It would help if you knew what you were disbelieving.

It's not 11% of the population, it's 11% of households. The population of Spain is 46m and there are 16m households.

Your correction is quite right, and it was a momentary lapse of concentration whilst overcome by a surplus of free dry martini, which most might forgive ... but I did say in my earlier post that it was households not population.

But you said 10% and now you are agreeing with me that it isn't 10% but a claimed 11% plus. ..... so Thermomix marketing certainly seems to have been working on you OK ....

When searching and researching recipes on the internet in English I can joyfully go about my business with little hindrance.

For some time now, and the problem has been getting worse and worse over the past couple of years, it's getting harder and harder to find good reliable recipes in Spanish that don't involve a blasted Thermomix. Spanish online recipe sources are infested with Thermomix's unique cooking directions and most do not give alternative instructions. It's really frustrating, so much so that it made me wonder what the heck was going on and has been the main reason why I initially looked into this Spanish phenomenon and have continued investigating. Each New Year there seem to be less and less recipes for making the Epiphany speciality, Roscon de Reyes, in a traditional way.

I fervently hope that the Thermomix doesn't catch on in the UK in the same way. The idea that a sizeable proportion of the best and most trustworthy English food writers and bloggers with an online presence would convert to Thermomix and write with the assumption that their readers already have one is not one I relish.

The alcohol-fuelled (on one side at least) dispute over statistics is amusing, but irrelevant. What matters is whether one can see a need/justify the expense of a Thermomix.

A relative of mine is a Thermomix demonstrator (in Australia). It seems like a lot of hassle to organise the "parties" (a bit like Tupperware I think) and end up (according to her) selling one or two a quarter. They are priced at around $2000 here, and that, to me at least, is an incredibly high price point for what you get.

It was only a one word minor and temporary slip ......

To me there seems to be an upper natural price point limit in the UK of at most �199 to attract aspirational home cooks. That is still a stretch price in my view, but I might just buy one.

The issue is that home demonstration seems to be a legacy of an era long before the internet. These days you don't need home demonstrators if you have the internet. You could have a Thermomix Club web site built both pre-sale material and with instructions and hints and downloadable recipes for those that purchase. They could sell it direct and cut the cost. The current way to market seems out of touch and out of time and hurts their pricing.

But this unit was intended to be a part of a professional rather than home kitchen. So perhaps they aren't bothered. Perhaps home kitchens is seen as an add on market rather than the prime market. My presumption is that they know this and wish to remain exactly where they are.

Its a job. So the sales/demo reps get out of it what they put in. Supposedly it also depends on how close your "team leader" is to the sales office.
In France, the parties are not organized by the sales reps. They are organized by the customers who have a Thermomix. So if you can get together x nr of friends to attend, the demo person will come - and the reward? : A thermomix recipe book (which costs around EUR40).
The lady we know does about 2 a week and sells around 5 machines a month - and that's considered "low".

Apparently they have a bit of work to do in Australia...

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politi...23-13n06o.html

It sounds even funnier on the video clip.
Trust a South Australian to know his cooking...

The picture posted is the old version though... one would hope they'd at least invest in a top of the line, latest model.

So we finally took the plunge and paid for the Thermomix on our recent trip to France. The TM5 has a 2-3 month waiting list at the moment. So our family friends will handcarry it to Singapore with them in Januray (waiting waiting).

As I ordered it in France it will come with the french chip and recipe book (fine for me, but not for the wife). So we will purchase the English chip and book from the Thermomix Australia site.