In the most demanding and innovative restaurants in the world, there are chefs and staff working around the clock striving for perfection and influence. Such kitchens are utilizing incredible tools, precisely engineered to craft their masterpieces. Many of these tools have been created by Breville | PolyScience.
In 1963, PolyScience was founded by Seaton Preston as an equipment manufacturer, dedicated to building the finest analytical laboratory tools. The focus of the business quickly became, and continues to be, precise temperature control products. The Model 73 “PolyTemp” was the company’s first venture into immersion circulators. Over the years, the units have continued to evolve, both in technology and design. Since the beginning, each immersion circulator has been individually hand-crafted and tested to PolyScience’s exacting standards. Philip Preston, Seaton’s son, took over the business in 1982 and brought his own inspiration to the company.
One fateful afternoon in 2005, Matthias Merges, Chef de Cuisine of the eponymous Charlie Trotter’s, called looking for an immersion circulator for the restaurant. It was this collaboration between Philip and Matthias that changed the way we look at temperature in kitchens forever. The sous vide technique provided an unprecedented level of repeatability and consistency. This moment opened the lines of communication between PolyScience and the world’s greatest chefs.
One such chef was Wylie Dufresne. Candidly, Wylie recanted Philip a conversation he had with another manufacturer who said “a laundry” was looking for some immersion circulators. Philip, being a gourmand, instantly knew it was Thomas Keller’s French Laundry. Philip was immediately on a plane to meet with chef Keller to help implement PolyScience’s sous vide technologies throughout the entire Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.
The partnership between PolyScience and chef Keller continued as the French Laundry worked together in developing the PolyScience Chef Series immersion circulator. This immersion circulator marked a pivotal moment in culinary history as it was the first circulator designed specifically for sous vide cooking. The Chef Series was designed to withstand the rigors of the demanding commercial environment. Even more remarkable, the same circulator was made available to the home cook.
The popularity of sous vide cooking has increased dramatically as a result of the attention of culinary media i.e. Iron Chef America, Top Chef, etc. PolyScience continued to foster the accessibility of the technique with the release of the Creative Series Immersion Circulator. In 2015, PolyScience released “Immersed, The Definitive Guide to Sous Vide Cooking”. It has always been the goal of Breville | PolyScience to make sure that chefs and home cooks alike, are cooking sous vide safely and successfully.
Part of the cooking experience is the pleasure that one derives from preparing the meal. The rest of the enjoyment comes from having the time to sit and enjoy it. As Thomas Keller puts it, “Cooking is rewarding and should be fun. And part of that fun is the process.”
Pictured above: Classic Series Sous Vide Immersion Circulator hand made in Niles, IL.
In 2014 Breville and PolyScience announced a strategic alliance whereby Breville would acquire the distribution rights for the current and future PolyScience Culinary products in both the consumer and commercial channels. Since this alliance, Breville | PolyScience has redesigned the infamous Smoking Gun Pro handheld food smoker and re-released the award winning Anti-Griddle unidirectional flash freeze plate. Innovation continued in 2017 with the release of the Control ºFreak, precise temperature cooktop. In 2020, Breville | PolyScience aims to expand its line of precise temperature-controlled culinary equipment once more…
Like this post? Make sure to SIGN UP for our newsletter to stay up to date on our latest content and promotions!
