I love a Mandolin for kitchen ease, I simply can’t be bothered to do things that a mandolin can by hand so I just wouldn’t bother without one.
I have an ancient one which was bordering on the dangerous when it was brand spanking new and now that it is old, broken in many places and missing lots of vital bits including the guard, it is a down right health hazard. How I haven’t sliced into a finger yet is beyond me? I have, however, been loath to bin it because I am lazy and knew I would probably not get around to it until after I needed it again, forgetting mine would be in the bin so I’ve kept hold of it. I meant to buy a new one so as to give me the impetus to bin the old when I got home with it but of course, without the ‘need’ for one on my mind it never crossed it while out shopping…
And now… I have been sent one to review so the decision has been made for me and the old one is in the bin. ‘dI binned it even before I’d got the new one out of its box. It might have been the most rubbish mandolin in the whole world for all I knew but it was definitely better than the one I had (that was a given) so it was goodbye bits and pieces (it actually turned out I had some from two different ancient contraptions that I had hobbled together without realising) and hello Chef’n Pull’n Slice Mandolin which can be bought in Lakeland for £39.99.
It promises to be completely safe (already a bonus then) and states that it offers seven different options for slicing, shredding, julienneing or dicing. You can even change the thickness. Now, all that sounds fab but what makes it really special is that unlike regular mandolins (like my old one – or two as it goes) you hold down the fruit or vegetable with a silicone collar (no spikes to dig into what you’re slicing as there’s no need – that aspect never worked well on my old one) and then you pull the base board, you DON’T push the fruit or vegetable!
I really enjoyed using the mandolin. Just as I find the Chef’n Palm Peeler (which I wrote about here) an absolute breeze, so do I find this! It works beautifully, is no hassle at all to change from blade to blade or desired thickness and it stays put as you go. It is slightly annoying that you don’t get a bowl to slice into like I had with my old one and it is tricky to find something the right shape so instead I chop straight onto a clean work surface but I, personally, would prefer a bowl.
Storing is easy as the blades fit inside the board and one of them has its own case. It also has a ‘safe store’ position which is thoughtful.
It does the job with even more ease than a normal mandolin and it does it without fear of being sliced yourself. It also does it with very little gadgets and gizmos attached so not many parts to lose or get used to. How many of these things have 90% of their bits and pieces go dusty while we use the one we know how to?! This is all really easy to use as it’s all the same with few changes involved for making it go from one function to another.
Lakeland say it’s the best mandolin they’ve ever sold and I’m inclined to say it’s probably the best mandolin there actually is in that case! I don’t think I would assume anyone else would have one better when looking for something of this genre so if Lakeland say it’s the best, then it’s the best!
Take a look!
If I hadn’t been sent it but had tried it out in store then I’d buy it for sure – it really is a wizard!
I was sent a Chef’n Pull’n Slice Mandolin in return for an honest review.
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