Cracking gadget - but not entirely flawless. (Tefal Toast n Egg TT550015)

Member Name: Darkstar101

Product:	Tefal Toast n Egg TT550015
Date:	01/06/09 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use & cooks eggs to your liking.

Disadvantages: Toast slot too shallow, warming tray not great, non stick cup isn't.

What is it and does the World really need one?

The Tefal toast n egg machine is a funky new gadget, which does exactly what it says it does. The appliance itself is black and silver in colour, with two wide slots which take bread, muffins, bagels and croissants, according to the manufacturer. However I would take note of the potential safety aspect of putting any product into the toaster which contains any free oil although the Tefal website claims it is designed to toast croissants - thanks to Nar2 for raising this issue in his comment on the review.

The toaster in itself is quite basic with only a simple slide lever to control the browning - remember those old stlye 2 slice toaters where the lever setting 1mm to the left resulted in warm soggy bread and 1mm to right produced a carbonised frisbee? Not quite that bad but definitely a case of trial and error to get the desired result and bear in mind that it doesn't have the bells and whistles of a dedicated stand-alone toaster as that is not what it is designed for.

If you do put anything but bread in it do not have the browning level set high or the product comes out somewhat charred - I also don't like the fact that most bread slices seem to stick out of the top of the slot by an inch or so and therefore do not toast, and don't force a thick slice in as there isn't a release bar for jammed items like so many of the newer models of toaster have.

You can poach, boil or fry your egg at the same time as your toast is cooking. With the toaster you get a small graduated measuring cup so you know how much water to put in the boiling tray depending on whether you like your eggs firm or soft - however be aware that the end result also depends on the size of the egg used and you need to take this into consideration when measuring out the water. Sadly you can only poach or fry one egg at a time in the non-stick cup, but you can boil up to four eggs. I found the non-stick cup a nightmare to get clean so I would recommend greasing it well before you put the raw egg in.

There is also a latticed warming tray which sits above the poaching cup which the manual says is for heating pre cooked meats such as bacon or sausages. Personally, I only tried this once and the meat came out rather soggy because the same steam that is cooking your egg is heating the meat.

At the bottom of the toaster is a removable crumb tray for ease of cleaning - I recommend you do this after every couple of uses because if you don't it sometimes gets jammed.

In conclusion, this product is a fun and novelty item which functions quite well, and the kids love it, but I feel could have done with a little tweaking in the design department. I would recommend it but not at the £30+ price tag that accompanies it.

And if Tefal ever produce the "Toast n' Beans" version they are guaranteed to corner the student market!

Summary: Useful, functional kitchen gadget but a bit pricey given its flaws.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Noise: