Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker review: is this £60 14-function gadget too good to be true?

Overall star rating: 5/5

Price on writing: £60 | Buy now from Amazon

What we like

• Budget-friendly price

• Excellent energy efficiency

• Offers great variety - 14 functions

• Stylish design

• Great results

• Small footprint compared to other multi-cookers

• Easy to use and clean

What we don't like

• Doesn't have an air fryer or pressure cook function like some multi-cookers

• Capacity is 5 litres, which is smaller than some other options

Our verdict

• Ease of use: 4.5/5

• Ease of cleaning: 4.5/5

• Features: 5/5

• Results: 5/5

• Design: 5/5

• Value for money: 5/5

After over six months of rigorous use by two Mumsnetters, Anna* and Denise, the Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker has proven itself as a true game-changer in family kitchens. This budget-friendly slow cooker and multi-cooker offers excellent versatility for the price (just £60!), especially when you compare it to the cost of other multi-functional gadgets, which can retail at up to £200.

The drawback is that it doesn't feature an air fryer or pressure cooker setting like some more expensive multi-cookers, but if you can go without these, it's a fantastic buy that offers a remarkable combination of value for money, convenience, and efficiency. Both of our testers both agreed – don't let its affordable price tag fool you; this multi-cooker delivers impressive results and could become invaluable in your kitchen, especially during times when cost savings are paramount.

Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker: design and style

With a glossy black exterior and a large digital control panel, the CleverChef Multi-Cooker boasts a sleek, modern design that effortlessly fits into any kitchen decor. Both of our testers praised its style, scoring it five out of five in this area. "It's a lovely design and fits really well in my small kitchen - the style is practical and efficient," reported Anna. Denise also commented that it sits nicely in the corner of her kitchen and looked great alongside her other black kitchen appliances.

A lot of multi-cookers tend to be quite bulky (although they do the job of multiple gadgets in one, so they can save space in the long run), but both Mumsnet testers found that the Drew&Cole wasn't too obtrusive in their kitchens. For comparison, the Ninja Foodi OP350UK is 32 x 43 x 36cm, but the Drew&Cole is just 24 x 29 x 39.5cm, so it has a significantly smaller footprint (and comes in £140 cheaper too!), making it ideal if kitchen space is at a premium.

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Cooking in the Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker: how easy is it to use?

With so many settings, it can sometimes be difficult to get to grips with a multi-cooker initially, but luckily, ease of use is a hallmark of the CleverChef. Denise praised its simplicity, stating, "I cannot believe one so cheap does so much compared with the Ninja multi-cooker. It's easy to use, there is a brief instruction book, but it's common sense – the buttons tell you what setting you require for what you are making."

Anna was also pleased with the ease of use: "The CleverChef has a simple and logical control panel (but it is still worth reading the short manual). The design is really practical the instructions are clear - with the design of the cooker, it's really easy - but I have had one before so perhaps I had a head start." The only gripe Anna had when it came to ease of use was that she wished it had come with a cookbook with more ideas, although there is a dedicated recipe app you can download.

The CleverChef has 14 different functions – steam, stew, soup, roast, poach, bread rise, bake, fish sauté, rice, pasta, slow cook high or low and make yoghurt – so there's plenty of variety, and the intuitive interface ensures that preparing dishes is a hassle-free experience for busy families.

"I love everything about this [multi-cooker]," Anna said, adding, "I love the non-stick pot - very useful when cooking meat before adding veg and slow cooking. You can roast and bake stuff. You can sauté things and more as there's lots of different settings. It's perfect for me as a single mum on a budget as I can buy cheap ingredients and easily cook batches of things quickly so I don’t have to cook everyday but can still eat properly.

"It's so great to be able to chuck stuff into this [multi-cooker] at anytime of day and then freeze it. I can also use it to reheat/cook on a timer should I want a meal ready for me to come back to if I go out. It will switch to the keep warm mode or off when your setting cycle is finished." Denise also found the timer handy too, reporting it was "so useful" when she prepped food the night before. "It comes on during the day so we come home to a warm meal. It's useful once you do a test run at home to make sure it does come on when programmed," she said.

Related: Best lunch boxes and Tupperware for batch cooking

Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker: what are the results like?

When it comes to results, the CleverChef doesn't disappoint. Denise shared that her culinary adventures, including everything from succulent sausage casseroles to moist carrot cakes, tender chillis to tasty risottos, all cooked well in the CleverChef. She was thrilled with the results of cooking a whole chicken in the multi-cooker too, reporting that it was "just as nice as in the oven at a fraction of the price - [it was] moister too."

Anna was equally impressed, highlighting that it enabled her to roast, bake, sauté, and more. She also found the bread maker and baking settings good too, as well as the functions more suited to savoury meals.

How easy is the Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker to clean?

Clean-up is often a dreaded part of cooking, but the Drew&Cole CleverChef minimises this hassle. The non-stick pot made washing up a breeze, and Anna remarked that it was "much better [to clean] than a baked casserole dish". The inner pot is also dishwasher safe, but the Drew&Cole was super easy to clean by hand too.

Key specs

• Capacity: 5 litres

• Size: 24.4D x 29W x 39.5H centimetres

• Weight: 3.9kg

• Settings: 14 functions - steam, stew, soup, roast, poach, bread rise, bake, fish sauté, rice, pasta, slow cook high or low and make yoghurt

• Pot: Aluminium

• Dishwasher safe: Yes, inner pot

• Power: 860W

How we tested the Drew&Cole CleverChef Multi-Cooker

We first asked Mumsnet users the slow cooker, multi-cooker and Instant Pot models they recommend, recruiting our Insight panel to give their feedback on everything from ease of use and cleaning, versatility, design, and how tasty the results from each gadget were.

Once we had collated these results, we consulted with our two parent testers, Denise and Anna, to get their in-depth feedback on how they both found the Drew&Cole after over six months of regular use. Through using real, unbiased Mumsnet users for feedback, we ensure we give you an honest account of how products fare after extensive use in a real family home.

For more kitchen gadgets with the Mumsnetter stamp of approval, don't miss our guide to the best deep fat fryer and best George Foreman grill.

About the author

Natasha Gregson is an Affiliate Content Editor at Mumsnet, with an expertise in home and kitchen product reviews and round-ups. With several years of editorial experience under her belt, she also has had work featured in national publications including The i Paper and Stylist Magazine.

She's spent the past few months on a mission to find the best slow cookers and multi-cookers to make family life that little bit easier, and as such, has tested out many time-saving kitchen gadgets and developed an expertise for spotting exactly what makes a product stand out.

When she’s not busy seeking out the top products and advice for Mumsnetters, you can find her searching for the next best restaurant, watching live music, curling up with a good book, cross-stitching, or enjoying a good hike or swim.

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real people after extensive research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.

*Name has been changed.

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