That being said, we did appreciate the fact preheating the mini oven was four-times faster than our standard oven, so we could get to cooking quicker. While we did need two people to wrestle the mini oven out of its packaging, this was the only strenuous part of the setup. Perhaps it’s our lack of experience, but this didn’t give us the perfectly toasted bread and gooey cheese combo we were hoping for.

Compared with the 20 minutes the same pizza needed in the oven, when air fried, it took half that time – perfect for feeding hungry guests in a hurry. While we did have to cut a large pie in half, a 12in pizza will just about fit (if you don’t mind the edges being slightly squished). The drip tray slides out from underneath, to clear out any crumbs – a bit of advice, you’ll want to do this regularly if air frying – and is easy to wipe clean. Despite having no dishwasher-friendly parts (silently sobs), the Russell Hobbs mini oven is actually very easy to clean.We found chips needed to be shaken up about halfway through frying, to ensure even cooking, while nuggets often needed an extra 5-10 minutes to get them cooked all the way through. Our initial thoughts on seeing the box were that this is going to be a really big, bulky and complex piece of kitchen kit. The edges were crisp and the base was beautifully even – in fact, it reminded us more of a wood-fired pizza base. With some help from family and friends, we spent the best part of six months putting this mini oven through its paces. With functions to grill, toast, air fry, keep warm and cook like a conventional oven, it feels like this could replace your usual cooker altogether.

But don’t judge a book by its cover – or, in this case, an oven by its exterior – as it’s what’s inside that truly counts. Similarly, a damp cloth should remove any grease or fingerprints from the exterior and glass door, while all the interior shelves will be fine to wash up with your regular dish soap.Given that Russell Hobbs has named this a “mini oven”, we were expecting this feature to be a stand out, but we have to be honest – it was a little underwhelming.

The brand claims that its 1,500W fan – which distributes heat evenly – should be able to cook things up to nearly three-times faster than a conventional oven, but, in our experience, cooking times were much the same as in our regular oven, with the results either on, or slightly below, par. The manual explains how to get the best results from each function, as well as suggesting the best times to air fry things such as chicken nuggets, chips and pizza. The real selling point for using this instead of your conventional cooker is the fact that it’s supposedly 60 per cent more energy efficient.We’ve baked pizza, air fried chips, and toasted many a grilled cheese sandwich to see if this really could replace our everyday oven. While we can’t attest to whether this stat is wholly accurate, much like running a microwave or other smaller kitchen appliance, it was nice to know we weren’t using tons of electricity for one small meal.

Though, we imagine this might be a godsend when cooking for a large number of people or for when your timings on a cooked breakfast end up slightly out of whack.We also made a note of how easy it was to operate, set up, clean and, of course, how it fitted in with the rest of our kitchen decor. The versatile Russell Hobbs Express Air Fry Mini Oven allows you to enjoy fast, even cooking and perfect results every time.