The Leisure Rangemaster comes in a variety of guises; gas, electric, dual fuel, and in several colours; red, green, black. The one I've just bought is dual fuel and it's red.
I bought the Rangemaster for a number of reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, I needed a cooker. I've just got ... Read review
The Leisure Rangemaster comes in a variety of guises; gas, electric, dual fuel, and in several colours; red, green, black. The one I've just bought is dual fuel and it's red.
I bought the Rangemaster for a number of reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, I needed a cooker. I've just got married and moved house and our new home was rather lacking in cooking facilities. So having established a legitimate reason for buying a cooker, ... ...The previous owners of our home had a range style cooker and so the space which they left in the kitchen was very large, I love cooking and have always fancied having a "farmhouse" kitchen complete with Aga - but failing that a range "style" cooker would be fine.
Of the various range-style cookers which we looked at the Rangemaster had several features which made it stand out; a large wok burner, a warmer and the ... more
The Leisure Rangemaster comes in a variety of guises; gas, electric, dual fuel, and in several colours; red, green, black. The one I've just bought is dual fuel and it's red.
I bought the Rangemaster for a number of reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, I needed a cooker. I've just got married and moved house and our new home was rather lacking in cooking facilities. So having established a legitimate reason for buying a cooker, why did I choose the Rangemaster?
The previous owners of our home had a range style cooker and so the space which they left in the kitchen was very large, I love cooking and have always fancied having a "farmhouse" kitchen complete with Aga - but failing that a range "style" cooker would be fine.
Of the various range-style cookers which we looked at the Rangemaster had several features which made it stand out; a large wok burner, a warmer and the "handyrack" (more of which later).
The Rangemaster (dual fuel model) has four hotplate gas burners and a larger wok burner, a warmer, an electric grill, conventional electric oven and a fan oven. In addition it comes with a griddle and the handyrack. In the three weeks since it was installed I've used most of these features and I'll go into some basics of each one.
Gas burners - there are two small, two large and the wok burner. They all light with the electric ignition button, have heavy duty pan supports which are easy to clean and large dials which turn easily to adjust the flame. As a safety feature, when the glass lid is closed over the hotplate the gas cuts automatically in case you've left one of the burners alight.
Warmer - this was one of the extra features which drew me to the Rangemaster. Alongside the hotplate is an electric warmer which can be used to warm plates or keeping food warm whilst finishing cooking the rest of a meal or dishing up. I haven't used this feature of the cooker yet but I can see it being very useful when cooking a large meal for guests.
Griddle - the Rangemaster comes with a griddle which fits across the pan supports above the hotplate burners. My husband insisted on using this to cook his sausages on about the second night that we had the cooker and was thouroughly impressed, not only by the speed and ease with which they were cooked, but also by the professional "griddle lines" across his sausages. It can also be used for cooking drop scones, chops, steaks, eggs and fish cakes (apparantly) and is definitely a healthier and cleaner option than frying in a saucepan as no oil is needed.
Grill - on the dual fuel model the grill is electric. It has two height positions and has two elements so that either the whole grill or just one side can be lit - perfect for a single crumpet! (Whoops, I keep forgeting I'm married now)
Conventional oven - this is the smaller of the two ovens and is electric in the dual fuel model. This oven also features a browning element which can be used at the end of normal cooking time to crisp up meat or give extra browning to gratin dishes, this saves moving them from the oven to the grill. I haven't used the conventional oven yet as I prefer to use the fan oven for day to day cooking, as it heats up quicker.
Fan Oven - The fan oven is slightly larger than the conventional oven. One unusual feature of this particular fan oven is that it can be used on a "fan only" setting, this means that the fan circulates air but the heating element is not on - apparantly this is good for deforsting frozen foods! This seems much better than having them sitting around on worktops or shoving in the microwave, which always worries me slightly as I'm not sure if they are just defrosting or actually cooking.
Handyrack - I said I'd get to it. This is brilliant and practically convinced me to buy this cooker on it's own. The handyrack is a wire contrivance which clips on the inside of the oven door and is used to place baking trays on instead of the normal oven shelves. Any food placed onto it is therefore easily accessible as it swings out of the oven as you open the door. No more reaching into a hot oven to slide out a joint of meat and burning your arms in the process. No more putting your back out as you try to manouvre the Christmas Turkey off the oven shelf and up onto the work top. You simply open the door and there's your meat ready to baste, lift out easily or just check on! It's so brilliant and, like most brilliant ideas, so simple. Every cooker should have one.
Other features - in addition to the main features listed above, the Rangemaster has the usual cooker features, clock, timers, lights, storage compartment, removable oven lining panels, adjustable oven racks etc
So, what do I think of my new cooker? It's fantastic! I know it's quite sad to get excited about a cooker but I love cooking and entertaining and it's always nice to have tools which make your job easier and more pleasant. It's big enough to accomodate the largest dinner parties we're likely to have and will make light of feeding our combined families at Christmas.
The benefits of having two ovens are clear,apart from a simple increase in cooking capacity, it allows you to cook simultaneously foods which require different temperatures. So you can cook the Sunday roast and bake the cake for tea at the same time.
The Rangemaster was quite expensive compared to some of the other cookers around but we were lucky enough to be given money towards the purchase as wedding presents from our family and friends and, on balance, we decided it was an investment worth making for a cooker we hope will last us a lifetime
Advantages: looks great, cooks great. Disadvantages: fan oven heating elements prone to failure
Rangemaster Leisure is a range style cooker available in different colours. Mine is black with gold knobs, measures 120cm (I think, it could be 110) has two ovens, one conventional and one fan, a storage draw, an electric grill, a typical four ring gas hob, a wok hob and a halogen hot plate.
Plus features:
Glass top: The glass top covers over the burners when not in use. When it is down it acts as a shut off valve for the gas supply, so even if ... ...long as the glass lid is down no one gets gassed!
The glass lid also acts as a splash back, saves getting grease etc all over the tiles behind it, keeping the kitchen really clean.
Rise setting: There is a rise setting on the fan oven which I use a lot when baking speciality bread. Brown setting: There is a crisper at the top of the conventional oven, so if you want anything really brown on top you can use that. However it does tend to burn anything ...
scalygreen 16.05.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Leisure Rangemaster 55 Auto
Advantages: cooking availability space Disadvantages: wide
The leisure rangemaster is a superb piece of equipment. I couldn't do without it (or my wife as it is she that does the cooking!). It is available in blue, green or dark red, and the colour scheme fits in with most kitchens, in fact the cookers appearance would enhance any kitchen. The appliance is dual fuel, being both electric and gas, so if you are unfortunate enough to live in an area that has power cuts in bad weather, half the cooker can still ... ...space is required. It has two ovens, a conventional oven and a fan oven. These ovens are electic fed and can both be used at the same time.
There are four burners on the hob part of the cooker and vary in size. The burners are gas fuelled. These are on the left hand side of the cooker.
On the right hand side of the hob part is a hotplate, which is electric fuelled, very handy to keep things warm whilst still cooking other things.
In the centre ...
willsmj 10.04.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Leisure Rangemaster 55 Auto
Performance
Durability
Cleaning & Maintenance
Safety
Value for money
Quick review of Leisure Rangemaster 55 Auto
Sorry but we must have the one they made on Friday afternoon.
It is the worst cooker I have ever used the oven has two settings low and incinerate ,it does not matter were you
set the knob.
The grill is even worst it just spits and pops the flame only just reaches the grill.
Countless attempts to repair it have all failed.
Put simply it is a dog .
The hobbs work that is the best I can come up with for such an expensive cooker it is very poor. ...
pemy 02.12.2007
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Leisure Rangemaster 55 Auto
Advantages: Catering Rack on the oven door so no getting burnt Disadvantages: Knobs can be a bit tricky to turn.
This oven is great. It as a catering rack on the oven door so no more pulling out the trays and burning yourself. You simply open the door and check on whatever your doing and shut it again.It as a safety glass lid and it cuts the gas supply when the lid closes. So if children turn the knobs whilst the oven is not in use no gas leaks.It as a timer and electric ignition so no matches required.It comes in a range of attractive colours I opted for blue ... ...am out dated because everything is stainless steel.) It comes with a roasting tin that fits the catering rack on the door and a griddle for the top burners ideal for bugers etc. Its like having an indoor barbecue. Easy clean oven and hob. I couldn't wish for a better oven. ...
Lorry21 13.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Leisure Rangemaster 55 Auto
Advantages: Style , practical , features Disadvantages: none
Cookers and ovens are usually seen as purely functional devices , and as cookers go - you cannot get more functional than the rangemaster.
But above that - it looks superb and is a boon to ANY kitchen , no matter what style you may have.
Ovens are excellent - choice of fan or normal , grill is good - glass lid makes it look cool when closed - and with the safety valve built into the lid - no worries about leaving burners on and closing the lid. ... ..., but this is purely a safety feature to stop children turning the gas on.
Accessories supplied included cast iron griddle , cast iron ribbed griddle , kebab skewers and rotating rack , and cookbooks.
The wok burner addition is simply wonderful and gives an extra burning level when "wokking" which warms the whole wok and not just the base.
All in All - Fantastic cooking stylish and functional - looking forward to Christmas Lunch this year!!! ...
bucktay 28.09.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Leisure Rangemaster 55 Auto
