Russell Hobbs Mini Oven

This is quite a nice little oven and solidly made, unlike some other cheaper options. It also looks like a proper oven which is good. The main problem is you can only use the small ring when using the oven and cannot use either ring when using the grill. This can create problems when trying to cook a 'roast'.

The only other problem, although quite minor, is the rings retain heat for a long time so can be a problem when needing to reduce heat quickly for simmering etc. A big plus is the temperature will go up to 250 degrees which many other mini ovens will not.

The Russell Hobbs Mini Oven works well, and for those who don't need the facilities of a large one or don't have the space, any standard table or worktop should support its weight and accommodate its size.

There are four heating elements; one large and one smaller hotplate; one located at the top of the oven compartment being the grill, and one under the floor of the oven. (No cigar for guessing what this one does!)

The total current consumption of the above exceeds 3,000 watts so as not to overload the power supply, you can't have them all on at the same time, and the switching arrangement prevents this. You can turn the controls, but you'll only have the oven or grill and one hotplate on together, or the two hotplates on together. Naturally, you wouldn't need the oven and grill on at the same time. In practice, this is not the disadvantage you might think, as the instructions give advice on 'sideways thinking' and the hotplates do retain a useful amount of heat for some time, unlike the red-ring types.

The oven is thermostatically controlled as per normal, but the grill is either on or off, and is controlled by the same knob as the oven by simply turning it fully clockwise. In this position, the oven is off. The two hotplates are commanded by multi-position knob controlled switches all clearly marked.

The grill pan is vitreous enamelled and has a chromium-plated removable grid. Raised 'slots' in the oven sides accommodate the pan at various heights, and it can be placed on the oven floor.

The exterior is finished with a good quality white enamel paint which, with the best will in the world, will not be as durable as vitreous enamel, and the manufacturer warns that heat will cause some discolouration over time. In about two month's use, this is showing up as a light-brown stain on the inside edge of the door, and is hardly noticeable with it closed. I can well imagine though that this will spread in time, giving rise to the thought that if the manufacturer painted the unit that colour, you'd never see it!

Now then - what about safety, especially where children are concerned? The oven comes with a captive lead and moulded fused plug, as is the norm these days, so if the house wiring is up to standard, the oven will be properly earthed. But it's an oven, and like any other the casing will get at least very warm, and it has a double-glazed heatproof glass door. After being in use for over half an hour with an oven temperature of 220 degrees Celsius, and the larger hotplate in constant use, the door and sides got quite hot, but not enough to burn the skin, even when I held the back of my hand on them for some seconds. Naturally, the top of the cooker is another story, and due to the type of hotplate here, and unlike the red-ring, which is largely isolated from a cookers top, the temperature, a good two inches away from the hotplate was enough to cause a mild burn on my fingertip.

Taken all in all, I think this Russell Hobbs mini oven is a good buy at £99, and if the oven is used a lot, then money will be saved twice, as not only does it consume less power than a larger one, but also cooks 20% faster.