Chef Reviews The Most Hyped NINJA Kitchen Tech

TL;DR

A chef and host test three Ninja products — a slushy maker, a 3-in-1 toaster, and a griddle — to see if they justify the hype.

Key Points

• 1.The Ninja SLUSHi (£259.99) earned the highest score of 9.3/10. It requires no ice, uses a compressor to chill as it slushes, and delivered genuinely different textures across modes — the margarita was smooth and slushy while the frappuccino was notably thicker, impressing both testers.
• 2.The SLUSHi is near-impossible to replicate at home any other way. The chef rated it 4.8/5, noting the compressor technology is essentially a miniature ice cream machine — expensive because you're buying the costly core component of a freezer.
• 3.The Ninja Foodi 3-in-1 Toaster (£129) scored 7/10, rated 3.5/5 by both testers. It toasts, grills, and presses paninis using interchangeable trays, but the 10–18 minute panini cook time, fiddly press mechanism, and non-removable crumb tray raised practical concerns.
• 4.The toaster's core question was whether reinventing it was necessary. The chef argued vertical toasters and horizontal grills already exist separately and work well — the combination is convenient but limited to two slices or one panini at a time.
• 5.The Ninja Sizzle Pro XL griddle (£179.99) scored 8.5/10, with the chef giving 4 stars and the host 4.5. Its ceramic non-stick surface, even heat distribution, and XL size made pancakes, bacon, and eggs cook easily, with a grease drip tray adding a health benefit.
• 6.The chef's main reservation about the Sizzle was its non-stick coating limiting professional technique. A plancha normally allows aggressive spatula use and steaming with cloches, but the ceramic surface restricts metal tools — though a silicone spatula would resolve this for home cooks.
• 7.In a dream kitchen with unlimited budget, the chef would keep the SLUSHi and Sizzle Pro XL but reject the toaster. The two together would make an 'excellent brunch setup,' while the host would only keep the SLUSHi, feeling the griddle didn't unlock cooking he couldn't already do in a pan.