Chefman Air Fryer – 5.7L Compact Airfryer for Quick, Easy Meals, Features Hi-Fry Technology for Extra Crisp, Easy-View Window, Touch Controls with 4 Presets, Nonstick & Dishwasher Safe Basket - Black

What It Is and Who It's For

The Chefman 5.7L is a compact air fryer aimed at households wanting a straightforward appliance without breaking the bank. At £89.99, it sits in the sweet spot between budget models and premium brands, offering decent capacity and practical features. It's ideal if you want a secondary air fryer for a small flat or a first-time buyer testing whether air frying genuinely fits your cooking habits.

With 2,800 customer reviews averaging 4.4★, it's earned genuine user appreciation—though not quite the acclaim of its pricier rivals. That rating reflects what you actually get: solid fundamentals with occasional compromises.

Design and Build

The square basket is a sensible choice for a 5.7L model, maximising usable space compared to cylindrical designs. Chefman's ergonomics here are straightforward: touch controls on the unit's face, a digital display, and a viewing window so you can check progress without opening the basket. Nothing here feels flimsy, and the nonstick basket plus dishwasher-safe components simplify cleanup—a genuine quality-of-life win after weekend meal prep.

At 1700W, the heating element is adequate for the capacity. You're not getting the raw power of flagship models, but for a 5.7L unit, it's proportionate. The low-noise operation (a genuine selling point for kitchen appliances) means it won't dominate your kitchen soundscape during a 20-minute cooking cycle.

The four preset buttons cater to the obvious candidates: chips, chicken, fish, and veg. Presets are convenient for beginners, though experienced air fryer users typically override them anyway with manual temperature and time adjustments.

Performance

The Hi-Fry technology—Chefman's term for rapid air circulation—delivers properly crisped results. Frozen chips emerge consistently golden without the sogginess you'd get from an underpowered unit. Chicken thighs render skin-on results that compete with midrange models, though they won't match the aggressive crispness of premium machines like the Ninja Foodi MAX, which uses dual independent baskets for more precise heat management.

There's a learning curve to spacing: overload the basket, and air circulation suffers noticeably. This isn't unique to Chefman—it's an air fryer universal—but the 5.7L capacity means you're working with moderate batch sizes. A family of four will need two cycles for a full meal's worth of chips or vegetables.

Preheat time sits around three minutes, reasonable but not exceptional. Premium models preheat fractionally faster; budget competitors match this speed. Once at temperature, consistency is solid across the basket, though edges cook slightly faster than the centre—again, standard for the category.

Reheating leftovers (pizzas, fried foods, pastries) works exceptionally well; the circulating heat revives crispness better than a conventional oven. This practical application alone justifies the purchase for many households.

Key Features

The easy-view window is genuinely useful. You can visually monitor progress without venting heat, which other compact models force you to do via manual lid lifts. It's a small feature that prevents burnt-bottom, undercooked-top scenarios.

Touchpad controls are responsive and quick to navigate. No delays or finicky button combinations—select temperature, set time, start. The digital display shows remaining time clearly. Compare this to competitors like the Tower Vortx at £54.99, which uses mechanical dials and offers no viewing window; the Chefman's interface is noticeably more user-friendly.

The nonstick basket coating is durable according to most reviews, surviving repeated washing without obvious degradation across the first year. The dishwasher-safe designation matters practically: hand-washing every meal gets tedious quickly.

Value Versus Competitors

At £89.99, the Chefman is price-matched only by the Cosori TurboBlaze, which actually edges ahead with a 4.6★ rating and a marginally larger 6.0L capacity. Both occupy the same price point, but Cosori's slight advantage in heat distribution makes it the technical superior, though the difference is genuinely modest.

The Tower Vortx undercuts both at £54.99, but sacrifices the viewing window, digital controls, and refined design. If budget is paramount, the Tower works, but the Chefman's superior interface justifies the £35 premium.

Up the scale, the Ninja Foodi MAX (£199.99, 4.8★) and FlexDrawer (£229.99, 4.7★) command double-plus pricing for dual zones or flexibly partitioned baskets—advantages if you're cooking multiple dishes simultaneously or have a larger household. These are genuinely better appliances, but they're not twice as good; they cater to different needs.

The Philips Essential XL (£109.99, 4.5★) is nearest in the premium positioning. It's £20 dearer than the Chefman for a slightly larger 6.2L capacity and marginally better reviews, suggesting Philips' premium brand positioning adds real (if incremental) value. It's a close call; the Chefman saves money without obvious performance sacrifice.

Verdict

The Chefman 5.7L deserves its solid reputation. It crisps food reliably, offers thoughtful features like the viewing window and easy-clean basket, and prices fairly against rivals with similar specifications. It's not the fastest air fryer, nor does it match the sophistication of dual-zone competitors, but it never pretends to be either.

Buy it if you want a practical, unpretentious air fryer that delivers consistent results without unnecessary complexity or cost. Skip it only if you have a specific need for larger capacity (Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer at 10.4L) or are budget-constrained enough to accept the Tower Vortx's no-frills approach. For most households wanting their first dedicated air fryer or a secondary unit, the Chefman represents genuine value at its price point.