Toasted Sarnies....Yum (Breville Sandwich Master Quattro)

Member Name: thespurs

Product:	Breville Sandwich Master Quattro
Date:	22/11/04 (281 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Simple Design, Top Quality

Disadvantages: None

~Introduction~

In my highly regarded and respected opinion, there is nothing better than a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich. It beats every sandwich and baguette or roll filling that I can think of. Plus, with the addition of toasted bread, it's sublime and unbeatable. They are very popular in our household and we probably get through a big packet of cheese in about three days. It has started to become very ridiculous having to keep turning on the grill and from what I can gather it uses up a lot of electricity. There is also the added complication of not being able to judge the power of the grill and ending up with burnt bread and really runny cheese.


~Breville: A History~

The company was formed by a couple of Australian blokes called O'Brien and Norville. You can guess who they derived the name Breville then. The first started out, producing radios. The sold thousands of radios and that market soon became saturated, so in 1974 the company released its Snack'n'Sandwich Toaster. Its sales figures reached 400,000 in the first year and it became one of the most successful product launches in Australian history. In the 1980's, Breville opened a Hong Kong branch and from there began operations in another 15 countries worldwide. Today, they are well established in the United Kingdom and have a substantial range of small kitchen products in their portfolio, ranging from blenders and health grills to kettles and steamers.


~Choosing a Sandwich Toaster~

At the end of the day, I think a sandwich toaster is pretty a much a sandwich toaster. There can't be that much difference between a rubbish one and a good one, what with the prices being very low. If I am honest, I have never come across a Breville product prior to this one. They come very highly recommended by family and friends so I showed my Dad a couple on amazon and he decided that this one was the best bet.


~Aesthetics~

The picture is fairly clear and it does reflect what the toaster looks like in real life. It is a very simple design, really rather plain. It is rather inconspicuous on the kitchen worktop and it is after all only a sandwich toaster. It comes in all white, with some black plastic around the hinge are and also the plates and interior are a matt black. The feet on the bottom, prevent the toaster from sliding across the worksurfaces, which is very safe. I think that the design is perfect, it does a job and just blends in nicely with the surroundings.


~Performance~

This seems to be more than up to the job of whipping out delicious tasting, toasted sandwiches. It is very easy to get the bread, or toast, just right and how you like it. I would say that the machine works just below the rate of a toaster, so it does take a few seconds longer to do. This makes it easier to judge and also the gentle heating of the bread and the contents make it taste that much nicer. I am more than happy with the quality of the toasting it is as good as any toaster.


~Durability~

This toaster seems to be pretty efficient and has more than coped with the huge demand that we place on it for toasted sarnies. There have been no problems of any sort and it has always performed to its maximum. The product itself seems rather well made. It looks and feels very strong; it will stand up to a fair bit of heavy use. I think that we will get a good five to ten years of good use out of this from the way that it has held up so far. I would also say that Breville products in general, are very good.


~Maintenance~

As with many sandwich toasters of today, the inner plates can be removed. This is very helpful because every now and then they will need a good scrub. There will be a lot of food deposits building up especially as the cheese melts and drips out down the sides. The plates can be put in the dishwasher which is handy if you happen to have a dishwasher. The white surface does tend to get marked and anything that you spill on it will show up. Just give it a gentle wipe over every now and then. The toaster is very easy to maintain and just giving it a quick go over every few weeks should keep it in tip top condition.


~Manual~

The instruction manual is very easy to read and make sense of. The text is very legible, the font used is very simple and plain and it is in a reasonable size. The booklet is well set out so you can easily identify the solution to any problem you may have. There is only so much that the company can write about a sandwich toaster, but there is some useful stuff in the manual. There should be no problems in solving any problems that you may have with the appliance.


~Conclusion~

This sandwich toaster is available for £16.97 from amazon.co.uk. All that I can really say is that for that price you can't really go wrong. Breville are a very well respected brand and I think it is safe to say that they are fairly reliable too. This toaster does only take two slices at a time which may not be enough for some. This would make an ideal wedding present, as newlyweds want things for the home. If you aren't keen on toasted sandwiches, then this obviously isn't going to be ideal but if you are then this comes highly recommended.

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