Bamix Gordon Ramsay

Advantages: Easy to use, very good results
Disadvantages: More expensive than a simple steel

...I bought this knife sharpener around 4 years ago, and haven't looked back since. I had tried for a number of years to perfect the flash looking swiping action with a sharpening steel (a la Gordon Ramsay in the credits to Kitchen Nightmares) but had only ended up with averagely sharp knives while lodging the steel securely into the edge of the draining board - neither the cool look I was after and nor the results I wanted for the knives. The sharpener's box was labelled as 'Recommended for GLOBAL knives', which at the time were still a pipe dream for me (see my review of the Global Knife Set I subsequently bought for just how good they are). I bought it anyway, and tried it out on the set of knives I was using at the time. The results were impressive. After learning that less was indeed more and relaxing to let the knife glide along... Read review

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Advantages: Stylish, lots of functions
Disadvantages: Difficult to clean, clock controls clumsy

...I didn't know you could get so many functions out of a single oven and I didn't think they were useful until I used them. This oven gives: Traditional Convection Cooking Grilling Defrosting Hot Air (Fan oven) Ventalted Grill (Grill with fan on) Slow cooking Convection with fan All have a specific use helpful to getting the right results. They won't turn a bad cook into Gordon Ramsay but you'll feel more in control! Generally easy to use oven controls. Temperature setting can be tricky because the dial is divided into 25C intervals, (eg 175, 200, 225, 250), leaving you guessing about temperatures in between. I've got used to this now though. The fan oven heats up very quickly, as does the grill. Grill cooking with the fan on is more than a novelty, cooks food quickly whilst grilling. There is only a simple clock / time function... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, safe from kids, good value
Disadvantages: Oven does explode

...am not really a connoisseur of Cordon Bleu gourmet cooking. I am simply a meat and 2 veg man. My cooking style is a combination of Nicole Pratt and Gordon Ramsay. I used to be an angry young prat but now have bitterly boiled over to old age. I am a little bit of a disaster area in the kitchen. After graduation I simply had no idea what to buy at the supermarket and even less idea how to cook it. One memorable evening I decided to cook some spaghetti. I felt fairly peckish so put the whole packet in the boiling water. How was I to know that they expanded when wet? I had to eat cold elastic spaghetti for the next 3 days. I also fried my first egg at 32. And it was burnt. I can prove that aliens exist but I can’t stand the heat! So I am better off out of the kitchen. I do like Chinese cuisine. I got the bug after my parents frequently took... Read review

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