Stephen Fry: Gadget Man (2012) s01e02 Episode Script
Tasty Tech
Hello.
I'm Stephen Fry, and I have adored gadgets ever since I was knee-high to a space hopper.
My obsession runs deep.
When I was 15, I laid out a fortune on the first new Polaroid camera, and 40 years later, I still have a desperate need to have the latest phone, alarm clock, egg timer as soon as they're launched, if not before.
Gadgets entertain us, they connect us, they educate us, they impress us, and, of course, sometimes, they frustrate us.
But whichever way you look at them, they make the world a much, much better and, dare I say, happier place.
'So, come into my world as I, along with some of my friends, 'reveal a feast of magnificent gadgets 'that will provide for a fun and stress-free existence.
' I could certainly fall asleep.
'Some will be from the future' Oh, my God! '.
.
some from the past.
' This here is the first iPod.
Really? 'Some are gadgets you can only dream of owning.
' Whoo! completely silent.
it's electric.
'And simple gizmos you can buy today 'that will change the way you live your life tomorrow.
' Oh, I see! (LAUGHS) And it's vibrating.
It's tickly! And every week I'm going to be creating my very own supergadget, the ultimate gadget of its kind.
Well, I'll be giving it a go.
Oh, no! Consider me your humble servant, your knight in crumpled corduroy, your Gadget Man.
Tonight on Gadget Man, it's all about food.
I swear to you, I've never had a better sausage, ever.
I'll be showing you how technology can make the weekly shop a pleasurable experience.
That's my boy! I'll be revealing the magnificent cooking devices that every kitchen should be armed with.
Mm! Look at that! And I'll be showcasing some quite extraordinary gadgetry to wow my friends, as I throw the ultimate Gadget Man dinner party.
"Food, glorious food.
What is there more handsome?", as the great Lionel Bart once wrote.
Thank you, Everett! And it's certainly true that, when it's served up on a plate like this, oh, there's nothing more wonderful.
But for most of us, even a spoilt pig like me, there's the great faff of choosing how to buy your food and how to prepare it.
It's not easy.
It's one of the curses of the 21st century.
I don't think she noticed! Mm! I'm spending the day preparing for a spectacular dinner party.
First, some tech to make my supermarket shop a little more fun.
Let's start with the Smarter Cart, the only robot shopping trolley in the world.
Good boy.
Come on.
Its on-board camera tracks your body shape, allowing the trolley to automatically follow you, so you don't have to push it.
And as it will know the layout of the store better than you will, it can also guide you, like a supermarket sat nav.
Turn round.
That's an obedient cart.
Stop It's the first time this prototype has ever been outside of America, and I suspect it has a touch of jet lag.
Either that or it fancies me.
Yes One day, these carts will connect directly to your internet fridge, creating a shopping list that's displayed on the monitor.
Scan an item and it gets automatically ticked off the list.
(CART) Six pack of sausages.
It recognises them.
Genius.
So, do you think this thing will catch on? I'd like to see how it would work in a really busy shop, say at Christmas time.
That would be interesting.
That's the point, isn't it? Because technology hasn't yet caught up with the human ability to dodge and weave.
Bad enough people controlling it, let alone something else.
Could be a scene of bumper cars or something! I'm throwing a gadgety dinner party later, and I'll need wine.
But the choice is overwhelming.
Thankfully, I have this Wine Find App on hand to make a recommendation.
Meats.
Beef.
Steak.
What's it recommending? Margaux, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chilean Merlot.
I don't think I've ever had Chilean Merlot, so let's take their advice.
In you go.
Follow me.
Time to pay.
Checking out is going to get a lot quicker as more and more phones become equipped with so-called "near field communication".
Just wave them at a contactless reader and the money leaves your account.
Oh, that's so cool, isn't it? And your receipt, thank you very much.
- And your receipt, thank you very much.
- Thank you very much indeed.
And I can press that button to make it wider, slip it over my shoulder.
That's great! - That's great! - And go to the car.
And how about this as the ultimate Gadget Man shopping car? It's on sale next year and is called the Lightning.
Well, it's time to move on.
This is rather swish, isn't it? Let's start her up.
Whoo! Completely silent.
it's electric.
In fact, the most advanced electric car in Britain.
Look out, look out, look out, vehicle reversing, vehicle reversing.
Now, I know not everyone loves technology as much as I do.
I've known Simon Hopkinson, one of our country's greatest food writers, for 20 years.
He hates anything modern.
But I reckon some of the clever gizmos I'm considering using for my dinner party might just change his mind.
No, I hate that.
- No, I hate that.
- I knew you would! I knew it would just turn you absolutely livid with fury.
Nor did he like the machine that makes fresh pasta in 15 minutes .
.
the electric pizza oven with a traditional rotating stone base .
.
or this clever little garlic chopper.
Big bits, small bits.
You're not impressed, are you? And when it came to finely slicing an onion Shall we have a race? Now! .
.
infuriatingly, his old-fashioned knife skills beat the pull-cord spinning blades of my VeggiChop.
Even this touch-screen hob, which automatically senses a pan and heats the area accordingly, failed to win him over.
No, I'm a gas man.
And I like seeing the flame.
Then, against all odds, I had a breakthrough.
What you do is you actually screw this in.
Oh, I like this.
You're there.
I think I'm there, aren't I? And then I'm pulling That's it.
Oh! Look what comes out.
It's whole chunks, it's the whole chunky thing.
Gosh! - Gosh! - Isn't that brilliant? I like that.
Hear that? He liked it! Although Simon reserved his biggest enthusiasm of the day for a rather retro runner-bean slicer, produced from his very own back pocket.
Oh, it widens out.
It's a spring, yeah.
And then it holds it, and as you push through, it takes off the strings.
And they are lovely, cos runner beans need to be thin.
I shall definitely be using that at tonight's soiree.
If it's mild I might even be tempted to barbecue.
We Brits do host over 120 million a year, after all.
But I don't want any old thing, I want something that will get my guests gawping, so I've asked three pals to test some of the most innovative on the market.
Alex is using the BarbeSkew, which cooks everything on rotating skewers.
Switch the power on and it spins around, does all the cooking for you, so no more flipping burgers.
That is pretty lazy, to be honest.
Vanessa is using the Big Green Egg.
It's actually a modern take on a 3,000-year-old Chinese design, relying on an airtight cooking chamber with a very precise temperature control.
So it's made out of ceramic clay, and it gets up to 650 Celsius inside.
Or what you can do is moderate the temperature with these vents, that one there and the one at the bottom.
Yeah.
And then you can, smoke some meat for, say, nine hours or something, cos it stays hot for ten to 12 hours.
Wow.
OK.
So when yours has died a death .
.
you'll still be cooking.
- .
.
you'll still be cooking.
- .
.
I'm still going.
Yeah.
But mine's gas.
DJ is using the Blacktop 360 Party Grill.
Not only is it a gas barbecue but it's also a griddle and built-in deep-fat fryer.
With this you've got the optimum temperature, or you can change it, whatever it is you're cooking, for as long as you want or until the gas runs out.
I've also given this lot the iGrill app.
It connects to a meat thermometer via Bluetooth, alerting you when the food is perfectly cooked.
The food's actually ready.
So, after the cooking and the tasting, which was our favourite? I think if you're a serious barbecuer, you would go for this one, but I think in terms of money Value for money.
And portability.
.
.
and speed, yeah, then I think maybe the gas one.
But I think we have a clear winner, really, in that, in terms of practical usage for the average Briton, but this in terms of the sort of Margot from The Good Life who wanted to show off objects.
If we weren't in a recession, then we'd get this one.
I think on reflection that a barbecue is just too much hassle.
Besides, the weather's turning decidedly chilly.
On the other hand, I really do need to wow my dinner guests.
I wonder if any inspiration might be taken from gadgets of the past.
Just imagine the scene when Mr and Mrs 2000 sit down to breakfast with their very own automatic au pair.
That particular kitchen revolution never did happen, and the truth is that very few major culinary inventions have caught on over the years.
I spent my childhood looking forward to the kitchen of 2000, and it never arrived.
There'll be no more children scalding themselves in the kitchen when safety stoves like this are the rule of the day.
- But I happen to know that there are gadgets out there which can create genuine excitement in the kitchen.
So it's back to Gadget Man HQ It's me.
.
.
to start planning my spectacular dinner party.
And here are my sous chefs, gadgets that blend, gadgets that slice, gadgets that dice, gadgets that peel, gadgets that cook, gadgets that do just about everything.
All I have to do is press a few buttons.
Bliss! I've also lined up a couple of incredible, never-before-seen surprises that are going to absolutely knock my guests' socks off.
LAUGHTER Welcome back to Gadget Man.
In just a couple of hours some friends will be round for dinner, and I've got some truly spectacular surprises lined up for them.
For now it's time to cook and everything will be prepared using my pick of the best tasty tech.
We'll have soup for starters, but I won't actually be cooking it, I will be cheating by using the Vitamix 500, a so-called "performance blender".
It's quite noisy.
There's a two-horsepower motor in there driving the blades at 240 mph.
There's no need to boil the veg for hours on end as the friction of the blades is enough to cook them.
Look at that.
You can see the steam.
And that is warm soup.
Yes, it may cost £600, and you may be able to get a can of soup for about 80p, but I'm a gadget lover, not an accountant.
For the main course, we'll be having steak, cooked in the sous-vide style.
After vacuum packing the meat, it's cooked in a water bath at a precise 56.
5 degrees, and can be left for hours on end.
None of the juices or nutrients can escape so the flavour is sensational.
That is just about the most succulent steak I have ever tasted.
It genuinely is.
But It maybe needs a soupcon of salt? A suspicion of moutard and perhaps, more chips.
Definitely more chips.
Making gadget chips begins with the Rotato peeler.
It's three times quicker than using a knife.
Then it's a retro chopper, followed by this health-conscious fryer.
It needs just a teaspoon of oil combined with hot air to make supposedly light and fluffy chips in 25 minutes.
I'll let my guests be the judge of that.
And here they are.
The delightful comedian Jo Brand Good to see you.
.
.
the delectable mathematician Carol Vorderman.
Oh, it's cold out there! .
.
and the devilish illusionist Derren Brown.
Thanks for coming along.
It's colder than I thought it was going to be.
Sorry about that, I don't have a gadget to make it warmer.
Oh, my goodness, look at this.
We start with a traditional aperitif, served in a very un-traditional way Here's a straw.
It is called Le Whaf.
Jo, all you do is breathe in the cloud in there.
So pop my straw in? Pop it in as far as you can and just have a suck.
Solid end.
Oh, my God.
And you have a go, Carol? Into the cloud.
COUGHING That always happens the first time.
How embarrassing! - How embarrassing! - And again.
Off you go.
I think I ought to have a go as well.
It smells amazing.
Yeah, there's brandy in that.
Oh, that's lovely! It uses ultrasound, would you believe, to turn the spirit into cloud.
And the spirit, in fact, is Scotch whisky.
Is it really? I didn't think it was.
- Is it really? I didn't think it was.
- At the bottom there.
Can you get them in Tesco's? Not yet.
We like to think of ourselves here at Gadget Man as early adopters and what we try today, the world tries next year.
Do you get drunk on it though? Yes, it doesn't burn off the alcohol.
In order to face my soup, you may need more of it.
That's fantastic.
Time for the first course - the soup made with my high-speed blender.
- We ingest this orally, do we, this one? - Yes, you do! You ingest it by mouth.
It is carrot and courgette.
- Oh, yes, it is.
- It's very tasty.
Not very hot though.
It is not very hot, I have to admit.
Hmm, a lukewarm reception, so I decide to unveil the first of my surprises.
Wine? Why not wine? I have got a corkscrew in here somewhere.
Derren, I think you'll enjoy this.
There somewhere Just find a corkscrew.
There we go.
- This actually is a corkscrew.
You can't get it in a drawer though, can you? It took sculptor Rob Higgs three years to build this, the world's biggest bottle opener.
It's made from 380 different bronze parts and yours to buy for just £150,000.
There something so touchingly human about the fact that we go to such great lengths to achieve That is the joke of it.
It is a deliberate artistic joke that on the one hand, it is a waste of ingenuity, but on the other hand it is a celebration of it.
That whole thing dropped, don't worry.
That is a good thing.
It is now going in.
It is going in? The corkscrew is going into the bottle.
I have got an emergency stop button which is a health and safety thing.
It has never been used yet.
The cork It is coming out.
Oh, perfect.
Oh, look.
Oh, my word, the whole thing Just to lift the cork.
And you'll see.
And it has deposited the cork into a little bowl.
Very neat and tidy.
Now we are about to suddenly BELL RINGS This bell shows that the second phase is about to be entered into.
Keep winding.
I love this so much.
Oh! That is all right, that is a weight.
Now it is all being done by clockwork now.
Oh! So lovely.
Kept thinking it is not going to work, it is not going to work.
It does.
(LAUGHS) That is beautiful! A glass of wine.
That is incredible.
I can't believe I've never had this in my life.
I wouldn't buy one for an alcoholic! Now the main course.
The sous-vide steak and the Airfryer chips.
It smells fantastic, Stephen.
That is very sweet of you.
Gosh! There we go.
Chips and beans.
I did the beans because I had a lovely bean-slicing gadget.
So I couldn't resist having beans.
I will just pour myself some wine using this gizmo here.
Because it is a recently opened bottle of wine with an extraordinary corkscrew, you know to let the air into the wine, so it isn't so sharp and tight, this does exactly that.
Is it battery driven? No, no, it is just gravity.
It tastes a lot nicer once it has been through one of those.
The steak is fab.
For the sous-vide, I'll defer to Derren who, it transpires, is a bit of a fan.
Sous-vide - literally under vacuum.
It is a tub of water.
You set it to the temperature that matches the inside of whatever it is you want to cook when it is at its perfectly cooked state.
The inside of a steak is 56.
5 degrees.
How do you know that?! - How do you know that?! - You set it to that.
Because I love it! You set it to that and the result is a perfect steak.
- You set it to that and the result is a perfect steak.
- I hope you enjoy it and it is nice.
My verdict is it is a lovely meal and it is so nice for a change to see runner beans that are even in length.
Exactly! And the chips? - And the chips? - It is perfect.
The chips are not quite as crisp as I had hoped.
They taste deep-fried.
That is the amazing thing.
They taste as if they are oily almost.
There is literally one teaspoon.
No point in having a chip if you don't think you are going to get heart disease! LAUGHTER Pudding next which my guests will have to help me make.
You put in sugar.
Cream.
Some vanilla essence.
Yes, that is good.
OK, so it is pudding time.
Ready? - Ready? - To me, to me, to me! Chucking the ball around for 20 minutes cools the ingredients sufficiently to makeice cream.
Real ice cream.
Wow.
That makes ice cream? Yes, it is an ice-cream maker and it keeps you fit.
And you don't need any electricity.
Just your own calories, which is rather handy.
But ice cream on its own is rather dull.
And I have got something which will make your pudding roar.
Come with me.
- Come with me.
- All of us? - Come with me.
- All of us? - Yes.
It's the world's first chocolate printer.
Yes! Wow! This is actually going to be, with any luck, my face.
Can you see it now? Designed by scientists from the University of Exeter, it can scan any image and then prints it using a syringe full of melted chocolate.
Domestic versions should be on sale in the next few years.
I reckon you're only up to about 30 calories so far.
LAUGHTER Through the magic of television, we have prepared four earlier, not one.
And three of them are highly triumphant.
One is possibly not as complimentary as it ought to be.
It went a little awry.
Miss Brand, I do not think that is bad at all.
No, that is OK.
It is really good, isn't it? Mr Brown.
That is astonishing! It is really good.
You are an artist yourself.
It is really impressive.
Carol I'm really I don't know what went wrong.
The most beautiful person in the room and that is what has happened! I am so sorry! The name is lovely, be honest.
I will serve those, I think, in the conservatory.
And now for my postprandial "piece de la resistance", the next best thing to a teleporter.
Oh, my God! Welcome to Saigon, ladies and gentlemen.
A fine, bustling city all around us.
That woman is looking at me weird.
This is my Igloo Dome.
It links five HD projectors to create a 360 cinema with specially made footage transporting us to other countries under water Oh, wow! .
.
even out of this world.
That is incredible.
What is your impression of the evening? It has been amazing! The food has been terrific.
I am so thrilled because I cannot tell you how much I have been worrying myself over whether or not you would find all these gadgets absurd and whether they didn't work and they were ridiculous.
But you have taken them in exactly the spirit in which I think gadgets should be taken.
That they are on the one hand, useful, yes, but on the other, more importantly, somehow they engage you, they are fun, they make you smile.
They are sort of joyful, they are a kind of celebration somehow.
It is OK to find a gadget funny and useful at the same time.
Brilliant.
Thank you all so much for coming.
Can I eat your nose? LAUGHTER Oh, I'll have part of his nose.
Lovely.
Next time on Gadget Man - I'm looking how gadgets can make work more fun.
I challenge Alan Sugar to a phone fight.
Ha-ha-ha! Ha! Ha-ha! Good, you have sent it.
Brilliant, well done.
And I create the ultimate skiving supergadget.
It'll either be a triumph or I'll be laughed off the stage.
Red Bee Media Ltd
I'm Stephen Fry, and I have adored gadgets ever since I was knee-high to a space hopper.
My obsession runs deep.
When I was 15, I laid out a fortune on the first new Polaroid camera, and 40 years later, I still have a desperate need to have the latest phone, alarm clock, egg timer as soon as they're launched, if not before.
Gadgets entertain us, they connect us, they educate us, they impress us, and, of course, sometimes, they frustrate us.
But whichever way you look at them, they make the world a much, much better and, dare I say, happier place.
'So, come into my world as I, along with some of my friends, 'reveal a feast of magnificent gadgets 'that will provide for a fun and stress-free existence.
' I could certainly fall asleep.
'Some will be from the future' Oh, my God! '.
.
some from the past.
' This here is the first iPod.
Really? 'Some are gadgets you can only dream of owning.
' Whoo! completely silent.
it's electric.
'And simple gizmos you can buy today 'that will change the way you live your life tomorrow.
' Oh, I see! (LAUGHS) And it's vibrating.
It's tickly! And every week I'm going to be creating my very own supergadget, the ultimate gadget of its kind.
Well, I'll be giving it a go.
Oh, no! Consider me your humble servant, your knight in crumpled corduroy, your Gadget Man.
Tonight on Gadget Man, it's all about food.
I swear to you, I've never had a better sausage, ever.
I'll be showing you how technology can make the weekly shop a pleasurable experience.
That's my boy! I'll be revealing the magnificent cooking devices that every kitchen should be armed with.
Mm! Look at that! And I'll be showcasing some quite extraordinary gadgetry to wow my friends, as I throw the ultimate Gadget Man dinner party.
"Food, glorious food.
What is there more handsome?", as the great Lionel Bart once wrote.
Thank you, Everett! And it's certainly true that, when it's served up on a plate like this, oh, there's nothing more wonderful.
But for most of us, even a spoilt pig like me, there's the great faff of choosing how to buy your food and how to prepare it.
It's not easy.
It's one of the curses of the 21st century.
I don't think she noticed! Mm! I'm spending the day preparing for a spectacular dinner party.
First, some tech to make my supermarket shop a little more fun.
Let's start with the Smarter Cart, the only robot shopping trolley in the world.
Good boy.
Come on.
Its on-board camera tracks your body shape, allowing the trolley to automatically follow you, so you don't have to push it.
And as it will know the layout of the store better than you will, it can also guide you, like a supermarket sat nav.
Turn round.
That's an obedient cart.
Stop It's the first time this prototype has ever been outside of America, and I suspect it has a touch of jet lag.
Either that or it fancies me.
Yes One day, these carts will connect directly to your internet fridge, creating a shopping list that's displayed on the monitor.
Scan an item and it gets automatically ticked off the list.
(CART) Six pack of sausages.
It recognises them.
Genius.
So, do you think this thing will catch on? I'd like to see how it would work in a really busy shop, say at Christmas time.
That would be interesting.
That's the point, isn't it? Because technology hasn't yet caught up with the human ability to dodge and weave.
Bad enough people controlling it, let alone something else.
Could be a scene of bumper cars or something! I'm throwing a gadgety dinner party later, and I'll need wine.
But the choice is overwhelming.
Thankfully, I have this Wine Find App on hand to make a recommendation.
Meats.
Beef.
Steak.
What's it recommending? Margaux, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chilean Merlot.
I don't think I've ever had Chilean Merlot, so let's take their advice.
In you go.
Follow me.
Time to pay.
Checking out is going to get a lot quicker as more and more phones become equipped with so-called "near field communication".
Just wave them at a contactless reader and the money leaves your account.
Oh, that's so cool, isn't it? And your receipt, thank you very much.
- And your receipt, thank you very much.
- Thank you very much indeed.
And I can press that button to make it wider, slip it over my shoulder.
That's great! - That's great! - And go to the car.
And how about this as the ultimate Gadget Man shopping car? It's on sale next year and is called the Lightning.
Well, it's time to move on.
This is rather swish, isn't it? Let's start her up.
Whoo! Completely silent.
it's electric.
In fact, the most advanced electric car in Britain.
Look out, look out, look out, vehicle reversing, vehicle reversing.
Now, I know not everyone loves technology as much as I do.
I've known Simon Hopkinson, one of our country's greatest food writers, for 20 years.
He hates anything modern.
But I reckon some of the clever gizmos I'm considering using for my dinner party might just change his mind.
No, I hate that.
- No, I hate that.
- I knew you would! I knew it would just turn you absolutely livid with fury.
Nor did he like the machine that makes fresh pasta in 15 minutes .
.
the electric pizza oven with a traditional rotating stone base .
.
or this clever little garlic chopper.
Big bits, small bits.
You're not impressed, are you? And when it came to finely slicing an onion Shall we have a race? Now! .
.
infuriatingly, his old-fashioned knife skills beat the pull-cord spinning blades of my VeggiChop.
Even this touch-screen hob, which automatically senses a pan and heats the area accordingly, failed to win him over.
No, I'm a gas man.
And I like seeing the flame.
Then, against all odds, I had a breakthrough.
What you do is you actually screw this in.
Oh, I like this.
You're there.
I think I'm there, aren't I? And then I'm pulling That's it.
Oh! Look what comes out.
It's whole chunks, it's the whole chunky thing.
Gosh! - Gosh! - Isn't that brilliant? I like that.
Hear that? He liked it! Although Simon reserved his biggest enthusiasm of the day for a rather retro runner-bean slicer, produced from his very own back pocket.
Oh, it widens out.
It's a spring, yeah.
And then it holds it, and as you push through, it takes off the strings.
And they are lovely, cos runner beans need to be thin.
I shall definitely be using that at tonight's soiree.
If it's mild I might even be tempted to barbecue.
We Brits do host over 120 million a year, after all.
But I don't want any old thing, I want something that will get my guests gawping, so I've asked three pals to test some of the most innovative on the market.
Alex is using the BarbeSkew, which cooks everything on rotating skewers.
Switch the power on and it spins around, does all the cooking for you, so no more flipping burgers.
That is pretty lazy, to be honest.
Vanessa is using the Big Green Egg.
It's actually a modern take on a 3,000-year-old Chinese design, relying on an airtight cooking chamber with a very precise temperature control.
So it's made out of ceramic clay, and it gets up to 650 Celsius inside.
Or what you can do is moderate the temperature with these vents, that one there and the one at the bottom.
Yeah.
And then you can, smoke some meat for, say, nine hours or something, cos it stays hot for ten to 12 hours.
Wow.
OK.
So when yours has died a death .
.
you'll still be cooking.
- .
.
you'll still be cooking.
- .
.
I'm still going.
Yeah.
But mine's gas.
DJ is using the Blacktop 360 Party Grill.
Not only is it a gas barbecue but it's also a griddle and built-in deep-fat fryer.
With this you've got the optimum temperature, or you can change it, whatever it is you're cooking, for as long as you want or until the gas runs out.
I've also given this lot the iGrill app.
It connects to a meat thermometer via Bluetooth, alerting you when the food is perfectly cooked.
The food's actually ready.
So, after the cooking and the tasting, which was our favourite? I think if you're a serious barbecuer, you would go for this one, but I think in terms of money Value for money.
And portability.
.
.
and speed, yeah, then I think maybe the gas one.
But I think we have a clear winner, really, in that, in terms of practical usage for the average Briton, but this in terms of the sort of Margot from The Good Life who wanted to show off objects.
If we weren't in a recession, then we'd get this one.
I think on reflection that a barbecue is just too much hassle.
Besides, the weather's turning decidedly chilly.
On the other hand, I really do need to wow my dinner guests.
I wonder if any inspiration might be taken from gadgets of the past.
Just imagine the scene when Mr and Mrs 2000 sit down to breakfast with their very own automatic au pair.
That particular kitchen revolution never did happen, and the truth is that very few major culinary inventions have caught on over the years.
I spent my childhood looking forward to the kitchen of 2000, and it never arrived.
There'll be no more children scalding themselves in the kitchen when safety stoves like this are the rule of the day.
- But I happen to know that there are gadgets out there which can create genuine excitement in the kitchen.
So it's back to Gadget Man HQ It's me.
.
.
to start planning my spectacular dinner party.
And here are my sous chefs, gadgets that blend, gadgets that slice, gadgets that dice, gadgets that peel, gadgets that cook, gadgets that do just about everything.
All I have to do is press a few buttons.
Bliss! I've also lined up a couple of incredible, never-before-seen surprises that are going to absolutely knock my guests' socks off.
LAUGHTER Welcome back to Gadget Man.
In just a couple of hours some friends will be round for dinner, and I've got some truly spectacular surprises lined up for them.
For now it's time to cook and everything will be prepared using my pick of the best tasty tech.
We'll have soup for starters, but I won't actually be cooking it, I will be cheating by using the Vitamix 500, a so-called "performance blender".
It's quite noisy.
There's a two-horsepower motor in there driving the blades at 240 mph.
There's no need to boil the veg for hours on end as the friction of the blades is enough to cook them.
Look at that.
You can see the steam.
And that is warm soup.
Yes, it may cost £600, and you may be able to get a can of soup for about 80p, but I'm a gadget lover, not an accountant.
For the main course, we'll be having steak, cooked in the sous-vide style.
After vacuum packing the meat, it's cooked in a water bath at a precise 56.
5 degrees, and can be left for hours on end.
None of the juices or nutrients can escape so the flavour is sensational.
That is just about the most succulent steak I have ever tasted.
It genuinely is.
But It maybe needs a soupcon of salt? A suspicion of moutard and perhaps, more chips.
Definitely more chips.
Making gadget chips begins with the Rotato peeler.
It's three times quicker than using a knife.
Then it's a retro chopper, followed by this health-conscious fryer.
It needs just a teaspoon of oil combined with hot air to make supposedly light and fluffy chips in 25 minutes.
I'll let my guests be the judge of that.
And here they are.
The delightful comedian Jo Brand Good to see you.
.
.
the delectable mathematician Carol Vorderman.
Oh, it's cold out there! .
.
and the devilish illusionist Derren Brown.
Thanks for coming along.
It's colder than I thought it was going to be.
Sorry about that, I don't have a gadget to make it warmer.
Oh, my goodness, look at this.
We start with a traditional aperitif, served in a very un-traditional way Here's a straw.
It is called Le Whaf.
Jo, all you do is breathe in the cloud in there.
So pop my straw in? Pop it in as far as you can and just have a suck.
Solid end.
Oh, my God.
And you have a go, Carol? Into the cloud.
COUGHING That always happens the first time.
How embarrassing! - How embarrassing! - And again.
Off you go.
I think I ought to have a go as well.
It smells amazing.
Yeah, there's brandy in that.
Oh, that's lovely! It uses ultrasound, would you believe, to turn the spirit into cloud.
And the spirit, in fact, is Scotch whisky.
Is it really? I didn't think it was.
- Is it really? I didn't think it was.
- At the bottom there.
Can you get them in Tesco's? Not yet.
We like to think of ourselves here at Gadget Man as early adopters and what we try today, the world tries next year.
Do you get drunk on it though? Yes, it doesn't burn off the alcohol.
In order to face my soup, you may need more of it.
That's fantastic.
Time for the first course - the soup made with my high-speed blender.
- We ingest this orally, do we, this one? - Yes, you do! You ingest it by mouth.
It is carrot and courgette.
- Oh, yes, it is.
- It's very tasty.
Not very hot though.
It is not very hot, I have to admit.
Hmm, a lukewarm reception, so I decide to unveil the first of my surprises.
Wine? Why not wine? I have got a corkscrew in here somewhere.
Derren, I think you'll enjoy this.
There somewhere Just find a corkscrew.
There we go.
- This actually is a corkscrew.
You can't get it in a drawer though, can you? It took sculptor Rob Higgs three years to build this, the world's biggest bottle opener.
It's made from 380 different bronze parts and yours to buy for just £150,000.
There something so touchingly human about the fact that we go to such great lengths to achieve That is the joke of it.
It is a deliberate artistic joke that on the one hand, it is a waste of ingenuity, but on the other hand it is a celebration of it.
That whole thing dropped, don't worry.
That is a good thing.
It is now going in.
It is going in? The corkscrew is going into the bottle.
I have got an emergency stop button which is a health and safety thing.
It has never been used yet.
The cork It is coming out.
Oh, perfect.
Oh, look.
Oh, my word, the whole thing Just to lift the cork.
And you'll see.
And it has deposited the cork into a little bowl.
Very neat and tidy.
Now we are about to suddenly BELL RINGS This bell shows that the second phase is about to be entered into.
Keep winding.
I love this so much.
Oh! That is all right, that is a weight.
Now it is all being done by clockwork now.
Oh! So lovely.
Kept thinking it is not going to work, it is not going to work.
It does.
(LAUGHS) That is beautiful! A glass of wine.
That is incredible.
I can't believe I've never had this in my life.
I wouldn't buy one for an alcoholic! Now the main course.
The sous-vide steak and the Airfryer chips.
It smells fantastic, Stephen.
That is very sweet of you.
Gosh! There we go.
Chips and beans.
I did the beans because I had a lovely bean-slicing gadget.
So I couldn't resist having beans.
I will just pour myself some wine using this gizmo here.
Because it is a recently opened bottle of wine with an extraordinary corkscrew, you know to let the air into the wine, so it isn't so sharp and tight, this does exactly that.
Is it battery driven? No, no, it is just gravity.
It tastes a lot nicer once it has been through one of those.
The steak is fab.
For the sous-vide, I'll defer to Derren who, it transpires, is a bit of a fan.
Sous-vide - literally under vacuum.
It is a tub of water.
You set it to the temperature that matches the inside of whatever it is you want to cook when it is at its perfectly cooked state.
The inside of a steak is 56.
5 degrees.
How do you know that?! - How do you know that?! - You set it to that.
Because I love it! You set it to that and the result is a perfect steak.
- You set it to that and the result is a perfect steak.
- I hope you enjoy it and it is nice.
My verdict is it is a lovely meal and it is so nice for a change to see runner beans that are even in length.
Exactly! And the chips? - And the chips? - It is perfect.
The chips are not quite as crisp as I had hoped.
They taste deep-fried.
That is the amazing thing.
They taste as if they are oily almost.
There is literally one teaspoon.
No point in having a chip if you don't think you are going to get heart disease! LAUGHTER Pudding next which my guests will have to help me make.
You put in sugar.
Cream.
Some vanilla essence.
Yes, that is good.
OK, so it is pudding time.
Ready? - Ready? - To me, to me, to me! Chucking the ball around for 20 minutes cools the ingredients sufficiently to makeice cream.
Real ice cream.
Wow.
That makes ice cream? Yes, it is an ice-cream maker and it keeps you fit.
And you don't need any electricity.
Just your own calories, which is rather handy.
But ice cream on its own is rather dull.
And I have got something which will make your pudding roar.
Come with me.
- Come with me.
- All of us? - Come with me.
- All of us? - Yes.
It's the world's first chocolate printer.
Yes! Wow! This is actually going to be, with any luck, my face.
Can you see it now? Designed by scientists from the University of Exeter, it can scan any image and then prints it using a syringe full of melted chocolate.
Domestic versions should be on sale in the next few years.
I reckon you're only up to about 30 calories so far.
LAUGHTER Through the magic of television, we have prepared four earlier, not one.
And three of them are highly triumphant.
One is possibly not as complimentary as it ought to be.
It went a little awry.
Miss Brand, I do not think that is bad at all.
No, that is OK.
It is really good, isn't it? Mr Brown.
That is astonishing! It is really good.
You are an artist yourself.
It is really impressive.
Carol I'm really I don't know what went wrong.
The most beautiful person in the room and that is what has happened! I am so sorry! The name is lovely, be honest.
I will serve those, I think, in the conservatory.
And now for my postprandial "piece de la resistance", the next best thing to a teleporter.
Oh, my God! Welcome to Saigon, ladies and gentlemen.
A fine, bustling city all around us.
That woman is looking at me weird.
This is my Igloo Dome.
It links five HD projectors to create a 360 cinema with specially made footage transporting us to other countries under water Oh, wow! .
.
even out of this world.
That is incredible.
What is your impression of the evening? It has been amazing! The food has been terrific.
I am so thrilled because I cannot tell you how much I have been worrying myself over whether or not you would find all these gadgets absurd and whether they didn't work and they were ridiculous.
But you have taken them in exactly the spirit in which I think gadgets should be taken.
That they are on the one hand, useful, yes, but on the other, more importantly, somehow they engage you, they are fun, they make you smile.
They are sort of joyful, they are a kind of celebration somehow.
It is OK to find a gadget funny and useful at the same time.
Brilliant.
Thank you all so much for coming.
Can I eat your nose? LAUGHTER Oh, I'll have part of his nose.
Lovely.
Next time on Gadget Man - I'm looking how gadgets can make work more fun.
I challenge Alan Sugar to a phone fight.
Ha-ha-ha! Ha! Ha-ha! Good, you have sent it.
Brilliant, well done.
And I create the ultimate skiving supergadget.
It'll either be a triumph or I'll be laughed off the stage.
Red Bee Media Ltd