Hey friends! If you follow me on instagram, you probably already saw some behind-the-scenes shots from my day with Cuisine Solutions. Thanks to Heather Freeman PR, I had the opportunity to tour their impressive facility in Sterling, VA and learn all about sous vide cooking. Spoiler alert: there was a lot of eating throughout the day so expect a very photo heavy recap.
Sous vide means “under-vacuum” in French, and in this practice, food is literally vacuumed inside a pouch and slow-cooked at low temperatures in water. It results in incredible textures and flavors, while maintaining max nutritional value. Dr. Bruno Goussault, the chief scientist at Cuisine Solutions, first developed this method in 1971, and famous chefs from all around the world came to study with him, nicknaming him “the Einstein of cooking.”
Cuisine Solutions recipes are developed by a team of world class chefs who have a vast amount of experience, many of which who have worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and the like. It’s no wonder that they’re recognized as “the worldwide authority on cooking sous vide,” providing pre-made food to first-class airlines, cruise lines, five-star hotels, the military and more. They have various facilities around the world, and they use top quality ingredients for each and every one of their dishes.
They mainly sell in bulk to companies, but they have a wide variety of dishes that are available for purchase. You can find their food in stores like Costco and Target, but you have the option of ordering online as well. The latter’s obviously more expensive, but it’s convenient, and there’s a lot more to choose from – think wagyu brisket, Berkshire pork belly, char siu duck breast, and poached octopus to name a few.
Trust me when I say their food’s top notch, like it’s the kind of food you get at fine dining restaurants, which makes sense since they supply to several. I was actually shocked by the end of the tour. I knew there was going to be sampling throughout the day, but I didn’t expect to try so much and furthermore, have it be so delicious.
The morning started off with breakfast featuring some of their most popular items. You guys may even recognize some of these dishes! Can you spot Starbucks’ famous egg bites? Yep, that’s Cuisine Solutions in action. There was also coconut oatmeal, veggie chili, a croissant sandwich, and my favorite dish of the bunch, their poached egg biscuit with a mushroom/truffle sauce. It was absolute perfection, and I honestly would’ve loved to gobble down another, but I was pacing myself because they apparently prepared a sit down lunch for us as well. More on that later though!
Their CREA presentation came next, and it was really cool. CREA stands for Culinary Research & Education Academy, and it’s geared towards professional chefs and passionate home cooks who want to learn more about the sous vide method. You can take classes on site or enroll in online courses, and famous alumni include Joël Robuchon, Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud.
Afterwards, we sat down for lunch. They put together a nomtastic 5-course tasting menu for us, and everything was exquisite. We kicked things off with a jackfruit carnitas taco that was dressed with pickled red onion, cotija cheese, radish, and avocado creme. It was like a flavor explosion in my mouth, and I was really impressed with the texture of the jackfruit. I probably wouldn’t have known it was vegetarian if I didn’t see the menu!
Then came their shrimp sous-viche – props for the fun play on words – which was served in a bell pepper brunoise with cilantro and crisp wontons.
And then they served some of the yummiest butter chicken I’ve ever had. It’s hard to pick favorites because everything was so good, but this was definitely a highlight. It came with fragrant rice, and I scraped the dish clean. The chicken was so tender, and the curry was rich and creamy. The only complaint I have is…I wanted more? Ha.
I thought the food couldn’t get better, but I was wrong. Their last savory course blew me away. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but this was their duo of beef short ribs served with truffle polenta and sauce bordelaise. They carved it in front of us, and the bones literally just fell out of the meat. It was insane.
So, this is what you’re going to do. First, thank me for telling you about Cuisine Solutions and head to their site to shop ’til you drop or keep an eye out for their brand at your local supermarket. If you’ve been following me for a while, you already know that I pretty much live at Costco. Well, I just got some of their sous vide beef, and it’s been awesome. I’m always on the go so not only does it save me time, it makes for awesome meals. I’ve been eating it with rice and kimchi, throwing together a steak salad, pairing it with eggs in the morning, you name it. It’s been great, and I genuinely can’t recommend them enough.
Do you guys have experience with sous vide cooking? Let me know by leaving a comment below! For more on DMV adventures, make sure to browse this tab, and stay tuned for fresh, new content. I update every Monday, Thursday and Saturday so make sure to check back soon! Until next time, friends.
Wow! Everything looks delicious. Thanks for sharing. 🙂