I put Smeg's new standalone air fryer to the 'chip' test – this is what I discovered about this stylish new cooking appliance

Over the years I’ve reviewed dozens of the best air fryers and I’m very accustomed to boring black box appliances that look very unremarkable on my kitchen worktop. So when I heard Smeg was launching its first ever standalone air fryer, I was hoping for something fun and colourful.

The Smeg AFC01 Air Fryer might be a bit late to the game, but with four colour options to choose from, combined with streamlined curves, it offers a very different aesthetic to its competitors. And it’s this kind of design that might mean it was worth the wait.

In a nutshell

The Smeg AFC01 offers all the colourful curviness that’s synonymous with the brand, but without looking kitsch or overly retro. It’s a modern take on classic Smeg styling, and I think it looks great. Green or blue are the only options for those who want some colour in their kitchen, since the other two options are black and white.

In addition to standard manually controlled air fryer settings, there are seven presets to choose from. Some of the presets include a steaming function, whereby you add water and steam is produced to help lock in moisture within certain foods. I was disappointed that the steam function can only be used within the presets and isn’t a standalone function.

I love that it doesn’t take up much space and that the removable accessories are dishwasher safe. The 7.3 litre capacity sounds roomy, but in reality, this isn’t a family size air fryer, it’s ideal for a two person household.

The heating element is halogen and as such the performance was very mixed, with some foods like fish fillets cooking fast, but disappointing chips, and a whole roast chicken that was very uneven in colour. It did well with simpler foods like halloumi, vegetables, and chicken thighs.

Product specs

• Capacity: 7.3 litres
• Presets: Chicken wings/legs, meat, fish, shrimps, chips, vegetables, roast chicken
• Dimensions: 31 x 32.2 x 31cm (h x w x d)
• Weight: 5.6kg
• Colours available: black, white, emerald green and storm blue,
• RRP: £199.95

Unboxing and first impressions

My first impressions after I’d removed the air fryer from its compact box and fully recyclable packaging, was that the sleek curvy design is unlike any other air fryer. It doesn’t take up loads of space, so would be great in smaller kitchens, plus, it looks super cool.

The lower section has a matte look and feel, while the black sections above are glossy, it’s a nice mix. The upper part hinges open when you press the big button on the front beneath the Smeg logo. Then you can lift out the removable basket via its silicone handles. The basket and its rack insert are made with PFAS free ceramic non-stick coatings.

It’s worth pointing out that there’s an air vent at the back, so you can’t have it pushed right to the back of the worktop when in use. Furthermore, due to the way the lid hinges open, you can’t push it against the wall, or you won’t be able to open it.

Since this air fryer includes a steaming function, there’s a small water container that pulls out of the very top. Also on top, the touchscreen control panel gives access to all the available settings.

There are seven presets to choose between. I was a tad surprised that when in manual mode, you can only access the air fryer function. Steaming meanwhile is incorporated into some of the presets, but it’s not a standalone function.

The temperature is adjustable between 40 - 200C in five degree intervals. The timer adjusts in one minute intervals between 1-60 minutes. And although the various food presets come with predetermined time and temperature settings, you can still adjust them within the same parameters.

The touch controls are simple and straightforward to get to grips with. There are audible beeps when the buttons are pressed, but by following instructions in the manual, the sound can be turned off.

Uniquely for an air fryer, there’s also the option to set it up for delayed start cooking. You can set a timer to start cooking anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours later. It’s one of those features that is nice to have, but in reality I don’t think many people will use it.

What is it like to use

The first time I tried this air fryer, I simply air fried one piece of frozen breaded fish on the manual mode. I selected 190C and it took 22 minutes to both crisp up on the outside and get hot enough in the centre.

A similar piece I’d heated a couple of days earlier in my usual air fryer, took just 17 minutes. So the Smeg was a little slower, but the fish was tasty nevertheless and the crumb was nicely crisped. I measured the sound at 53dB, confirming it's very quiet in use.

Next up, I had some halloumi kebabs that were essentially halloumi slices on a stick with a spicy coating. The packaging didn’t have air fryer instructions, so I winged it and put them on a 200C.

I kept an eye on how the halloumi was cooking every time the light came on. It quickly became frustrating that the internal light cycles on and off. I wanted to be able to switch it on as needed, instead of hanging around waiting, or otherwise opening the air fryer up to check on my food. In the end though, the halloumi kebabs cooked nicely and were ready in 14 minutes.

I used the vegetable preset to roast some peppers and red onion that I intended to add to a pasta dish. The recommended weight for this preset is 250 - 600g so I chopped up enough to hit that 600g upper weight limit.

The vegetable preset cooking time is 20 minutes, but I needed to add a further five minutes to create the roasted appearance and texture I was looking for. And even then, the peppers didn’t char much around the edges like they would do in my usual air fryer.

Chips are an air fryer staple, and since there’s a chip preset, I had to try it out. The manual says there’s a minimum of 250g and a maximum of 600g recommended for this preset. After cutting up enough for two portions, I weighed my raw chips and at 540g was comfortably within the weight guidelines.

I guess, if you’re cooking more, you can simply add a few minutes to the preset time to compensate for a larger quantity. The manual also says that you should shake or stir several times during cooking for the best results.

During the preset 27 minute cook time, I gave the chips a shake twice and was really pleased that the basket’s silicone handles stayed cool, so I was able to lift it out easily to shake the chips.

It’s a long cook time in comparison to what I’ve experienced when cooking chips in other air fryers, so I was surprised when the timer went off, that the chips weren’t ready. They were all very pale and the thicker ones were still a bit hard.

I started the preset again and ended up cooking the chips for a further 20 minutes, which is a total cooking time of 47 minutes, a really long time for an air fryer. By this point the inside of the chips was fluffy. The outside was somewhat crisped and a bit hard and dry on the ends. Overall they weren’t as good as chips I’m used to making in an air fryer, so I was disappointed.

The fish preset is one of the four that offers the combined air fry and steam function, called ‘juicy and crispy’. The time and temperature on these steam settings can’t be adjusted, so I popped in two salmon fillets and started the 15 minute timer.

I put the salmon skin side down initially and then turned it over after seven minutes. I ended up taking it out after just 12 minutes, since it was nicely cooked by this point. I would keep it skin side up next time, to try and get the skin crispier, but the meat itself was moist and flakey.

When I dug into the manual, I discovered that the whole roast chicken preset is designed for a 1kg chicken, which is pretty small. The smallest chicken I could get in my local supermarket was 1.2kg, so I chanced it, knowing that I may need to add extra time.

There was plenty of space for the chicken in the basket, but I can see why a bigger chicken wouldn’t work, the top would probably sit too close to the heating element.

I didn’t do much to the chicken, just rubbed it with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper and started the roast chicken preset. There’s no information provided that suggests you need to do anything during the cooking time, so apart from occasionally glancing through the viewing window, I just left it

The preset time is just 45 minutes, and given that my chicken was over the recommended weight, I wasn’t surprised when I checked it at the end of the timer, and it wasn't quite hot enough. It only needed an extra five minutes though.

The finished chicken was moist and tender, but the meat towards the tops of the legs was dry and overcooked. The browning was also very uneven. It was too pale at the back and quite dark in one area on the top.

On the whole it was a tasty and well cooked chicken, ideal for a speedy weeknight dinner, but probably not perfect enough to serve up on the table to guests.

Separately, I tried cooking bone in chicken thighs on the chicken preset. The manual says you can add 1-8 thighs, but my five pieces (1kg pack) took up most of the space so any more might be a bit too crowded.

There is an option for the ‘juicy and crispy’ steam function, but again the manual advises using this for wings and legs, whereas for thighs it suggests the ‘crispy’ air fryer option. I went with the suggestion and started the thighs skin side down.

The preset time is 30 minutes, I turned the thighs after 10 minutes and checked the temperature after 22 minutes. At this point they were cooked through, but I left them in for the full 30 minutes in order to achieve a well crisped and browned skin.

Again, I’d say 30 minutes is a lengthy cook time for an air fryer. However, the taste and texture was good and they cooked very well. The only thing to note is that the thighs towards the back, which is directly beneath the heating element and fan, did brown more than those at the front. So for even browning, you may need to rotate some foods.

Cleaning

Thankfully, the removable basket and rack are dishwasher safe. They fit nicely into my dishwasher and clean up well. What’s more, the ceramic non-stick coating is very effective and when I opted to wash it by hand, it came clean without any hassle or scrubbing.

The shiny black plastic areas do mark easily with fingerprints. These include the control panel and the front part of the lid, that I often pressed to close it. They’re easy to clean so it’s not an issue on that front, but I just noticed I had to wipe these areas after most uses, to keep it looking pristine.

My review sample was the white colourway. I accidentally got a splatter of ketchup on it that I didn’t notice until an hour later when I came back into the kitchen to clean up after dinner. When I wiped it away, there was no obvious staining, which was a relief.

Comparisons

At around £70 less, it’s worth looking at the Ninja MAX PRO AF180UK. Its 6.2 litre capacity might be marginally smaller, but during testing I still managed to roast a 1.5kg whole chicken, with excellent results. In fact, I really struggled to find any downsides during my review, the performance was excellent. The main drawback in comparison to the Smeg, is that it’s not as stylish.

And if you’re still looking for something a bit different to the standard black box style air fryer, the Ninja Crispi range stands out. The Ninja Crispi Pro XL was well liked by Ideal Home’s Kitchen Appliances Editor. There are plenty of sizes to choose from in the Ninja Crispi range, and there are several colours available, which will please people looking for a pop of colour on the kitchen worktop.

Should you buy the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer?

The Smeg AFC01 has left me with such mixed feelings. On one hand, I really do love the design and how it looks in my kitchen. If you’re not a massive cook, and the look of your kitchen is very important to you, then it’ll absolutely appeal.

On the other hand, if you want an air fryer for speedy cooking and top-notch performance, then I have to admit, there are other models, with much better performance, that’ll suit your needs better. This one uses a halogen heating element and doesn’t offer the same level of performance of more traditional air fryers.

On balance, my main complaints are that browning could be uneven and cooking could, at times, be very slow in comparison to many other air fryers. So it really comes down to weighing up your needs and priorities.