Smeg has finally launched an air fryer - but would you really spend £199.95 on one? Charlotte Vossen shares her verdict

Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn moreIf there's one kitchen appliance brand that knows how to make us want something we probably don't need, it's Smeg. Its retro-inspired fridges, toasters and kettles have become as much a part of the kitchen aesthetic as they are functional appliances – and now, it's coming for the air fryer.Today, Smeg has launched its first standalone air fryer, the AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer. Priced at £199.95, it's certainly not one of the cheapest air fryers on the market, but then again, this is Smeg we're talking about. Available in Black, White, Emerald Green and Storm Blue, it's clearly designed to look good sitting on your kitchen worktop as well as, you know, actually cooking things.I've been putting it through its paces to see whether it's actually worth the hype – and, more importantly, whether it can justify taking up precious kitchen-counter real estate.First impressions: it's very, very SmegLet's get the obvious out of the way: this is a very attractive air fryer.The overall design is unmistakably Smeg, with rounded corners and the brand's name emblazoned across the front in its signature lettering. It has a slightly more polished, appliance-meets-design-object feel than your average air fryer, which is probably a good thing given that you may well want to leave it out permanently.I don't currently own an air fryer to compare it with size-wise, but I'd say it's roughly comparable to my Our Place Mini Oven. It's taller but less wide than a standard microwave, so it's not exactly tiny – something to bear in mind if you're already short on counter space.The biggest design difference, however, is how you actually get into it.Rather than pulling out a traditional drawer, the top of the air fryer opens upwards at the push of a button, allowing you to lift the basket out of the main body. It's very slick, but there's one important caveat: if you're planning to position it underneath kitchen cupboards, you'll need to make sure there's enough clearance above it for the lid to open. The top of the Smeg air fryer opens upwards at the push of a buttonInside, there's a 7.3-litre capacity, which Smeg says is designed to allow several portions to be cooked in a single batch.The touchscreen is clever without being complicatedI'm pleased to report that you don't need a degree in air-fryer studies to work out how to use it.The touchscreen display looks suitably high-tech, but it's actually very straightforward. You can switch between the different cooking modes by tapping the three-lined Menu icon, while a little Start arrow begins the cooking process – and can also be used to pause or stop it.One of my favourite features is the cooking window in the lid. It means you can actually see what's happening inside without having to open the whole thing and let all that lovely hot air escape. There's also an integrated light that illuminates the food during cooking, making it particularly easy to keep an eye on your dinner.And then there's the basket handle, which is a small detail that I appreciated more than I expected. It's made from silicone, so it doesn't get scorching hot when the air fryer is running. That means you can lift the basket out without reaching for an oven glove – or doing that awkward kitchen-towel dance where you desperately try not to touch anything hot.So, what can it actually do?The clue is in the name: Dual Flavour.There are two main cooking functions: Crispy, which is designed to give food an even, golden crunch, and Juicy+Crispy, which combines hot-air circulation with an internal steaming system. The latter is designed to keep food tender and moist on the inside while still crisping up the outside – something Smeg says is particularly suited to meat.There's also a manual mode, where you can choose your own temperature and cooking time, as well as seven preset programmes for chicken wings or legs, meat, fish, shrimps, chips, vegetables and roast chicken. I put the new Smeg air fryer to the ultimate test: a Sunday roastFor someone who is relatively new to air frying, I found the presets particularly useful because they take away some of the guesswork. You can, of course, tweak the settings if you want to – which is exactly what I did.I put it to the ultimate test: Sunday roastMy plan was ambitious: I was going to cook an entire Sunday roast in it.Unfortunately, there was one fairly significant flaw in this master plan: my chicken was too big.The air fryer can accommodate a chicken of up to around 1kg, while the smallest one I could find in Sainsbury's was 1.5kg. So, sadly, the chicken had to go in the oven. (I refuse to accept responsibility for the fact that I apparently bought an oversized chicken for an air-fryer review.)Instead, I started with the vegetables.The carrotsI selected the Vegetables preset, which automatically set the air fryer to 180°C for 20 minutes with the Crispy function switched on.I had already set a timer on my phone to remind me to check the carrots and give them a shake halfway through, but I needn't have bothered. After around 10 minutes, the air fryer beeped a couple of times and the display told me it was time to turn the vegetables over. The air fryer automatically tells you when it is time to turn your vegetables overThis was one of those small features that made me think: OK, that's actually really useful.Rather than having to remember when your food needs turning – or hovering around the air fryer like you're waiting for a bomb to go off – it tells you.And the broccoli...Next up was broccoli. Again, I selected the Vegetables preset, but reduced the cooking time to 15 minutes because I'd chopped the broccoli into relatively small florets.Halfway through, I turned them over when prompted, and they came out exactly how I like my broccoli: slightly crispy around the edges without being burnt to a sad, shrivelled crisp.At this point, the air fryer was making a fairly convincing case for itself.Then came the Yorkshire puddingsWith the carrots and broccoli transferred to the oven and covered in foil to keep warm, I moved on to the Yorkshire puddings.I set the air fryer to 180°C for 20 minutes, and the cooking window made it easy to keep an eye on them without opening the lid.And, crucially, I timed it pretty much perfectly.There was just one problem: the chicken still needed another 10 minutes or so in the oven.So I decided to conduct a little experiment and left the Yorkshire puddings in the air fryer to keep warm.Honestly? It worked. The cooking window makes it easy to keep an eye on them without opening the lidBy the time I was ready to serve up, the Yorkshires were still warm, golden and crispy. Was this technically what the air fryer was designed to do? Probably not. Did I appreciate having somewhere to keep my Yorkshires warm while I waited for the chicken? Absolutely.There are a few features I haven't tried yetOne feature I haven't tested is the delayed-start cooking function, which allows you to set a cooking interval anywhere from five minutes up to 24 hours.It's the sort of feature that could be particularly handy if you like to prep dinner in advance and want the cooking to start later – although I'll admit I haven't quite worked out what I'd trust myself to leave cooking unattended for that long.Cleaning it is refreshingly easyIf, like me, you consider cleaning up after dinner one of the least enjoyable parts of cooking, there is some good news.The basket and rack are dishwasher-safe, while the outside can be wiped down with a damp cloth. Smeg also says the basket has a non-stick ceramic coating made without PFAS.The cooking window should be kept clean, too, with Smeg recommending an absorbent kitchen towel for wiping it down.After my Sunday roast experiment, I was particularly grateful that I didn't have to embark on a lengthy scrubbing session.So, is the Smeg air fryer worth £199.95?For me, yes – with a couple of caveats.At £199.95, the Smeg air fryer is undeniably an investment. You're paying a premium not just for the air-frying technology but for the design, too.But after using it, I can see why you'd be tempted.It's extremely easy to use, the presets genuinely take the guesswork out of cooking, the cooking window is a brilliant addition and the automatic reminder to turn your food is something I didn't realise I wanted until I had it.Most importantly, the food actually came out well. The carrots and broccoli were nicely crisp, while my Yorkshire puddings were golden on the outside and stayed crisp even while I waited for the chicken.My main reservation would be its size if you're hoping to use it for larger family meals. Despite the generous 7.3-litre capacity, my 1.5kg chicken was too big for it, so if you're specifically buying an air fryer to replace your oven for a full Sunday roast, you'll need to take that into consideration.But if you're looking for an air fryer that looks good enough to leave on your worktop, is genuinely simple to use and produces reliably crispy results, Smeg's first attempt is a pretty convincing one.And, perhaps most importantly, I can now make a Sunday roast with considerably less oven juggling – which, as far as I'm concerned, is a win.READ MORE: Smeg? It's just a kettle! 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