Mini Ovens don't just do what they are told anymore. They are now smart, independent thinkers that can be stand alone and make decisions for themselves. Well, at least this one can to some degree. Say hello to the Sage BOV820BSS 21 Litre Smart Element IQ Mini Oven Pro. This is not an in-depth review covering every inch of the internal and external components and capabilities of this Breville wonder machine, but more of a general talk about some of its main features, and a little about what users / reviewers find stands out the most. First off, lets get this out the way.. What the hell is "Smart" Element IQ technology doing in a mini oven, and why does it think it knows better than me.. What, I can't be free to cook my own food anymore! I know, "Smart" sounds scary. And to be honest, I hate anything "Smart". Explained in the most simplistic way I can manage at 2:30 the morning, Element IQ is basically a sort of automatic detection system that allows the oven to choose the right settings (by presets) for the particular type of food you are cooking, ensuring your food is cooked faster and by completely even heating throughout the process. You don't have to use the presets, you can do things manually and the Element IQ will adjust itself to cater for your requirements.
Sage BOV820BSS Smart Element IQ Quick Specification
- 21 Litre Capacity
- Digital Screen
- Toast, Grill or Bake options
- Normal, Reheat, warm and defrost choices
- High power 2400 Watts
- Cooking Temperature from 50 to 230 °C
- Cooking timer of up to 10 hours
- Smart Element IQ technology (5 stand alone quartz heating elements)
- 10 LCD preset settings
- Temperature reached indicator
- Internal Light button
- Slow cooking settings
- Keep warm function
- Convection fan option
- Fast preheating
- Attractive design
- Consistent "spot-on" cooking results
- Removable drip / crumb tray
- Dimensions: 47 x 32 x 28 cm
- Oven weight: Approximately 10 KG
- 3 Pin mains UK plug
- 12 month guarantee
With that out the way, Sage BOV820BSS has received extremely high praise with users / reviewers as being a well made, reliable and very capable mini oven. The only thing it doesn't have, other than a cheap price tag, is a twin hob (heating plates) at the top. However, this can be easily worked around, and for someone who lives alone and wants a true table top cooker, this model makes a lot of sense, and saves a lot of space. Is it the same, or better, than a full-sized oven? Well, that's debatable. But I will say this: That is the general theme, or thing that I've mostly been reading by browsing the reviews on Amazon UK.
That is, a lot of people say the Sage BOV820BSS is just as good as a full size oven. And as a result it seems like a good majority of the buyers have ditched their big ovens for this much smaller, but in many ways just as capable 21 Litre Smart Sage. But worth noting is these all appeared to be single people living alone, so a smaller, more efficient oven makes practical sense. But you wouldn't want to get rid of your full size oven if you are married with kids and have a whole family to cook for on a daily basis. In this situation the Sage (Heston Blumenthal) Element IQ would typically be added and used along side the big boys (a full size oven) in order to help out when having extra guests or family members over to eat when more cooking space is needed and time is limited.
At this stage of the article / post I usually talk a bit about some of the problems reported by consumers, and generally cover a few things the potential buyer should be made aware of. But with this model there aren't many issues to report. The only thing really worth mentioning is that a few people claim to have had a problem with the internal light. That being, some users couldn't get it to work. On most occasions this was either a faulty light that needed to be replaced, or the unit was damaged in transit. Other than that, there's not much else to fault this unit. One more thing I should add, though, is that one user said the timer selector dial is feather light to the touch, so you must take extra care when selecting how long you want to set the timer for. One small movement of the dial and the time you have set can be unknowingly decreased or increased. Just something to be aware of, not really a fault. Rest assured, by basically all accounts, it's a great mini oven, well worth the money.
