Has anyone got Phil Vickery's address?

Auntieflo, he is absolutely bloody great! Been using him for years, cannot praise him highly enough. One of the few that doesn't do that "Oh well, it is over 10 years old, done pretty well, have you thought about a new one?" sort of thing.

BTW, didn't mean to post a link to ao, even though I have found them to be very good!

Phoenix, your appliance specialist sounds like he should be bottled and sold for a premium. Cherish him at all costs.

Hello all!

To answer some of the questions, Christmas dinner was lovely, and in fact next year I will do the Delia, but with some wine and stock lobbed in carefully added, so a new method has been created! (well, for me at least!)

We are just about able to use 2 rings of the hob, if we are careful. No one has starved!

Having looked at induction hobs, have decided that they are not for me BUT some of the new "ordinary" ones have some great features, individual timers for each ring etc! Auntieflo no mains gas here, would have to switch to bottled.

Now, this is an email I got from my wonderful local appliance specialist today ( he is going away tomorrow)

" I can get a black Amica frameless touch control hob today for £210 fitted has a 2 year warranty. Looks like what you want but not granite. Or
Hotpoint with a chrome surround for £220
I would need to know before 12 to get one for this afternoon."

How wonderful is he? If I buy one myself, he will still only charge £45 to come out & fit it (AO.COM wanted £89.99)

He has twice fixed my 12 year old washer/dryer, first time cost £45, second time £35 and he was here less than an hour and no new parts were needed!

No wonder he's in demand! (he's also the one that didn't bat an eyelid at sweeping up the mummified frog that was behind the machine last time he came out )

I should add that I have a gas aga so I don't have Autieflo's problem with power cuts.

First time I've tried the Vickery method. Followed instructions to the letter and timing to the minute.
Heavy roasting tray over two gas burners and straight into electric fan oven.
Perfect!
Have had a ceramic hob but don't think I'd have risked it.

So sorry to hear about the cracked hob phoenix, so annoying.
I used to swear by gas, but when I had new equipment installed for two of my children we chose induction hobs and have had no regrets - in fact I was so impressed by them that I've replaced my own gas hob with induction. Very easy to clean, heats up super fast and is just as responsive as gas, with added extras such as being able to turn the hob on for a set period using the timer. The heat is very controllable and I find that I can use it like a slow cooker.
Sometimes people complain that they need new pans, but many of mine still worked and I got a free set of nice new steel pans with the hob. Also my old Le Creuset casseroles work like a dream.
On top of this you have the advantage that electricians tend to be cheaper than gas fitters.

Hi Phoenix, have you got a working hob yet? I think that I would like an induction hob, but with a gas one, at least you can cook with an electricity power cut, ( you do need a box of matches). It also gives a light when the rings are on. So I won't be changing it just yet.

What a sorry saga (at least not an aga!) - ever since we discovered K.... Bronze turkeys our Xmas mornings have been transformed. They need no foil, take 2 - 3 hours to cook so no early starts and are very moist and delicious. Perhaps more expensive but cheaper than a new hob and the oven is on for less time. Hope you have a new hob soon. P.S. PV lives in our neck of the woods but I don't know the exact address otherwise I would offer to go round and let him know! Happy New Year everyone.

How horrible Phoenix, I hope you somehow got the blinking bird cooked and were able to enjoy your Christmas dinner.

A year or two ago, I managed to blow the fuses in the entire harbour in Nijmegen while cooking Christmas dinner - that was no fun either! Happily, someone was able to sort out the problem.

To anyone considering changing from gas to an induction hob I say go for it! I was very dubious, but an induction hob is quite literally as easy to regulate as a gas one.

The only problem to start with is that you may need new saucepans and frying pans. You cannot use enamel, aluminium or copper pots on an induction hob. Anything else that has a level and clean base, plus attracts a magnet, should be all right, so you won't need to get rid of all your old and trusted saucepans.

The induction hob has the added advantage that you can set a timer on it, so you don't forget to turn things off, and if anything boils over, it switches itself off, (not sure that last is an advantage.) On our hob you can set the timer to switch on at a certain time, so food is ready when you come home! In theory, I have not needed the function.

The only disadvantage is that the hob can and probably will crack if you drop anything heavy onto it.

We bought the cheapest on the market for our boat and a slightly dearer one for the house - a friend who is an electrical engineer read the specifications and said there was no difference between the cheapest and the dearest except the price!

There are two Phil Vickery's Fennel and both of them can cook! The rugby chap did very well on Masterchef a few years ago, he may even have won. He's very welcome to come to my house and cook dinner any time he likes.

Talking of hobs, we had everything ready for dishing up with just the veg to cook. Turned all four rings on (electric) , daughter and I stood chatting nearby when suddenly hob went off. Nothing , no power on it. I checked the trip switch in garage, nothing wrong there, so quick thinking required. Veg put in dishes and a conveyor belt to the microwave for the carrots, broccoli, Brussels, runners etc.for a few minutes zap. We managed it eventually and had a lovely dinner. Later on I checked the isolator plug, only to find the fuse had blown. So a quick fix, fortunately. A xmas dinner to remember though.

That’s a panic you could do without on Christmas Day, Phoenix! My turkey was delicious, (thanks Delia), as was the ham. And all the trimmings turned out beautifully. But in spite of cooking for a large group every year, I still haven’t cracked the mystery of portion control. I always worry that there won’t be enough, but his year, I was determined not to over-cater, and in spite of Mr M’s scepticism, it looked like I’d cracked it. All twelve of us tucked in, with plates heaped with food. Yesterday, I served up the same meal to eight
stalwarts, complete with gravy, and followed by a selection of desserts - entirely from the leftovers. Maybe next year... ?

Oh Phoenix, what a terrible disaster. How did you manage to cook the veg and gravy? Or have I missed your comments.
I have to say I did use the Phil Vicary method, and was so delighted with the results that vowed to use it forever.
It has made me think about such a disaster happening at anytime.
I am planning on purchasing a camping stove for emergencies....such as a power cut.

Bad luck all who had cooking nightmares - our main issue was with actual food we'd bought and then panics when we couldn't find things. (we've absolutely no space for storage!). DH will insist on buying equipment sponsored by Heston Blumenthal. I don't do cookery programmes and particularly loathe Heston who I find silly and pretentious and his equipment (a company called Sage, whether or not to do with the accountancy software, I don't know!) - even the kettle, which was one of the first with adjustable water temperatures), is now becoming superseded and not the best on the market, is hit and miss - doesn't cut out when it reaches temperature and the buttons can be more than somewhat temperamental, sometimes needing 5 or 6 presses.

Your induction hob may not be designed to heat one pan placed on two heating zones at the same time.

I suggest that you consult your user manual or your manufacturer.

But thanks for the publicity,

Phil

Phoenix Don't give up on an insurance claim to get your new hob.Are you insured for contents.?You will pay the 'excess', the amount having been your choice when you took out the policy, to the insurance assessor then shop around for your new hob and with labour costs present this to your insurer.Your insurance company will not increase your premium based on that claim However should it come to it then change your provider There are many who would love to have you as a customer .Go get that new hob.

Delia never let's you down. I've been cooking turkeys her way for longer than I are to think about - always works for me I wouldn't dare try another method.

Suspect the foil container underneath the turkey might have reflected the heat back down towards the hob causing it to overheat. I am no physicist but seems logical, in which case you can't blame Phil!
It will have been no fun without a hob, hope you have a microwave. Good luck with the new one!

Well, no point in getting all of a do over things you can't change.

Having said that, I wish that everyone had someone like "Appliance John"!

I had a look on ao.com for a replacement, they could deliver quite promptly (28th) quoted£89.99 for fitting.

Got in touch with local chap named above to see when he might be available to fit, and how much.

He replied within the hour, today, Boxing Day! Not only that, could have supplied and fitted today for £229? Unfortunately it would have been an induction hob, so no good for me.

His standard charge for fitting is £45. He has twice fixed my washing machine (12 years old, most try to persuade me to replace) first time total cost, £45, last time, £35!

I always use Delia's method. Can't beat it!

Well done phoenix, triumph out of disaster. I had a 5 burner gas hob in my posh new kitchen, much against the young kitchen designer/fitters wishes. He warned me "they" would be stopping us using gas before long and strongly advised those new fangled things instead.

Yes, the hob is glass, (no mains gas out here in the sticks!) had it since buying the house in 2005.

To those who mentioned insurance, to be honest I think that by the time we might have to faff about, plus the possible (inevitable?) increase in the cost of the premiums, it's probably not worth it.

Well, to post again what I thought I had posted, we took it off the hob, whole kit and caboodle,wine, stock and all, bunged it in the oven and cooked it to Delia's timings.

Result? Very juicy, tasty, succulent! I think I may have accidentally invented my own combination method!

Fennel, this is not the rugby player. He is a TV chef who is married Fern Britton. They were on Ready Steady Cook together many moons ago.

shysal, now, stop that at once!

I had one of those disposable foil turkey roasting trays, which I had placed INSIDE one of the big baking trays from my oven, the foil was between the disposable tray and the enamalled oven tray, which was in direct contact with the ceramic (non induction) hob.

I thought that I had posted about what we did next, and the end result, but it seems to have disappeared

What a tale of woe phoenix and harrigran another with a hob that cracked. Can I ask, were the hobs those modern things with glass ? I only ask because my gas hob is threatened with extinction according to those who want us to stop using gas.