I was baking cakes for a gourmet shop and put two chocolate cakes in oven to bake and when I opened the oven an hour later, they were raw - the oven wasn't working. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't borrow an oven and I didn't want to waste the batter, so I came up with the idea of steaming them and they came out great! Thick and fudgy, like pudding cake. That happy accident was always in the back of mind.

Different brands are indeed different, and that's the challenge of developing recipes for a cooker. But just like anything, you have to be flexible.

I always cook meats on low and things like eggs or cakes on high, because things with eggs in them you want to cook through and through; and you don't want to put food in there that cooks so slowly that bacteria develops.

The more complicated the machine, the more problems I find it has.

The slow cooker has a tremendous breadth of uses. I find it supplements regular kitchen equipment, and stands in for things that you might not have. Many of the recipes I've come up with, like risotto, is just not what one would think about with this gadget.

I was baking cakes for a gourmet shop and put two chocolate cakes in oven to bake and when I opened the oven an hour later, they were raw - the oven wasn't working. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't borrow an oven and I didn't want to waste the batter, so I came up with the idea of steaming them and they came out great! Thick and fudgy, like pudding cake. That happy accident was always in the back of mind.