Smeg’s new 50s-style MultiGrill bakes waffles, presses paninis, and even opens into a BBQ catherine.ellis@futurenet.com (Cat Ellis) | usagoldmines.com

Smeg has launched a new three-in-one countertop electric grill with interchangeable plates for different cooking styles — all in a smart, 1950s-inspired package.

The new Smeg MultiGrill has two heating plates and can be used open or closed depending on the dish you’re preparing. In Contact mode, the MultiGrill cooks quickly and evenly, with heat from both sides, for foods like burgers, sandwiches, and grilled meats. Oven mode gives you four adjustable height settings, so you can cook more delicate dishes like fish without the upper plate making direct contact. Finally, BBQ mode lets you open the grill completely flat for double the cooking space, with heat only from below.

It also has three preset modes — Panini, Waffle, and Burger — with customizable times and temperatures, and comes with four plates (one smooth, one grill, and two waffle plates), plus a measuring cup for pouring waffle batter.

All plates are made of aluminum with a non-stick ceramic coating, making them dishwasher-safe, and the grill has a removable fat-collecting drawer for easier cleanup after cooking.

Simple searing

Each plate can be adjusted to between 60C and 230C, with a dedicated Sear mode to give an intense burst of heat (above 250C for 30 seconds) for rapidly browning and caramelizing the outside of meat while keeping the inside tender.

The temperature and cooking mode are displayed on an LCD display, and all functions are controlled using a pair of simple dials.

It’s available for £299.95 direct from Smeg., in either black or cream. I’ll be testing the Smeg MultiGrill soon and will be interested to see how it performs compared to other multi-function countertop cookers — as well as Ninja’s new Belgian waffle maker.