Tefal RK302E15 Multicook 8-in-1

I bought this after a holiday with a friend where I ate 3 meals a day and felt so much better. I came home with all good intentions but soon found myself slipping back into my bad work and eating habits. I work from home so get up and immediately start work. About mid-afternoon I realise I haven't eaten breakfast or lunch and I'm so starved I just throw the quickest thing in the oven and usally don't bother with vegetables. Using the Tefal cooker means I have to plan on using it because meat especially has to be defrosted, it has to be started early before I get hungry. I still skip breakfast but do have brunch after I've prepared dinner and it's cooking. The first thing I tried was the jam sponge cake, now I had no idea how that was going to turn out because I have food allergies and have to use funny flour - a mix of gram (chickpea) and potato starch flour I find works best with normal oven baking. I don't usually use margerine but on this occasion followed the recipe in the book. I was worried that it'd turn out aneamic looking and taste gross like microwaved cakes but it was really nice and it did have a brown crust apart from the top. Even that though didn't look as if it hadn't been cooked as it does in the microwave. Bit of a faff making it because I had to use the electric mixer and my funny flour has a strange consistency and tends to creep up the beaters and end up coating the underside of the mixer. The next thing I tried was a meal - steamed fish, new potatoes and broccoli with a poached egg. I started off the potatoes in the steaming water first and then added the fish, wrapped in foil so it wouldn't make everything taste of fish, egg in a ramekin dish and the broccoli in the steaming basket. The egg and the broccoli was a bit overdone but the fish was just right. I have a tendancy to overcook fish normally. Next time I'll know to do it in 3 stages. The next cake I made using my normal recipe and just hand mixing it, I use sunflower oil instead of margerine and it was perfect and much nicer than the same recipe done in the oven because it was moister but not at all wet. I did try my version of bread but didn't find that worked as well as doing it in the oven, it didn't rise as much, possibly because the Tefal isn't hot to start with. It may have been because a client arrived 10 minutes before it was ready and my poor loaf got left on warm for nearly an hour! So I will have another bash at it because it still tasted ok and toasted fine even if it's not quite the same as oven baked. I've done the farmhouse chicken and also I did a recipe out of the Hamlyns slow cooker recipe book for pork steaks. Both times making double the amount so I could have it heated up again and both times the meal was as nice next day. Wasn't sure about re-heating in the slow cooker but not a problem to end up with one saucepan to wash and that way I could make sure they were heated through quickly and thoroughly. Each time I wanted potatoes with the meal and knew I wouldn't bother if I had to cook them seperately so pre-cooked them a bit using the steamer setting. Saves washing up too being able to do a one pot meal after the initial frying pan to brown the meat etc. Great to have a meal ready when I'm ready for it. Love the fact that it's so easy to clean, much easier than scrubbing stew pots or washing up baking tins. I haven't tried rice yet, I don't eat rice much as I do have a problem with it and only eat it about once a month, normally when my daughter cooks it as I am naff at cooking it and it turns out sticky and overcooked. Hopefully with this I will be able to turn out perfect rice. All in all I'm very pleased with my Tefal cooker, can't say it's made me turn over a new leaf completely but bad habbits creep up on one and breaking them is going to take time.

As soon as i got this beauty home i just had to test it. After the initial very easy set up and a brief browse through the recipe book that came with the product, i settled on the jam sponge using the dessert program. I soon realised once i had started that i had one less egg than the recipe requires but non the less i carried on. Mixed the ingredients, oiled the cooking pot as per instructions and voilà 45 minutes later, the machine beeps to tell me its ready and out pops a PERFECT sponge cake. Suffice to say i was very impressed and once all strawberry jammed up was tested by 8 members of my family who had nothing to say but praise. Now even the mother in law wants one! Later that night i steamed some salmon using the steam basket (all very simple to use) and these came out juicy and delicious. Since then i have also used the slow cooking function. I used a recipe from the book Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook 200 More Slow Cooker Recipes (Irish stew) which was also quite nice. Id also recommend getting Hamlyn All Colour Cookbooks 200 Slow Cooker Recipes aswell. Tomorrow i will be trying a slow cooking recipe from the tefal recipe book, which is surprisingly and unexpectedly quite useful and includes several rice, porridge, other cake and slow cooking recipes and even soup. I really cant praise this item enough. It saves so much space as your not buying a steamer, slow cooker, rice cooker etc. Your buying one item, and one very well made item at that. This is staying permanently on our counter top. When i bought this at its current price of (57.99) is the cheapest price on the internet so is well worth snapping up. 5* **update** Since writing my review iv tried out the 'quick rice' program. After setting the cooker off i checked on it after 20 minutes and the rice was cooked to perfection so i am very pleased with the end result. Also maybe worth mentioning that you get instructions with the product on how to cook all the different types of rice, aswell as bulgur wheat, polenta and quinoa so you get perfection each and every time. I also tried the oatmeal porridge programme to make porridge which was satisfactory, probably due to human error that it wasn't perfect. I'm sure my second attempt will be however. Hope that helps!

I had been thinking of getting just a simple rice cooker for some time (as I am getting into making Sushi rice) and extended my search to something that could do much more and THIS IS AWESOME. It does away with my old Gordon Bleu slow cooker as it is perfect for doing caseroles, stews etc as well as doing rice. In fact I havent tried all the setting/ types of cooking yet.... you can even do puddings in it! Here are a couple of tips if you choose to buy one,,,, and I recommend you do! >RICE FOR JUST 2 people: add a cup and a half of water to the one (full to the brim) cup of rice as the volume of rice for 2 is quite small it needs a bit more than the 1 to 1 ratio for larger volumes. >Remember to add salt and thoroughly rinse your rice first (this refers to Basmati rice) The total cooking time was about 30 mins and it was ultra fluffy and MORE tasty than if you had just boiled it. >Dont use metal utensils as they will scratch the non stick surface. >It puffs out a bit of steam as it cooks through the valve in the lid so make sure if you sit in on a counter top you dont have it directly under a cupboard/door (so you dont cause steam damage). I have yet to make sushi rice and Thai sticky rice but there are loads of YouTube videos if you want tips to get it just right and authentic Remember all multi/rice cookers vary a little in their cooking times so you may find (espcially with rice) a little trial and error with the water to rice ratio so you get it just the way you like it. The little book it comes with is quite helpful although brief: it does not stipulate basmati, sushi or Thai sticky rice, these just come under the heading "white rice" so you may want to do a little homework (I use youtube) to get it just right. I love this cooker. It is versatile, not too big (ours is a very small kitchen) and its rather stylish, in fact it looks way more expensive than it actually is.It is very well made and good value for money. 10/10

Like lots of other reviews about this cooker, I'd be disinclined to call this 8-in-1, as 4 of the functions are for rice or grains! Having said that, I bought this mainly because I needed a new steamer and had also thought about buying a slow cooker as well, so this fits the job! Two for the price of one, and half the space of two! As a slow cooker, it does what you'd expect and the meat comes out nice and tender. I still need to keep experimenting with other recipes, however. The rice cooker is great in that you don't need to watch that the rice doesn't boil over on the stove, but I would like some indication as to how long before it's ready, so that I can co-ordinate the rest of the meal to be ready at the same time. There is a keep warm facility which would help, if only I could remember to put the rice in sooner, haha. The rice comes out stickier than we're used to, but we've come to like it now. The steamer function is fine as well, though the first time I used it the veg came out well overcooked and soggy - again no time indicator, but by trial and error I now have this to a fine art. The main problem with the steamer is the basket is much smaller than I'm used to, and have to squash all the veg down in order to get the lid shut. I have a family of four, just so you have some idea of the size of basket. The porridge function is brilliant! I used to cook my porridge in the microwave, but was never really properly cooked; now, I just sling the oats and milk into the cooker before I go to bed, set the timer and it's all ready for me in the morning, lovely and soft, no faffing around bleary-eyed trying to measure out everything in the harsh light of the morning, and an extra 10 minutes in bed! Result! I even made a cake in this, using the recipe included in the little booklet supplied - it comes out looking like a flying saucer due to the shape of the pan but otherwise not bad. The bonus is you don't have to keep checking to see if it's cooked; the downside was the cake was a bit dry, but maybe that was down to the recipe. Sometime I'll get around to trying my own recipes in it, to see if it makes any difference. My biggest bugbear, along with other reviewers, is the lack of a handle to lift the pan out of the cooker, but otherwise a great little cooker, well worth buying. Even my university student son is thinking of getting one for himself when he moves out of his current digs.

Tefal 8-in-1 Multicooker. Bought this while on offer at around £36 to replace a ten year old 'traditional' rice cooker which was suffering from peeling non-stick. I needed something with a fairly large capacity, as I often cook as much as 1kg of rice in one go and this fits the bill nicely. I only bought it as a rice cooker and don't intend to use it as anything else. It should be noted that despite this 8-in-1 being described as a multi-cooker, it doesn't pressure cook, it's basically a rice cooker/steamer/slow cooker, so 3-in-1 would be more appropriate. So, how does it compare to my old rice cooker? Well, I have to say that I was a bit put out to find that the standard rice cooking program takes around 45 minutes compared to my old one, which usually took about 15-20 minutes depending on the quantity. To be fair, it does offer a 'quick rice' function which presumably works in roughly the same way as a standard rice cooker, but I've been using the longer method recommended by Tefal. Given that I usually cooked the rice a good twenty minutes ahead of time so that it could 'fluff up' before we ate, there's probably not much in it and the 8-in-1 does it all for you with a nifty 14 minute countdown timer for the fluffing up. I'm really impressed with the lack of spitting and rattling while the rice is cooking; it just quietly gets on with the job with no mess and no fuss. The cooker itself has a handle on top, making it easy to move over to a serving location after removing the 'kettle lead' style power cable. The lid is fixed and hinged, popping up with the press of a button and easily closing back down again between servings. There's even a clip-on thingy on the side for storing the serving spoon, everything seems well thought out for easy use and one handed operation. The sides are well insulated and cool to touch both during and after cooking, much better than my old one which got scalding hot. I've been very pleased with how long the cooked rice stays warm for, easily remaining hot enough to eat as much as an hour after cooking with the lid kept shut. My only criticism is the quantity guide for the rice/water ratio. In my view, it suggests adding too much water. I've only cooked various types of white rice, but using the quantities suggested, the rice is too sticky so I've gone back to using the table from my old cooker, which is spot-on for both smaller and larger batches of rice. I don't expect this cooker to last anywhere near as long as my old one, but it does a great job with no crust on the bottom and has plenty of functional advantages, as outlined above.

I wanted to leqve writing a review until I had used this cooker for a while. We have four in our family now and have been using the oldest for four years. It has to be one of the best gadgets ever invented. I use it most days. What I like about it: 1. You can cook almost anything in it from risotto to macaroni cheese from slow cook casseroles to stir fries. 2. You can set the timer to cook while you are out so you can come home to a cooked meal (note this function doesn't work on the slow cooker but as the slow cooker goes on to keep warm when it's finished this isn't too much of a problem) 3. It's easy to clean (just put the dish in the dishwasher) 4. You can press the button and get on with something else while its cooking. You don't have to stand over it. 5. It does everything it says it does. 6. It's ideal for students (easy recipes for new cooks, only one item needed to purchase instead of saucepans and frying pans, makes cheap wholesome food) Things to watch out for 1. The steam escapes through a smallish nozzle and is therefore concentrated in one spot,so if you position it under a cupboard it will damage the cupboard. Many small kitchens don't have a work top without an overhead cupboard so position the cooker carefully with the nozzle towards the open air. 2. The non stick bowl will not last for ever. I notice that they have Improved on the design and the bowl is more sturdy now but I would advise getting a replacement one while they still do them to lengthen the life span of the cooker. The new design bowl is still going strong after two years of constant use so it's not bad but the surface is beginning to look a bit fragile. 3. The lid liner isn't dishwasher proof (mine is no longer nice and shiny as I forgot and out it in the dishwasher) If mine broke, I would go out and buy exactly the same product again as I find it so useful.

I've had this for 6 months now and used it several times a week. It is fantastic! For dinner every day now I have an amazing curry, for breakfast I have beautiful rice pudding and at the weekends, lovely porridge, my diet is much better now that I don't have ready meals and I'm slightly leaner. To make rice I measure in 5 cups of white basmati rice (I get the 10kg bag for around £10 deal - I've tried a couple of different brands and noticed no difference whatsoever) and about 7 and 3/4 cups of water and select "white rice" then "start", then I can go off and do whatever - chop onions and chillis etc. After about 35 minutes 5 portions of rice are ready and I put it into containers to have for the rest of the week, they can be sprinkled with water and microwaved for 2:30 mins to bring them back to life - the rice is beautiful - like white candy-floss or soft doughy white bread, you can vary the hardness by measuring in less water, plus you can add in dessicated coconut or ghee or whatever for interesting effects. After that I can clean out the bowl in a few minutes and get my veg into the steamer bowl - I cook lovely potatoes, leeks and spinach in there before adding it to the curry - it's all delicious. Afterwards I can clean quickly again, and cook pudding rice, then mix in cream, egg and muscovado sugar and have rice pudding which I reheat for my breakfast with some blueberries. For porridge at the weekend I measure in porridge and milk (again, I get the cheapest porridge available, all porridge has "ingredients: oats" on the back) and select "porridge" - there has recently been a bit of exploding going on with the porridge, but the Tefal is so easy to clean it doesn't matter, and the porridge is delicious - very creamy and gooey. It's brilliant that £40 something can buy so much amazingness. I had a friend who said I was cheating, and not doing "cooking" but I always used to ruin rice, so I'm glad that now perfect rice is effortless. I'm not sure exactly where the Tefal should go in the kitchen. I put it on my glass hob - sometimes while some of the rings are on, and that's not ideal because I have to triple check that a ring I turn on it not one the Tefal is sitting on, because it would catch fire, but the Tefal can make a fair bit of steam whilst in use so it has to go under an extractor fan - which is above the hob. I don't quite know what the solution is to this, perhaps some other devices handle this better and perhaps I should take a star off if I knew better.

I have bought this multi cooker as a replacement for older model Tefal 4 in 1, RK701115 Slow Cooker, Steamer, Rice Cooker, Porridge Maker, Brushed Chrome , with which I was quite happy. When comparing this and older models I have a mixed feelings. I mainly use 2 functions -- rice cooking and slow cooking. I would say that rice cooking is improved, but slow cooking is considerably worse. As far as I understand, Tefal changed the standard program for rice cooking. Now this is a 2-step procedure -- first, rice is boiled until all the water gets soaked up, then it switches to 'water evaporation' mode, showing how much time left. The whole procedure takes approximately twice as much time (for 2 cups of rice) as before, but the result is more dry and better (for my taste) rice. I suspect that 'quick rice' program corresponds to the 'standard' program in the old device. The slow cooker mode, however, is not as good as it was before. I suspect the cooking temperature is now somewhat lower. With the old model everything was cooked within 6-8 hours, depending on meat. This cooker takes 12-14 hours to cook beef to satisfactory condition. The result is still good, but such a long time means that you cannot 'load' it in the morning for evening meal, or left it overnight to be ready by morning to take to work for lunch. Also, the maximum allowed time is 9 hours, so you will need to switch the cooker off and re-set timer again at some point to ensure that meal is prepared properly -- you cannot just extend the timer once cooking started. Some people suggest that you can use 'grain' mode for browning meat and onion inside the bowl -- yes you can, but it will take you at least 20 minutes. Personally I prefer to do it in the pan. Finally the last small niggle -- after cooking is finished the device goes to 'warming' mode. During this time it shows sign on display which is very similar to number '6', so from the first glance it is not clear whether it is done or is in the middle of something. The first time I have seen it I had to check the manual. Overall, I would say if you still have a working older model and considering whether to replace it with this one -- don't.