A Kitchen Gadget That Thinks It’s the Star of Your Counter

Meet the Tokit Omni Cook C2: a chunky countertop marvel that’s essentially the Swiss Army knife of kitchen appliances (without the toothpick) boasting a whopping 21 functions from sous-vide to soy-milk making. I’m all for making life easier in the kitchen so the opportunity to test this beast had me rubbing my hands together with glee. Does it live up to its promise? Let’s dive in!

The Tokit Omni Cook is set to replace the Thermomix In South Africa, it sells for R19 995, which is about R14 000 less than a Thermomix, making it the budget-smart option for gadget lovers in 2025.

The Tokit combines the functionality of 21 gadgets into one solid, touchscreen-equipped, Wi-Fi-enabled behemoth. Going through the initial online set-up and browsing the features seemed daunting at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. It has a built it touch-screen where you can navigate over 3000 recipes. For the purpose of my testing, I tried to cook the type of dishes that would feature on my normal menu. A lot of the recipes cater to a more Asian cooking style but there was enough variety for me to choose from.

The Test Phase

Soup

I started out easy, and used it to make Butternut soup. Using the Pumpkin Soup recipe on the device, I used a soup premix but followed the flavour instructions on the Tokit. It starts with sauteeing fresh ginger directly in the jug. Yes, you read that correctly, sauteing with oil, right in the jug! You then add the rest of the ingredients which gets cooked and blended. I found the end result to be thinner than the soup I would normally make on the stove. But it takes a bit of playing around with the appliance to understand how best to use it to suit your preferences.

Dough

The second recipe I tried was for a potato stuffed paratha. However, I did not have chappati flour as the recipe called for the paratha, so I chose the recipe for naan and used the potato mixture for the filling. I was able to measure and mix the ingredients for the naan dough all in the one jar. It talks you through every step. You don’t need a separate scale. You just add ingredients and it resets the quantity at each step of the recipe to measure the next ingredient. The naan dough turned out beautifully.

The potato filling needed the potatoes to be steamed to soften it. Fear not! The machine has an additional steamer unit that allows you to cook more than one dish at the same time. However it does not come standard and must be purchased as an extra. It does have a smaller steamer basket though which is standard and convenient for smaller amounts. I used this to steam the potatoes to perfection in just 12 minutes – after which you add your spices and other ingredients to be mashed together in the jug. The potato mixture I found was ground too far, resulting in more of a paste rather than a mash. It was tasty though and still delivered a flavourful light supper.

Rice

I also cooked some rice in the steamer to test how it would cook Bimrie rice for a regular curry. And it was perfect. Less effort and a better result than my microwave rice cooker.

Pudding

My sweet tooth was getting jealous, so I had to make something sweet too. There were so many recipes to choose from and I eventually settled on a Sticky Date Pudding. I requires cooking down fresh dates into a paste directly in the mixer and then mixing all the ingredients for the pudding in the same jug. This gets baked in the oven while you make the Sticky Toffee Sauce in the Tokit to serve over the pudding. All this re-using of the same jug does become a bit tiresome, when you have to clean it between stages – luckily the self cleaning function helps to speed up that job quite a bit.

The Good Stuff (a.k.a Why You’ll Love It)

• 21-in-1 functionality
  Blender, steamer, mixer – you name it, it’s onboard. While your countertop might feel slightly claustrophobic, your kitchen cupboard will breathe a sigh of relief.
• Smart setup (if you’re into that)
  It’s heavy, around 7.5 kg, so treat it like a permanent countertop roommate that’s not going anywhere. Setup involves connecting it via Wi-Fi and Mi Home app. I’m no tech wizard and I found this pretty easy to navigate.
• Countertop scale = fewer measuring disasters
  Want to channel your inner scientist? Weigh ingredients directly in the jug, tare accordingly, and skip the avalanche of cups. I loved that there were fewer dishes to clean afterwards
• Pre-cleaning mode
  After your culinary escapades, hit pre-clean, add water (and perhaps a drop of dish soap), and it’ll do a little agitational dance to clean itself so you don’t have to. Magic, right?!?

Where It Trips Over Its Own Spoon

• Heavy and space-hungry
  At 7.5 kg and noticeably larger than an Instant Pot, it’s not something you’ll hide away after dinner. Think of it as the countertop’s new heavyweight champ.
• Recipes via app only – manual mode takes patience
  It treats you like a robot chef – guide via the touchscreen or app, follow step by step; manual mode is there, but dialing it in feels like discovering an easter egg
• Recipe precision needs some kitchen intuition
  Example: pasty mash and brothy butternut soup isn’t ideal and some experimentation is required to perfect your outcomes
• Playing singles with just one jug
  With only one jug on the unit, you are limited to cooking one dish at a time. So curry, rice and sides will never be done at the same time.
  

Final Score

Would I recommend the Tokit Omni Cook C2? If you’re someone who secretly enjoys cooking experiments, loves a bit of techy kitchen wizardry, and don’t mind a learning curve, then yes, this countertop titan is worth a whirl. It’s expensive but effectively replaces your food processor and Instant Pot / pressure cooker. For small kitchens with limited space it’s a good investment.

Suffice it to say, I was really sad to see it go, and must admit to choking back salty tears when it was collected. I kid you not…