As many of you know, back in July a bad thing happened. My daughter went through one week of spectacular destruction. She broke a bin, our well loved family camera and the oven. Yes, the oven. It was an awful week. On the Monday I had two wisdom teeth taken out under general anaesthetic. On Tuesday night our daughter was up all night throwing up, so couldn't go to the childminder's. We thought she would be sleepy. She wasn't. I went to bed and left her with my husband. She managed to somehow turn the grill on full and then shut the door of the oven. My husband went down when the fire alarm went off and opened the door, which promptly exploded and shattered glass went everywhere. It was lucky the children weren't in the room at the time. Luckily, our hob was separate, so at least we could still cook some things, and thanks to the George Foreman grill, we could also make lots of our regular meals. But I couldn't bake, which was awful.
So I had a look at the electric cookers available online and I opted for the Stoves 61EDO from Argos. Here is what they say about the cooker:
"Made in Britain. With lots of space and striking looks the Stoves 61EDO is a high performing cooking appliance finished with mirrored glass effect. Featuring two ovens of which the main fanned oven offers 59 usable litres of space whilst still being A rated, and finished off by stainless steel door handles with a pleasingly engineered feel. The rear halogen light also makes it easy to see how your food is cooking without having to open the door.
LED clock.
Programmable LED timer.
Easy clean interior.
Double glazed.
Interior light.
Defrost function.
Main oven:
2 shelves.
59 litre capacity.
Main oven energy efficiency rating A.
Fan oven with energy consumption 2.3kWh/year.
Second oven:
Conventional oven with 1 shelf.
31 litre capacity.
Second oven energy efficiency rating A.
Energy consumption 1.3kWh/year.
Hob:
Ceramic hob.
4 cooking zones.
Grill:
Electric grill.
Combined with top oven.
General information:
Needs to be hardwired into a cooker point on the wall and on its own circuit.
Size H93, W60.2, D60.2cm."
Argos delivery was incredibly straightforward. They delivered it into the kitchen from the van, which was quite a long way as they had to walk down the street and all the way round to the back. We hadn't paid for the old oven to be taken away, so I was in charge of disposing of that. It actually ended up being stolen from our back yard, presumably by the rag and bone men, but they came in an had a good old rummage to find all the parts, which I really didn't like.
Argos delivery was incredibly straightforward. They delivered it into the kitchen from the van, which was quite a long way as they had to walk down the street and all the way round to the back. We hadn't paid for the old oven to be taken away, so I was in charge of disposing of that. It actually ended up being stolen from our back yard, presumably by the rag and bone men, but they came in an had a good old rummage to find all the parts, which I really didn't like.
Once I had ripped the old oven out, we hit a slight problem. Our old hob was gas, so we needed a CORGI registered plumber to come and remove it all. It also had no need to be plugged in to a cooker point, so we also needed an electrician to put a new circuit and cooker point. It was a rocky start. The plumber didn't come when he said he would and we ended up waiting ten days for him. Luckily it was a quick job and done in a matter of minutes when he finally came. This left me with the task of sawing the worktop so that there was space for the new oven. It didn't take me too long to do, but I did learn that dropping a hammer on your foot really, really hurts. Now we were ready for the electrician, but somehow he had got the wrong end of the stick and went on holiday in the midst of it and didn't tell us. We ended up with no hob and no oven for a further four weeks.
At least I was able to move the oven from where the delivery men had left it in our kitchen to the space where it would eventually end up!
At least I was able to move the oven from where the delivery men had left it in our kitchen to the space where it would eventually end up!
Once we found a new electrician, it was a further two weeks before the work was done and it ended up costing over £160! I definitely hadn't expected that, but we ended up needing a new circuit board putting in. We will be moving the oven in a few months once we have renovated the kitchen, so for now we just have the connection wire attached (safely) across the ceiling. I have never owned a new oven before, just inherited ones when you move to a new house, so it has been a complete luxury to have our very own brand new oven.
This was my first batch of cakes cooking in the oven. I love that there is a light in the top oven too because it makes it so easy to see what is cooking and how it is doing. It was quite hard to get a picture of things cooking because the light is so bright.
I have really enjoyed being able to bake again. So much so that I baked three batches of cupcakes one after another. They tasted so good and the oven cooked them evenly and took a normal amount of time to do so.
I have also cooked a roast, using the large oven for the first time. Again, I thought the oven was fantastic and cooked really evenly. There was also plenty of space for all the trimmings! I have used the oven every single day since it was finally connected and it is an absolutely integral part of our lives. I love being able to cook the children home-made meals again and have stocked the freezer up too. The oven is very user friendly and simple to use. I had no problem setting the time or adjusting the temperature.
Good points
Cooks evenly.
The halogen light in both the top and bottom ovens make it really easy to see how your food is cooking without having to open the door and let the heat out.
Good amount of space in both ovens.
Able to use the grill and the bottom oven at the same time.
The hob heats up quickly.
It is easy to clean and I like that you can slide the glass in the door out to clean that too.
Very aesthetically pleasing.
Comes with a grill pan (although no handle) and shelves.
Bad points
The oven gives off a horrible electric smell for the first few uses (I am pretty sure this would be the same for any oven).
Would I buy it?
Absolutely. I chose the oven and am incredibly pleased with it. I think it represents fantastic value for money because of the size of the oven and the specification of it.
You can rest assured that it is turned off at the wall if my daughter is in the vicinity!
Disclosure: We were sent this item for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own and are honest and fair.
