AGA Private Classes

The AGA can look a little alarming if you aren’t used to cooking on it. All of us in the shops came at AGA from a pretty blank start. My granddad had one, so I had seen them being used, Giovanna had never even heard of them, Costa Rica generally being a touch too warm for a heat storage cooker. Modestas having transferred over from la Cornue in Brompton Road had used the shop AGA for heating his lunch up but other than that they aren’t all that popular in Lithuania. Over in Knightsbridge Jess had used one occasionally at friends houses and Nadia, being Italian isn’t daunted by anything to do with cooking.

What I’m saying is we have all had to learn on the job.  An early part of our training was being given a cookery book, told to choose a recipe and get started. It is impossible to sell a cooker based on how well it cooks, if you can’t cook on it yourself.

We have all made some spectacular mistakes on the AGA, so if you had an accident recently don’t be embarrassed – you aren’t alone! The first day after we had moved shops I thought to help make friends with the Divertimenti staff here at Marylebone it would be prudent to make some biscuits. I used an old favourite (Lucy Young’s Secret of AGA Cakes – Jazzy’s Gingerbread Men), put them in the oven, then phone rung, a customer came in, 30 minutes later (and 20 minutes longer than the biscuits should be cooked for) I opened the oven door, the biscuits were now charcoal and the shop filled with the smell of burnt ginger. It wasn’t the best of introductions to either me, or the AGA.

We have had a lot of practice and love to pass that knowledge on to others, so in addition to our group classes, we do private ones. These tend to be similar to a beginner’s guide class but can be arranged for any time and date to suit you. We can also tailor them to pretty much any dietary requirements or tastes, so if you have any allergies, want to know how to cook the perfect dhal, or can’t buy an AGA until you are sure you’ll be able to make a quiche without the dreaded soggy bottom then just ask, between us all we’ve cooked most things.

Giovanna and I had a class on Monday for a new owner who couldn’t make one of our group classes before her AGA goes in, she went away filled with enthusiasm and is looking forward to installation day and no longer having to cook everything on a camping stove. Here’s a photo of the rather marvellous quiche we made.

If you are interested in coming to a private class email Jess or me on jess@agalondon.co.uk or rosie@agalondon.co.uk they cost £50 for Monday - Friday during the day or £70 for and evening or weekend. 

The AGA Spring Sale (and our first birthday!)

The AGA Spring Sale

AGA at Divertimenti’s first birthday.

It has officially been a year since we moved in to our new homes in Divertimenti.

By now you would expect all the boxes to be unpacked, all the new systems to be in place and for us to know where everything is! Most of those things are true, all but one box is un packed here at Knightsbridge, I’m not sure what is left in that last box but I bet it will come in really useful one day, just like that box of 500 green paper files I found last week... Systems are definitely in place, we even have a new computer to work from which makes Nadia look very efficient, working from two computers at once!

I still don’t quite know where everything is stored, bin bags for example, just seem to turn up when I need them.

                       

As a special present to celebrate our first birthday AGA have launched the Spring Sale, well that could just be a coincidence but it is a great excuse to order your cooker.

There is the option of a half price Module, which is a £1500 discount. Plus up to £2000 off the price of the appliance, if you include the possibility of a free signature colour then you can save up to £3500 on a beautiful new AGA.

If discounts aren’t your thing then we are also offering the option of a free AGA Refrigerator.

The sale is on until the end of May so there is still plenty of time to take advantage of the wonderful offers.

To celebrate this birthday for a little longer we are also offering a 10% discount on AGA Cookware* to anyone who reads this little blog. Just pop in to either AGA at Divertimenti store and mention it to the AGA staff.

*doesn’t include kettles,  books or electricals

How to make the most of the AGA Simmering Plate

The AGA Simmering Plate is the most used area of the AGA here in the showroom. If you come to pay us a visit at lunchtime you will see a variety of foods being hastily prepared.

My personal favourite is an AGA take on a Croque Madame, cheese on toast with an egg!

Spread the bread with some mustard and lay on your cheese - plenty of it! Pop a piece of Bake-O-Glide on the Simmering plate, on goes the bread and down goes the lid. After a minute or so the cheese should be starting to melt and if there is space on the Bake-O-Glide, crack an egg straight onto it and put the lid back down. After 2-3 minutes, both the cheese on toast and the egg should be cooked to perfection. Lay the egg on top of the cheese and you've got the AGA Croque Madame.

Another very popular lunch time snack is a mushroom omelette. Mushrooms are so quick and easy to cook on the simmering plate but they also smell delicious and tempt in any wandering shoppers.

Slice your mushrooms quite thinly, put a large piece of Bake-O-Glide on the Simmering Plate with a bit of butter in the middle and cook the mushrooms for a few minutes with the lid down while you prepare the eggs.  Beat 2 eggs with a splash of water and some salt and pepper.  Once the mushrooms are cooked add the eggs to the middle of the Bake-O-Glide a little at a time. Start by moving the cooked parts to the outside while at the same time adding more mixture to the centre, this way you create a sort of wall for the egg mixture. If you’re feeling a bit decadent you can always add a bit of cheese to your omelette. After another minute simply fold the Bake-O-Glide in half and take it off the simmering plate.
There you have it! A very easy Mushroom Omelette with only the Bake-O-Glide to wash up.

Here’s a couple more Simmering Plate tips we've come across:

-          - Jam jar lid too stiff to open; put the jar, lid down on the Simmering Plate for a few seconds. The jar should be open in a jiffy, but don’t forget to use a gauntlet to open it!

-         -  Popcorn can be made on a big piece of Bake-o-Glide on the Simmering Plate, put a little oil in the middle, add a tablespoon of corn kernels and put the lid down. Listen for the popping, when it stops, you've got popcorn. And with the big bit of Bake-o-Glide you've got an easy way to move the popcorn straight to the bowl.

-       -  Sear fish and vegetables on the Simmering Plate without the need for a frying pan. Oil the tuna, scallop, langoustine, aubergine slice, courgette strip, and cook either straight on the Simmering Plate (it would be best to lightly oil it first) or on a piece of bake-o-glide.

If you've got any Simmering Plate tips please feel free to share!

Easter Tips

Since it's Good Friday tomorrow here are some tips about eggs for you all to enjoy!

• If you are lucky enough to have a four oven AGA your Warming Oven will hold a fried egg with a runny yolk for 20 minutes without the yolk getting hard - so useful if the phone rings just as breakfast is ready..
• Put your empty eggshells in the simmering oven to dry out, crunch them up and then use them as slug repellent on your garden.
• Fat free fried eggs on the Simmering Plate using Bake-o-Glide are a way of life here at AGA London and hopefully you know the way to cook these perfectly by now, but did you know when you get really experienced at it you can do scrambled eggs or even omlettes using this method?
• Cooking for the whole family this Easter? You can fry your eggs in a lined roasting tin on the floor of the Roasting Oven in one go, rather than doing batches on your SImmering Plate.

We hope you found these eggcellent (sorry) facts useful - if you have any questions please email us on rosie@agalondon.com or jess@agalondon.com and we wish you all a happy Easter.

Eggs on the AGA

This morning saw us all in the Brompton Road store, where we cooked breakfast for assorted Prime Location estate agents. Our CEO, William McGrath and MD, Maureen Williams were both on hand to extol the virtues of our splendid cookers.  With grilled bacon, sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes, toast and (of course) AGA fat free fried eggs we helpfully backed up their point that the AGA will help make any house a home with its cooking which is second to none. We also made blackberry compote and overnight porridge for those who prefer a slightly lighter breakfast on a chilly spring morning.

                                                                  Photo of William McGrath giving his talk

The estate agents seemed very much to enjoy themselves and we look forward to working with them in the future. 

Special event tonight

Tonight in our Marylebone High Street shop we are playing host to Pete Digby, who is going to be pulling an AGA around the London marathon on the 21st April. Pete has previous experience, as he did the marathon with a washing machine back in 2011. He is raising money for the Afghanistan Trust, a charity who look after soldiers and their families of the Parachute Regiment who have been injured or killed in Afghanistan.

Today he is talking to the press, to raise awareness of his amazing efforts. If you would like to pop by and show your support, he will be with us from 6pm-8:30pm tonight - Monday 25th March. There will be AGA cooked canapés (of course) and some nice things to drink.

If you would like to support Pete and Paul Milson (his support man on the day), but can’t make it tonight please go over to his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/agaman and donate generously, it is an extremely worthwhile cause.

If you would like to learn more about the Afghanistan Trust and the excellent work they do supporting soldiers and their families, their website is as follows.

http://afghanistantrust.org/pete-digby-aga-man-london-marathon-2013/

Keep your eye out for Pete and his lovely AGA Agatha during the marathon, I’m sure he’ll be easy to spot!

Hello everyone and welcome to the new home of AGA London!

Here we will be updating you on what’s going on in our Knightsbridge and Marylebone shops, you can also follow us on Twitter (@AGAinLondon).

In March 2012 we moved from our old homes into our respective Divertimenti showrooms - West End, 33-34 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4PT and Knightsbridge, 227-229 Brompton Road, London SW3 2EP. This means you can now see the world’s best cookers in the world’s best cook shop.

As well as our fabulous cookers we have a full range of AGA Cookware, including the brilliant new Cast Aluminium range and the award winning Stainless Steel Buffet Pan.

In future posts we will be giving you hints on how to get the best out of your AGA, hosting competitions, giving you access to exclusive events and cookware offers, as well as letting you know what we are up to.

If you have any burning AGA questions please feel free to email us (rosie@agalondon.com or jess@agalondon.com) we are always happy to help.

Managers Rosie, Marylebone (left) and Jessica, Knightsbridge (right), do pop by to say hello to us.