Jamie Oliver is set to launch a new cooking show devoted to the must-have kitchen gadget of the moment: air fryers.
Named Jamie Oliver Air Fryer Meals, the two-part series will arrive on our screens this spring on Channel 4 and will see the TV chef share a multitude of air fryer recipes, including mouth-watering grilled courgettes and aubergines, a perfectly cooked whole roast chicken inspired by the flavours of Kerala, and even an impressive baked Alaska.
The series comes after Oliver, who initially said he was “sceptical” about air fryers, made the leap to embrace them as an innovative and useful piece of kitchen kit. “As soon as I started to test and play around with ideas, settings and new ways to create flavour and texture, I was totally hooked,” he said in a statement announcing the new show.
“In my mind, anything that gets people cooking is a win. And the fact that the air fryer uses less energy, saves time and creates much less washing-up – all while turning out delicious, nutritious food – can only be a good thing.”
Oliver will be joined each episode by a guest chef with air fryer prowess, including Michelin-trained chef Poppy O’Toole, who has a TikTok following of 4.3m and is renowned for her potato expertise. Meanwhile, episode two will feature Sabrina Gidda, author of Modern South Asian Cuisine, who will bring her air fryer twist to delicious lamb chops.
The way the nation is cooking is changing and 45 per cent of UK homes already own an air fryer. If you’re one of the few people yet to jump on the bandwagon, keep scrolling for a selection of some of our favourite machines – all of which featured in our review of the best air fryers for 2024.
This dual air fryer from Salter won the top spot in our review owing to its relatively large baskets, countless cooking options and incredibly easy-to-use design. Our tester used this model to make everything from steaks and shrimp to cakes and even bread. “It can even be timed to ensure the contents of both baskets will finish cooking at the same time, giving you a full meal without the faff,” they wrote.
Chosen as our best budget buy, this Tower air fryer is a great option for couples as it has a generous 4.3l capacity. “Owing to its compact design, it’s ideal for a two-person household and it doesn’t take up too much counter space,” our tester said. “It is very simple to use, and during weeks of testing, we found that it’s quick to heat up and cooks evenly without trouble”. The gadget can be used to make everything from succulent meats and roasted vegetables to crispy fries.
Ninja Foodi AF400UK 9.5L dual-zone air fryer: £177.21, Amazon.co.uk
This Ninja model was given an impressive five stars and is the most powerful product in our review with an impressive 2,470W, which our tester said made a big difference when it came to cooking. “Chicken, chips and chopped-up veg cooked much faster and ended up a lot tastier and crispier compared to when cooking in the other air fryer models. So, it’s safe to say it has us sold,” they explained. It has six settings, so it can roast, air fry, bake, crisp, reheat and dehydrate all in one device, and you can set each drawer to do a different thing – very handy when cooking a whole meal.
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