I’ve got no doubt that most people are thinking why do you need an oven on your benchtop? Because most of you have a traditional oven installed in your kitchen. Now think about smaller spaces, which is where the Panasonic Electric Benchtop Oven is perfect.

If you’ve got a caravan, or you are building a granny flat, perhaps your school canteen needs an upgrade or the office lunch-room lacks the appliance to heat your food let alone cook something. Anywhere you need cooking, or portable cooking – solved.

This rather compact little Panasonic Electric Benchtop Oven (formally the NB-H3801KST) sits 36.4cm high, 53.3cm wide and 39.2mm deep. The capacity inside is 38 litres and the whole thing weighs just 10.1kg.

It has a temperature range of 70 to 230 degrees, and has a two hour timer.

The four knobs on the front at first are confronting, but they are actually quite simple – upper heat, function, lower heat and timer.

There’s four slots for sliding in your cooking racks at different heights, as well as a rotary function – which I’ll be testing with a chook real soon!

Panasonic’s Marketing Manager for Small Appliances Ginger Yu said: “Our portable Electric Benchtop Oven is the perfect all-in-one gadget for versatile cooking requirements. Users will love how easy and quick it is to cook food, the kitchen space it saves, and of course the six handy cooking accessories included with the oven. It is a must-have for those wanting to cook their favorite meals with freedom – anywhere they want.” 

Panasonic say this can do everything from Yogurt and Bread Dough to Cakes and Pizzas.

For my test, I went with the man-cave style approach and threw in some frozen chips and pizza.

That pizza came out of the Panasonic Electric Benchtop Oven crunchy, and the chips crispy. It’s a winner for me.

Easy to clean too – the bottom tray collects drips and crumbs, and removes for easy cleaning.

This one will be perfect for the EFTM kitchen – it’s a keeper.

You’ll find a Panasonic Electric Benchtop Oven listed at $389 by Panasonic, but we’ve found it online at Appliances Online for $299, and at Bing Lee for $259.