In this review, you will find out Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone how practical the different size drawers are, how fast it really cooks, and a few of what I think are its design flaws. Before diving in, it is worth mentioning that there are three different versions of this air fryer.
This one is the Dual Easy Fry and Grill, and it comes in stainless steel as well as gray. There is also a very similar black model that does not have the grill function, and that one is simply called the Dual Easy Fry. All versions share the same 8.3L capacity and the same setup with two different size drawers.
Table of Contents
Drawer Size and Design
The asymmetric drawer layout is one of the things that often attracts people to the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone. Both drawers are dishwasher safe, and although specific information on the non-stick coating used in this model is not easy to find, Tefal was one of the first manufacturers to eliminate PFOA from its non-stick coatings over a decade ago.
The smaller drawer holds 3.1L and the larger one holds 5.2L. Before getting my hands on this air fryer, I had seen comments from people saying the small drawer was too small to be of any practical use. That was not my experience at all.
The large drawer was perfect for joints of meat, while the small one was great for sides or for cooking a single portion. I even found, entirely by accident, that some sausages fitted perfectly across the width of the small drawer. Drawer size was simply not a problem with this air fryer.
Build Quality and Appearance
Design-wise, the stainless steel version is pretty good-looking and is actually easier to keep clean on the outside than some of the high gloss black air fryers on the market. It has a clear touchscreen display and is, on the whole, intuitive to use, at least initially.
Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone has chosen to label its presets with symbols rather than words. From left to right, you get a setting for potatoes and fries, which has a shake reminder built in, followed by meat and poultry, vegetables, fish, dessert, and dehydrate.
There is also a manual air fry and grill option. As expected, you can adjust the time and temperature of any preset. The maximum temperature is 200 degrees Celsius, the minimum is 40 degrees Celsius, and you can program it for up to 10 hours of cooking.
Sync Mode and Dual Drawer Cooking
There is a sync mode that allows both drawers to finish cooking at the same time. To use this setting, you program each drawer separately, add your food, and then press sync. The drawer with the longer cooking time starts immediately, while the one with the shorter time displays the word “hold” on screen until it is ready to begin. It is a genuinely useful feature for getting everything to the table at the same time.
The Grill Function
This model includes a grill option that works only in the large drawer. When you select grill, the air fryer preheats for 8 minutes and sounds an audible alert at the end to let you know when to add your food. It is worth noting that this preheat option is exclusive to the grill setting and does not activate with any other preset.
The model also comes with two different crisper plates. The smaller drawer has a relatively lightweight plate similar to what you would find in most air fryers. The larger drawer, however, includes a substantial die-cast grid grill, which is central to the grill function.
This plate heats up during the 8-minute preheat so that when you place a cut of meat on it, you get proper grill marks seared in. It is a nice touch and gives this air fryer something genuinely extra over the competition.
A Design Quirk Worth Knowing About
Something a little unusual about the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone design is the placement of the rear fender. Most air fryers have a fender at the back to stop you pushing the unit against the wall, allowing air to escape. On this model, however, the fender is positioned at the bottom rather than the top.
This might not sound significant, but if you have upstands on your worktop, it makes a real difference to how far back you can push the air fryer when it is not in use. The Ninja Dual Zone, which has fenders at the top, can be pushed back to sit just 2 inches from the wall on my worktop. The Tefal sits at more like 4 inches out. It is a small but practical consideration depending on your kitchen setup.
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How Fast Does the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone Actually Cook?
This is where things get more critical. With every dish I cooked, I had a feeling that everything was taking longer than in my other air fryers. So I carried out a test. I parboiled a batch of potatoes, weighed them, split them exactly in half, and cooked one portion at 200 degrees Celsius in the Ninja Dual Zone Max and the other half at the same time and temperature using the potato setting in the Tefal.
After just 10 minutes, the difference was clear. The potatoes in the Ninja were much better cooked, even though they were sitting in a larger drawer and were not even being cooked on the fastest preset. In another test, I made a half quantity of a tray bake and found it actually took longer to cook than the full-size version would in a conventional fan oven.
The Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone is simply slow, and you cannot even compensate by increasing the temperature since 200 degrees Celsius is already the maximum.
What Is Good About the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone
Starting with the positives, this air fryer comes with a two-year guarantee as standard for domestic use. Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone also offers something called the 15-Year Repairability Promise, which means that spare parts for this appliance will be available for 15 years. It is designed to be easy to dismantle and reassemble so that repairs can be carried out at what Tefal describes as a fair price.
Honestly, it is hard to understand how this ever stopped being standard practice in the industry, but it is genuinely reassuring and worth acknowledging. The two different size drawers are another genuine positive. They offer more versatility, particularly if you sometimes cook for just one person. The grill plate is also a welcome addition, giving this air fryer a point of difference over much of its competition.
What Is Not So Good About the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone
The speed issue has already been covered, but it cannot be overstated. This is the first time the results from cooking in an air fryer have actually disappointed me. The slowness also makes another design issue more frustrating. Once you set your time and temperature and start the air fryer, you cannot alter it midway through cooking.
If you peek into the drawer and decide you need more time or a higher temperature, you have to cancel the program entirely and start again from scratch. You cannot simply increase the time or adjust the temperature on the fly.
On the subject of controls, there is no dedicated power button. The unit has a start and stop button that wakes up the display and handles pausing, but no proper off switch. Pressing and holding the button does put it into standby, and the display will eventually turn off on its own if left, but it is not particularly satisfying. My mom started switching it off at the wall socket after a few days, and before long, everyone else in the house was doing the same.
The audible alerts are also worth mentioning. The air fryer beeps midway through cooking on the fry setting and will not stop until you pull the drawer out. However, it does not beep at the end of the cooking time to let you know the food is finished, which means you can easily miss it.
Finally, the instruction booklet is not terribly helpful. A lot of useful information is simply left out, and I found myself having to search online to figure out how to fully operate this air fryer. There is probably a whole separate video’s worth of things that the manual fails to explain.
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Asymmetric dual drawers add real versatility
- Die-cast grill plate in the large drawer delivers genuine grill marks
- 15-Year Repairability Promise ensures spare parts stay available at fair repair cost
Specification Table
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Tefal |
| Model Name | Easy Fry Dual Zone (Dual Easy Fry and Grill) |
| Total Capacity | 8.3L |
| Small Drawer Capacity | 3.1L |
| Large Drawer Capacity | 5.2L |
| Maximum Temperature | 200 degrees Celsius |
| Minimum Temperature | 40 degrees Celsius |
| Maximum Cook Time | 10 Hours |
| Grill Function | Yes (large drawer only) |
| Grill Preheat Time | 8 Minutes |
| Sync Mode | Yes |
| Dishwasher Safe Drawers | Yes |
| Presets | Potatoes and Fries, Meat and Poultry, Vegetables, Fish, Dessert, Dehydrate, Manual |
| Shake Reminder | Yes (Potatoes and Fries preset) |
| Available Colours | Stainless Steel, Gray, Black |
| Standard Guarantee | 2 Years |
| Repairability Promise | 15 Years |
| PFOA Free Coating | Yes |
Final Verdict
The Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone is a bit of a mixed bag. It looks good, offers genuine versatility with its asymmetric drawers, includes a decent grill function, and backs it all up with impressive long-term repairability promises. However, the slow cooking performance, the inability to adjust settings mid-cook, the lack of a proper power button, and the unhelpful instruction booklet are real drawbacks that are hard to ignore.
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