Love my alien flying space ship which landed on my work surface! Most of my friends have never seen one before. It gets lots of comments. Brilliant for doing small portions 1or 2 people, fast for kids meals when you don't have time for main oven to heat up or don't feel it's worth the energy to heat it up for small items. Some say you can cook roast dinner in it but I haven't, think it's too small for reasonable amount of food for 4 people. Always slower cooking on the bottom level. Bit sticky to lift the lid higher to put the extender ring in for 2 layer cooking. Great for toast as it doesn't get cremated in the 5 min. Wouldn't be without it. I'm liking the digital settings as it goes over the 60 min of my previous wind up one.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Had this cooker before and had to order a new one as element needed replacing after 26 months and I found it impossible to undo the screws in the lid where the new element has to be placed. Gave up and ordered the same again as I absolutely loved the first one. However, they have now added a button on the lid which has to be pushed in to close. It is the most fiddly, user unfriendly little button imaginable. I find myself leaning over a hot oven trying to get a grip on a very small button which is quite slippery. My fingers slip off and I burn them on the hot lid, or the button goes partially in and I try to close the lid only to find that it won't and the whole oven skites around. I suppose this is a safety measure in theory but, as so often happens, it turns out to be more of a hazard. Wish I could have the previous model back again. Please, Andrew, get your designers to try closing these lids in the middle of actually cooking a meal - I'll bet they don't find it so easy outside of their testing labs. I also find that the high rack is just a little bit too close to the element. Otherwise, I do find the halogen a big time and electricity saver.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I’ve used a halogen cooker for years, when mine packed up I was going to get the same lift off lid one as cheaper but decided to go for the hinged lid one and has the digital buttons etc. I made the big mistake when it arrived of lifting the lid straight up and not reading the instructions of pressing down a red button then lifting the lid because straight away I broke a piece of plastic on it so it was a very good thing the machine was working as I had already messed up. So I had to use my good strong glue to mend the plastic and leave it for a couple of days to really set. But after that it was read instructions and all systems go. I did laugh when I saw the toast rack and thought who makes toast in this but in fact I tried that out just last night, it was frozen bread I used so perhaps that took longer but it took me 2 presses of that particular button and 10 minutes not five but that was for 2 of us and 6 slices of bread and nicely browned, it does 10 slices which is pretty good and probably less time is needed for fresh bread.Wow what lovely crunchy toast that was, even the crusts were gorgeous, reminded me of my Grandma making me toast under her grill in the days before I used a toaster and now got to say it’s halogen toast forever for us as my husband said that’s how toast used to taste and should taste, use less time if you like softer toast. The rest of the halogen is great, love the buttons for cleaning etc and those sure work well after using it for cooking a chicken and sausages etc. We are in the process of selling our house and had 2 potential buyers so impressed with my spotless built in expensive double oven and they are amazed when I say that’s because since being installed 2 years ago I was given a halogen by my friend who never used it and now I only use my halogen except at Christmas, but I can do all my cooking in the halogen and have saved pounds on electric which is brilliant especially with these rising costs today. I do also have the electric steamer which I use when we have people around and I have a joint of meat or chicken in the halogen and need more veg, otherwise for 2 of us I can do the veg in the halogen too. It also makes great chips as well. I have to say now I am used to this digital halogen I do love it but if you are on a tight budget the lift off lid is as good, but if you have the extra then this is worth it, looks so nice too, although does take up extra room on my bench length ways to accommodate the hinged bit at the back. But all in all a great machine for doing everything I need to, it warms up food a treat and cooking battered frozen fish tastes so lush like chip shop fish. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Having now owned this for 3 years, I've found out about all its good and bad points. Firstly, the advert photo is very misleading, showing a chicken and veg sitting in the bottom of the bowl. It would never be properly cooked like this. The food has to be placed on one of the two racks supplied, or on one of the small trays/roasting tins supplied to allow hot air circulation. This is a very smart idea, but although the taller rack "legs" allow it to stand over the lower rack, if a tray is being used on the lower rack, the "legs" won't fit over it without some judicious bending of the "legs". However now that has been done, it is just brilliant! I haven't used the oven in my cooker since. I also use the extender ring permanently to ensure food on the top rack is less likely get burned if close to the halogen tube. It cooks much quicker than a conventional oven and presumably is cheaper to run as it only has a small are to heat (no need to pre-heat the oven either). It's ideal for one or two people, but a bit limited by its size for a larger family, although I've three times cooked a medium size turkey crown in it ( a little awkward removing them without getting burned on the side of the bowl but silicone gloves came in useful to prevent this). Cleaning the bowl (and extender) is easy as it fits in the sink, but the inside of the hinged lid is trickier as water cannot be used, as it would run into the electrics but if wiped regularly with a dampened sponge and nylon pan scrubber keeps it almost as good as new. I now use it daily for all roasting, grilling, re-heating etc. Toasting bread is still better in a toaster or grill, eggs better fried, boiled, or poached in a pan, but for almost anything else, it's perfect (my daughter in law used it several times for baking large cakes with no problem). Overall, it paid for itself within a year, and I would be lost without it.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I bought this on the recommendation of a friend who has one, it was the right make and they said it is better with the hinged lid, the size says between 12 to 17 litres and I seem to have the smallest oven for the most money, I haven't used the oven yet so can't comment on how good it's performance is. It is very small so if you want to purchase the oven please do not pay over the price for the smallest oven just because you have been looking at one.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in Halogen Ovens