Hot choice

Functionality is king when it comes to cookers, but style can also play a part, writes Carol O’Callaghan

IT USUALLY takes a big social gathering to see the shortcomings of our kitchen cooking equipment, like the last-minute decision Christmas week to buy a bigger turkey just in case some extra guests show up, and not being able to fit it into the oven and having to spend half an hour hacking off the legs so you can wedge in the beast. Then you’re left with the dilemma of where to cook the roast potatoes.

It’s at moments like these that hindsight is an unwelcome reminder of how all your careful planning was spoilt by a last-minute impulse decision, but it might also get you thinking how your equipment is, or is not, meeting your needs. If you’re in the market to replace your cooker it can be quite an investment, so if there’s a good time of year to do it, then it’s now while the sales are on and before we drift into longer salad-eating days.