ingredients.

Conclusion: This product is best suitable for single parents or whoever doesn’t have enough time to cook and clean. Cooking using this product does not replace traditional cooking and taste. But some foods such as dough, cake mixer etc. are good. Nevertheless, it saves our cooking time, so I’m recommending this product.

On par with some of the best food processors on the market – The first look at the Tefal Companion XL is pretty impressive. It’s got a large 3L bowl, glass lid, LCD screen and bluetooth connectivity with your smart phone. Pulling it all out of the box was straightforward, unpacking the base, lid, scales, 4 x blades, spatula, cleaning brush and booklet quickly & easily. Compared to other food processors the… Read more

machine itself is a similar size & the accessories take up about the same amount of space.

The machine looks of a high standard of quality and feels well made, and the glass lid is a game changer! I can’t see what’s going on in my current food processor so I was really interested in seeing how the glass lid stacks up while cooking.

I was able to read through the book, get my bearings fairly quickly and jump right in, making dough. I was disappointed to find that the scales don’t come with batteries though, especially at this price point.

The positives are the large 3L bowl capacity, glass lid, the proving setting after making dough that keeps the bowl warm and automatically sets a timer to prove the dough, and the quietness. I could barely tell that the machine was on, let alone mixing dough, which is a big plus compared to my current food processor.

Negatives are that the scales aren’t built in and I found the bowl heavy and difficult to handle and hard to push into the base. I had to really give it a good shove to lock it in place, so hoping that over time this gets easier.

I made pizza and gozleme with the dough and it was really tasty, the kids loved both so that’s a thumbs up!

Cleaning the machine was slightly harder than expected. The bowl is low and wide with no specific handle & has sharp edges. I filled the bowl with water & detergent and turned it on high for a few seconds to give it a good clean, but I still needed to use 2 hands to tip the water out and hold it under the tap to rinse it, which makes it hard to rinse and scrub with a brush at the same time. Most of the components are dishwasher safe though, so I threw it in there and it came out sparkling!

I ventured back into the recipe app and was disappointed that a search for ‘Vegetarian’ revealed no results, but there is a Vegetarian section in the cookbook that I looked through. But I decided to go freestyle and tried a Vegetarian Bolognese recipe that I make often in my current food processor.

It involves adding harder veg to the bowl such as carrot and celery, chopping, then adding softer veg such as tomato & zucchini, chopping etc. I found the first round of veg was chopped well, but when I added more on top I hit a wall. The Companion XL just kept chopping the bottom layer and the top layer stayed on top in large chunks.

I stopped and & mixed it around with the spatula several times which was time consuming and messy, but got there in the end. I continued on with my recipe and was able to create something similar to what I normally cook.The large 3L bowl meant I had plenty left over to freeze for a future meal but having to change the blades in between was a little tedious.

I cleaned the bowl and tried to chop parmesan and colby cheese for the cheese sauce and again it didn’t chop with the sort of consistency I get from my other food processor, but I followed the white sauce recipe in the cookbook under ‘First Steps’, added additional cheese and the sauce was delicious.

My next freestyle attempt, Black Bean Burgers, was much more of an instant success. I was able to throw all the ingredients into the bowl, estimate a medium speed and it blended to perfection. The kids also gave these a thumbs up so I feel that if you have experience with other food processors you will find your feet fairly fast with the Companion XL and be able to use existing recipes or be confident in converting recipes from other food processors fairly easily.

I was really interested in the bluetooth recipe functionality, so I connected my phone to the device, which was quick and easy, and started on Carrot Cake.

The step by step cooking in the Companion by Tefal App is really intuitive, especially in the middle of a busy house with young children asking a billion questions while I’m trying to concentrate! It tells you what to add and the machine is ready to go, guiding you through each step clearly and easily. The Carrot Cake was moist and delicious and didn’t last long!

I’ve now been using the machine for 4 weeks and have definitely found my feet, plus it's so much smoother to click the bowl into the base now. I’m able to read recipes and convert them to some extent for the Companion XL, and I’m making my way through the recipes in the cookbook.

Overall the Companion XL is a quality built machine with some really great features. The large 3L bowl capacity, glass lid, dough proving functionality & quietness put it on par with some of the best food processors on the market.

If you’re new to food processors the guided cooking and large amount of recipes in the App will help you gain confidence in using the machine, and if you have experience in cooking with a food processor it’s not hard to dive in and find your feet quickly.

I feel like I have only scratched the surface with this machine – I got excited looking at the box when I received this machine. “Unlimited recipes with guaranteed success” that got my attention for sure. What I love: 1. When assembling the machine the first thing I noticed was the sturdiness and weight of the machine. I actually own the well-known brand of this type of machine and can say 100% this is better… Read more

made. I love the glass lid and how you can see what you are cooking through it. I love the blade case that you can even store the spatula and cleaning brush in there also so everything is kept together. The machine comes with four blades and a steaming basket. You can purchase a grating attachment separately. You can also purchase another bowl which I think would be well worth it , if proving dough you can get started on another recipe and save time. 2. I really felt the zoom meetings Tefal offer are worth doing to learn how to use and clean this unit. I did the basic course and it helped me become confident to use it for the first time. I got some great tips and was recommended some Facebook groups to join. It's nice to know I can ask questions anytime and they are there to help. I would really like to sign up for the more advanced course in the next few weeks. 3. This makes a decent amount of food. The bowl is huge (3L). I started with some easy things soups and risotto, mashed potato, pizza dough, hollandaise sauce ! I have a family of 5 and I had plenty of left overs with each meal I cooked. Perfect to freeze the extra servings for busy work nights. 4. Time saving. I love that you are not tied to the kitchen, stirring and kneading for ages, this machine doe it all as you go about your business keeping updated with the app. 5. Safety of this machine is fantastic and great peace of mind. I don’t feel scared blending super hot soup right after cooking as I know there is a steam escape on the lid. The lid on this is very secure and locks and also there are two handles on the bowl to lift off and place on the counter. On high blends this machine does not dance around the bench like my other well-known brand of machine can do. This is very sturdy. I have no problems blending a soup right after cooking. 6. Noise level is a very pleasant level even at high speed blending. 7. Machine is easy to clean. Everything is dishwasher safe except the spindle. 8. The slow cooker function is fantastic and slow cooks at a faster rate than a traditional slow cooker. What takes me 6 hours in a traditional slow cooker can take 2 hours in the I-companion XL. I love that you can leave the food in the machine and it will keep it at a certain temperature until you are ready to serve. The steam function is great, I prefer the steamed veggies done in this rather than on the stove top. 9. The good things about the app is it is very easy to connect to Bluetooth and set up. All the recipes in the cookbook that you get with the machine are on the app and more. The preprogramed recipes are so easy anybody can cook them, just add the ingredients and press start. I like on the app how you can add in items you have in your fridge and it will bring up all the recipes that have those items in it. 10. If you buy this machine you can give away your slow cooker, steamer, rice cooker, stick blender and your food processor you won’t need them anymore. 11. I like that this machine does not turn food into mush. Flat bottom is great that you can sear and brown meat with the lid off. No hot spots.

What I don’t love so much but not a deal breaker: 1. Some of the recipes in the cookbook and app need a bit of tweaking. It would be nice if they were triple tested. There were a few mistakes in the cookbook. Like for example the crème Brulé needed extra egg less milk so it set properly. Some recipes didn’t have enough flour or needed extra cooking time. 2. The scales are separate to the machine. You can’t add and weigh ingredients directly into the bowl as you cook. Not a big deal but worth mentioning if you are wanting this. The scales are great though, accurate and glass top so easy to wipe. 3. No reverse function. Instead you have to change blades.

***Verdict***: This machine is a pleasure to use. I actually prefer it to my other well-known brand. Better quality, smoother, safer, quieter and bigger bowl capacity, fabulous lid design. I just wish you could just google search for example “chocolate jaffa cake XL I- companion” and some recipes would show up but they don’t. Not a huge deal. I am hoping this will come with time as the machine is still relatively new. In saying this the preprogramed recipes are pretty good and easy to use with the app. By the end of the five weeks I was more adventurous with my cooking and I cooked the osso bucco and the chicken curry, I didn't have any tinned creamed corn so I made some in this machine and winged it- turned out pretty good. I feel my journey is only just beginning with this machine and I am excited for the future as I become more and more confident with it.

Very easy to use. Great for making meals – This review is on the TEFAL i-Companion XL Connect FE90C https://www.tefal.com.au/Food-%26-Drink-Preparation/Companion/i-Companion-XL-Connect-FE90C/p/8010000991 Instruction Manual: https://dam.groupeseb.com/m/3117764fa3f8b806/original/8020007869-IFU.pdf (English instructions start page 55, pages 1-5 show diagrams with what is included and basic… Read more

instructional diagrams.)

I was supplied the Tefal i-Companion XL as a Product Review Ambassador, to write an unbiased review.

The i-Companion XL is a cooking food processor which makes preparing meals a breeze. Unboxing the i-Companion XL I was very impressed with the number of accessories that are included- even a set of digital scales. People who do a lot of cooking would most likely find they have a few of the items already. It comes with four blade type attachments: the Ultrablade Knife (for chopping food/ mixing soups), Mixer blade (mixing cooked ingredients without damaging the ingredients), Whisk blade ( for whisking egg whites, mashed potato, mayonnaise etc.) and a Kneading Grinding knife ( for kneading dough, mixing batters, grinding nuts, crushing ice etc.) There is a container to keep the blade attachments and supplied spatula in. A stainless steel steaming basket is included- for processes such as steam cooking diced vegetables. There’s also a 300 Recipe hard cover book.

Make sure when unpacking the i-Companion you check you’ve received all the items and instructions. I discovered (after a couple of days) mine was missing the paper instruction manual on how to operate the i-Companion, the spatula and the cleaning brush. Some friendly people on the Tefal Facebook group kindly helped out with what should be included. I then reached out to Tefal Australia on Facebook and they sent out the missing spatula and cleaning brush. The instruction manual details what parts you should have- I’ve placed a link to it at the top of this review. There are also some basic operating instructions contained in the front of the 300 Recipe book.

The 300 Recipe hard cover book covers Basics (making butter, custard, pastry, sauces, shortbread etc.), Snacks, Starters, Soups, Main Courses (including some Vegetarian options) and Side Dishes. Each recipe step is detailed with the required manual settings for the i-Companion. Another way to use the i-Companion is via the Tefal app. The app will connect your phone/ tablet (Android or Apple) via Bluetooth to the i-Companion. You can then select various recipe dishes from within the app. Once the i-Companion is connected to your device you get the ingredients and required steps displayed on your phone/ tablet. The Bluetooth connection presets the i-Companion to the required function for each step (chop, knead, steam, cook etc), speed and time as required. All you need to do is set the bowl/ accessories/ ingredients up as instructed and press the Start/ Stop button. Where this really shines is for recipes like soups. You literally place the diced ingredients into the bowl, press the start button and around 35 minutes later (depending on the soup type) you’ve got delicious hot soup ready to serve! The app will even give you recipe suggestions to use up ingredients you already have on hand.

In the short time I’ve had the i-Companion I’ve tried out a couple of soups (Pumpkin soup/ Broccoli soup- totally chop/ cooked in the i-Companion), Banana Bread (chopped/ mixed in the i-Companion, cooked in an oven) and a Vegetable Bake (chopped/ mixed in the i-Companion, then cooked in the oven.) For any large ingredients e.g. pumpkin, potato, banana, broccoli etc. the only requirement is dice the ingredient roughly into 2cm blocks before placing them into the bowl. All the recipes I have tried were easy to prepare and turned out perfect. It will certainly be getting a lot of use and is simple for even a beginner (like me) to use. I've attached some videos showing the steps and results for a couple of the recipes.

The easiest way to add recipe ingredients which are measured by weight is to place the i-Companion’s mixing bowl on the supplied scales. Pressing the “Tare” button will reset the scales to zero and then measure only the ingredient you are adding. That makes it easy to weigh each ingredient without ending up with more dishes to wash. The scales can weigh up to 5kg and the i-Companions bowl can hold up to 3l.

The soup program cooks the ingredients that have been placed in the bowl as the first step - before chopping/ blending the soup at the end of the program. When using salt/ powder stock for soups, add that last to the bowl or make sure it’s mixed in with water first. Doing so reduces the chance of staining/ marks on the stainless bowl’s base from the heat when cooking. The combination of the heat and salt directly on the stainless bowl seems to increase staining. Using vinegar to wipe out the bowl removes the stains- if it occurs. As far as supplied recipes go, you’ll find some meal recipes are listed both in the 300 Recipe book and on the Tefal app. From a few I compared, the ingredients and instructions actually vary between the two for the same meals. So keep that in mind when shopping for ingredients. Operating the i-Companion in manual mode (via the Recipe book) is very easy. You select the mode, then the blade accessory speed and the time required are set simply use the + or – button to increase or decrease each. Then press the start button. Of course you can also use the manual mode on any of your favourite recipes where a food processor is required.

Most of the i-Companion’s bowl/ accessories can be washed in a dishwasher. The only parts that can’t are the bowl’s detachable drive spindle, spindle bowl seal and spindle lock ring. Plus, of course, the machine itself can't be placed in a dishwasher. Any spills on it should be wiped off. The drive spindle is easily released from the bowl by rotating the locking ring under the bowl, it then pulls out. The bowl itself has the heating element and electrical contacts built in, but is listed as dishwasher safe. Just be sure it’s completely dry before using it again. The bowl is very easy to hand wash.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the i-Companion only draws around 1000W when cooking soups, steaming food etc. It has a thermostat built in- so will pulse the heating element on/ off as required to maintain the set temperature.

Tefal offer a i-Companion XL owners a free Zoom 45 minute session with one of their cooking consultants, to guide you through how to make the best use your i-Companion XL cooking food processor. https://companion.tefal.com.au/ask-an-expert

There is also a wealth of info and instructions on Tefal’s website on using the i-Companion XL https://www.tefal.com.au/Food-%26-Drink-Preparation/Companion/i-Companion-XL-Connect-FE90C/p/8010000991 Their group on Facebook is worth joining. Members often post up recipes they’ve made with instructions.

Other accessories, to expand the i-Companion’s capabilities even further, are available to purchase from Tefal Australia – see here https://www.tefal-shop.com.au/collections/i-companion-xl

Anyone can cook with the Tefal i-Companion XL – The Tefal i-Companion XL is the ultimate addition to my kitchen. It easy to use and feels safer than competitor products as there’s built in safety features that drastically reduce the risk of burns. The app is so easy to use and I love that I can add my own recipes. I did add my favourite paleo butter chicken recipe and was told it would be… Read more

approved within 48hrs but it took two weeks. Hopefully this process can speed up in time as the recipe database does feel small at the moment. The i-companion XL replaces several kitchen appliances including my mixers and food processor, and it’s easier to clean. It would be a great space saving addition to a new kitchen instead or purchasing mixers, food processors, bread makers etc. I love how easy food prep has become and I wish I had one to cook healthier baby foods with less effort when ai introduced my son to solids years ago.

Pizza dough has never been so easy, meal prep is so much cleaner and simple. I can cook soups and stews without using multiple pots and pans, utensils, or having to stand over them to stir. These one pot meals are my favourite to cook in the Tefal i-Companion XL.