Not quite up to scratch! (De Deitrich DMP 401)

Member Name: Aberdonian

Product:	De Deitrich DMP 401
Date:	12/12/04 (806 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks stunning., Self-cleaning oven., Two ovens and two grills.

Disadvantages: Expensive repairs., Poor design.

Three years ago we extended and completely refitted our kitchen. Instead of a free-standing cooker we opted for a built-in oven and separate hob. This way we could have the main oven at working-surface height and avoid possible accidents when moving hot food.

The model we chose was the De Dietrich DMP401D in white. It looks stunning and has what we need: two ovens (one with a fan) and a grill that could be used without too much bending or stretching. There are other features, but they were our basic requirements.

The cooker fits into a standard unit of the type produced by most fitted-kitchen manufacturers. If you’re doing it yourself you might need assistance in lifting the oven into the unit. You’ll also find that there are copious amounts of packaging, but some of it is recyclable. The fitting was done by an electrician and posed no problems.

If you’re used to a cooker where the temperature can be adjusted to the nearest 10ºC you might find the main oven difficult as it can only be set in 25ºC jumps. If you normally cook something at 180ºC you will have to choose between 175ºC and 200ºC. Some guidance is given but I’m afraid a lot is down to trial and error. We haven’t yet – after three years - managed to produce perfect Yorkshire puddings, despite cooking with the fan, without the fan and on various shelves.

On the other hand the lower oven is infinitely variable. If you wanted a temperature of 182ºC you could adjust the dial carefully to achieve this. This oven is relatively small and has no fan but will cook a pie or a lasagne with ease.

Both ovens have large grab handles with the doors opening downwards rather than to the side. If you are small this can mean that wiping out the main oven is not easy, but the smaller door on the lower oven doesn’t cause a problem.

The main oven is self-cleaning with a choice of three settings depending on how much debris has accumulated in the oven. It works by incinerating everything in the oven and the grey ash is simply wiped away at the end. This is a very easy way to clean a cooker, but there is a major snag. Because the oven reaches such a high temperature in cleaning a lock is activated and this isn’t released until the oven cools down. On a number of occasions the lock has failed to release and all that can be done is to repeat the cleaning cycle in the hope that it will release the next time. So far it always has, but it does mean that we can only use the cleaning cycle when we know that there will be quite a gap before we need to use the cooker again.

Both ovens have grills. In the main oven the temperature cannot be varied and cooking has to be controlled by moving the grill pan closer to, or away from, the grill. This might sound fiddly but is quite simple once you get used to it. The grill pan supplied is sturdy - it can be used on the heated hob without buckling and the rack in the grill pan is the most substantial we have ever had. The temperature in the grill in the lower oven can be varied but we tend only to use this for toast and crumpets as this oven isn’t self-cleaning.

The controls take a bit of mastering as there are quite a number of functions controlled by four dials. The main problem with the controls is that the markings are on the edge of the dial rather than the face, with the result that it’s not possible to glance at the oven and see the settings. This can be inconvenient.

The light in the main oven failed within months. Replacing the bulb was something that we kept intending to do, but never got around to. The first hint that we had that there might be bigger problems came when the light suddenly came back on again. It was this that prompted me to take out the extended warranty and it was as well that I did as the oven failed completely within a matter of weeks. The main control board went with a loud bang in the middle of preparing a meal.

The repairs would have cost over £300 and the engineer was unable to even order the parts immediately as it was possible that the oven would be written off and a replacement offered. Unfortunately it was not, probably because a new oven would have cost in the region of £800. Parts for the oven have to be ordered from France and we were without an oven for three weeks.

Once the oven was repaired the engineer advised us never to let the warranty lapse as he thought it was likely that there would be further problems. Since that repair the light hasn’t worked. I’m dreading it coming on again.

Summary: