A deli food slicer is the kitchen appliance middle class cooks can’t get enough of – so, is it worth spending up to £1,400 on a machine?

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I’m not sure if it was the air fryer or the pizza oven that pushed me into full-blown appliance fatigue…but I definitely have it – or at least I thought I did, until the latest, shiny, must-have gadget landed on my doorstep this week.

Surface space is already at a premium in the kitchen – but the fancy coffee machine, the juicer and the cake mixer might soon have to budge up and make room for a potential new object of culinary desire, one that’s straight out of your local deli.

A domestic version of a traditional butcher’s electric meat slicer is being touted as the trendy new appliance that home cooks like me didn’t know we needed.

Retailing anywhere between around £40 for the most basic version to head-turning £1,400 models from Dutch brand Berkel – essentially the KitchenAid of slicers – they promise to make light work of cutting everything from bread and cheese to cured, cooked and raw meats as well as fruit and vegetables.

Those who swear by them as a favourite kitchen product, including top chefs, claim the benefits are three-fold.

They give food a professional look the humble knife can’t compete with, saying it’s possible to create a restaurant-quality platter of cured meats, in perfectly uniform slices, in less than a minute.

Then there’s the cost-cutting. You slice what you need, so there’s less waste and you can turn a larger piece of meat into steaks, which invariably works out cheaper than buying them pre-cut. Finally, converts say the food is fresher, so you win on taste too.

Critics counter, meanwhile, that they’re bulky and difficult to clean – and way too niche for everyday use.

The model I’m charged with testing is a mid-range model, Le Trancheur T190, from Magimix.

It retails at around £160 from the likes of John Lewis, Argos and Amazon and promises ‘precision slicing made simple’.

It comes, as most meat slicers on the market do, with an ‘adjustable thickness’ feature – meaning you can cut both a thick steak and wafer thin curls of parmesan should you so wish.

How does it look? It comes in just one shade, silver, but is easy enough on the eye.

Size-wise, it’s 40cm x 28cm – a bit smaller than your average microwave but still with a reasonably large kitchen footprint if your counters are already sparse on space.

In an increasingly digital world, it’s also refreshingly easy to use – there’s no app required for this gadget…within minutes of being taken out of the box, it’s doing the job.

The T190 feels pretty safe to use too – nobody wants a fingertip with their plate of prosciutto, right? There’s two child-proof buttons required to be pressed at the same time to get the 19cm serrated stainless steel circular blade to whirr into life.

Putting the machine through its paces, I tried it with carrots, cucumbers and strawberries – all of which it managed easily on various thickness settings.  

Simply spike the vegetable/bread/meat of your choice securely in place and move it back and forth over the blade – it’s strangely mesmerising.

I was really impressed with how it cut up a large multi-grain cob loaf – the slices felt much fresher than you buy in a supermarket. 

And it devoured a whole Dutch Gouda that had been in the back of the fridge for a while, turning out 30 or so slices in seconds. 

Can your £160 investment really save you money though? I tested out the ‘cut your own steaks’ idea. 

A pack of six pork loin chops from Lidl currently costs £6.69 for 1.05kg of meat. 

I bought a whole boneless loin, weighing 1.3kg for £7.49 and put the slicer to work on it – I got nine sizeable chops out of it, so there’s definitely small savings to be made, which will add up in the long run. 

There was one product that the T190 really didn’t like though – chorizo. 

The Spanish cured meat kept slipping, meaning it was only possible to slice it one piece at a time – which was arguably just as laborious as using a knife. 

The appliance is billed as a being able to cut ‘deli-thin’ meats, but it didn’t quite manage it for me. 

It was a blip that wasn’t enough to put me off; everything else that came into contact with the blade emerged neatly on the other side, cut to perfection.  

Some have suggested cleaning electric slicers can be a chore but, perhaps because this model feels low-tech – in the best way – a coin twist is all that’s needed to remove screw that holds the blade in place for washing; everything else was easy enough to wipe down.   

Pro chef Homam Ayaso told me that social media has transformed culinary aspirations when we’re cooking at home.

‘There’s been a real rise in seeing such equipment in homes. I think the main reason is probably social media.

‘Where once people thought such appliances were too professional and expensive, they realise that they’re now actually more accessible.

‘People want fine dining at home, they want restaurant quality, cuts and approaches.’

The professional cook, who’s Director of Content for cooking channel Tasty UK, says such an appliance is a double win, because it gifts both a chance to show off and to save money.

He explains: ‘When it comes to value, you can buy a bigger piece of meat, for example, from your butcher and slice it to the size that’s right for your family.

‘It’s absolutely worth investing in from a financial point of view.’

And it’s likely to taste better too, he adds: ‘It’s a bit like buying pre-cut fruit, when you have the full fruit in front of you, you get that extra zestiness and freshness. 

‘It’s a similar experience with the meat slicer – it’ll taste better than the ready-sliced cuts.’

On taste, I’m 100 per cent converted – a freshly sliced cheese and cucumber sandwich on the loaf cut during testing, with good butter, tasted exactly like it does from the very best delis – a simple but divine lunchtime snack.  

You can even make your own ‘healthier’ crisps to go on the side, shaving a potato down and then blasting the delicate slices in the air fryer with a few sprays of olive oil. Add seasoning and you’re away. 

The verdict? Add in the potential savings (and overlooking the chorizo fail), the T190 has won a permanent place on my kitchen counter.