Egg-sacting times for Tefal

Occasionally on this blog I write about a gadget. Occasionally they're even affordable. This one is: the Toast'n'egg from Tefal. My thanks to the PR company for sending me a sample. I can confirm that it works - and for under £40 is a reasonable enough buy if you want to cut down a bit on washing up.

Of course I'm not completely satisfied. It's great if you're making breakfast for yourself. Two slices in the toaster, egg in the poacher and you're away. So far, so excellent. But there's another option. It will take up to four eggs for boiling.

This is another good thing but - and here's the rub - if I'm cooking four eggs then I'm probably cooking them for more than just me. And if it's all the same to everyone, I'd quite like the option of a four-slice toaster.

No doubt someone in product development thought of this, looked at the size, told someone in marketing about it and someone decided the thing would just be too big. If I'm right, that's probably not a bad call - but then why make it cook so many eggs if the whole lot won't be ready and hot all at once?

This is probably a quibble. For the price it's a perfectly good kitchen gadget. I'd bet, though, that loads of people will stick with a saucepan and separate toaster.