NGL, when I saw the Paris Rhône air fryer, I let out an audible "ooh la la." When I've gone to France, it's been all about the slow food, drenched in butter. I mean, the closest I've got to fast food is when I'm indulging in a big bowl of mussels with fries on the side. I think that's technically Belgian — but we move on.
In all honesty, the closest I've got to being a Francophile with my current small air fryer is warming croissants in it and renaming myself Emily. Sure, it's a basic boulangerie cheat code, however, how else is a girl meant to travel the world when city rent is so high?
Here, I see whether this small kitchen appliance can perform as well as its better-known American counterparts when it comes to building the best convection ovens. I'll look at wattage and dimensions and cook some delicious staples that are always part of our air fryer testing brief.
TLDR: What I thought of the Paris Rhône air fryer
Au revoir and out the door already? This'll only take deux minutes to scan! The Paris Rhône air fryer is a small but surprisingly versatile air fryer that's super quiet. Its presets are def catered towards a more European audience (as seen by the temp and type of food), but it comes with a fridge magnet that has familiar foods that we 'Mericans are used to munching this side of the pond.
The viewing window is cool, but I think for the Paris Rhône air fryer 2.0 (if there is one) the handle needs to be placed higher and positioned horizontally perhaps, so it doesn't obstruct the ability to watch your food brown. And, while I appreciate the light, I want to be able to control it rather than it coming on intermittently.
With those two minor points taken into account, I think 4.5 stars out of five is fair.
Unboxing the Paris Rhône air fryer
The outer package had been damaged in transit, but thankfully the air fryer didn't have any defects when we opened the box. As expected, a little molded polystyrene protected the unit and there was a fair amount of plastic wrap to stop it from getting dusty and dirty.
What I didn't care for was the plastic-wrapped air fryer tray. Everyone knows it's best practice to give everything a rinse prior, so I felt this was a little unnecessary. I also thought the two bits of cardboard in the internal unit were a bit weird.
First impressions of the Paris Rhône air fryer
I do like the look of this air fryer. The gloss black and stainless steel finish is sleek enough for any modern kitchen, and the LED touchscreen with mini food icons is helpful. To operate it, you can either pick from one of these presets or use the temperature and time settings with the plus (+) or minus (-) indicators to increase or reduce the heat of your convection oven. The basket is a decent size and pulls out without any stiffness/rigidity. Like the Cosori Lite, the tray has rubber grips that keep it in place and stop the basket and platter from scraping against each other and damaging the non-stick ceramic coating of this cookware.
There's no preheating required which makes this quite a cost-effective air fryer too! And, if it does get too hot — rest assured it'll switch itself off. Note: In the interest of safety in our test kitchen, we didn't attempt to "test" this feature.
The techy bits
- Voltage: 120V AC, 60 Hz
- Watts: 1200
- Cost to run (per hour): 18 cents
- Capacity: 5.3 quarts / 5 liters
- Temp settings: 100°F–392°F with 41°F increments
- Presets: 8 (Fries, fish, steak, egg tarts, drumsticks, shrimp, chicken wings, and hot dogs)
- Overheat setting? Yes
Cooking a whole chicken in the Paris Rhône air fryer
I was a little skeptical when I saw the official imagery depict a whole bird being cooked in this air fryer. When I think of air-fried turkey (or any other poultry), I assume the basket is going to be much (much) bigger. I was most certainly proved wrong as this hard-working appliance did well to roast a hen.
Size-wise, the fowl I air-fried was on the smaller side (marketed as an extra-small 2.2-pound chicken), but it was definitely enough to feed two to three people. I mixed a stock cube with oil (my top tip for flavor*), brushed it onto the skin, and cooked it per the directions on the wrapper for one hour at 356 degrees Fahrenheit. To be honest, it was probably ready a little earlier, but I'm not in the market for salmonella. Plus, it was my first time cooking a whole chicken with this machine.
The verdict? The skin was crispy, the meat was moist — and I'd certainly be confident in cooking chicken like this again. One thing to note is that because I was a little scared of how it would cook, I felt it was necessary to flip and rotate the chicken in 15-minute increments. This air fryer doesn't quite replace a rotisserie, but it certainly serves a purpose for space-saving and cost-efficient cookery. I can imagine that outside of testing capacity, it could allow me to have more oven space for roast potatoes, veggies, and other delicious sides.
*Though it's marketed as an "oilless air fryer," the food tips in the manual also suggest that a little oil will make food crispier. Use an oil sprayer or a pastry brush for the best results.
Cooking asparagus in the Paris Rhône air fryer
Air-fried asparagus is tasty *and* Instagrammable, so my first test was to cook 3.5 ounces of green spears for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After the time was up, they had an even color, while remaining crisp. My colleagues from our sister publication cooked the same veggies in the Magic Bullet air fryer as a control. The verdict? France 1, America 0.
Cooking French fries in the Paris Rhône air fryer
We used the infamous McCain's French fries to conduct this test. We were guided by the recommendation of 397 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. After the time was up, I noticed that some of the fries were browner than others. However, I haven't yet found an air fryer that cooks fries evenly. They're fine, but air fryer vs. deep fryer — the latter wins for me.*
*My grandfather owned a successful fish and chip shop in London so I'm always going to have a bit of bias there!
Cooking bacon in the Paris Rhone air fryer
When we test air fryers, we usually cook your usual slices of bacon. However, on this occasion, the store was out of strips, so we opted for back bacon. This cut is a little leaner so it's unfair to compare the Paris Rhône against other appliances, but it did well considering.
We used the trusty recipe card setting (392 degrees Fahrenheit for six minutes) and it was just as good as when we'd cook 'em under a broiler (and definitely less messy than frying in a non-stick frying pan).
Cooking fish sticks in the Paris Rhône air fryer
Fish sticks are a staple food that I've eaten and will continue to eat until I'm old. I usually cook these in the oven, but that often involves lining a cookie sheet with foil and firing up the oven.
Battered fish fingers usually take eight to 10 minutes in the oven, but we followed the instructions on top of the air fryer, which called for 12 minutes. They tasted just like my "normal" way of cooking, without wasting aluminum foil or extra energy.
Cooking nuggets in the Paris Rhone air fryer
Spoiler alert: These aren't chicken nuggets. The panel we tested this with was made up of some reviewers who prefer eating vegan and vegetarian. With that in mind, we opted for a plant-based alternative. The closest setting to the package instructions was the chicken wing function (400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes).
Though I'm #teamrealnuggies, these were *just* OK. The batter did crack a little, which made the mycoprotein middle a tad dry.
Other foods you can cook in the Paris Rhône air fryer
The Paris Rhône air fryer instruction manual surprisingly includes instructions for cake and pie cooking in the manual. But, don't be tempted to pour the batter into the basket. Instead, you'll need some food-safe containers like these OXO Good Grips silicone baking cups I found on Amazon.
Cleaning the Paris Rhône air fryer
It's recommended that you clean the air fryer after each use. As with cleaning any air fryer, you'll need to unplug it and let it cool down. There are three areas: the internal cooking chamber (where the heating element is housed), an outer body, and a tray.
For the first two, you can simply clean these with a soft damp cloth or sponge... light work! For the frying pan/tray (essentially what we'd call a basket), you'll want to make sure you've thrown any excess grease or food debris into your trash can. Then, go in with a non-abrasive bristled brush and warm soapy water to hand wash. Surprisingly, the manufacturers prefer brushes over a sponge or cleaning cloth. The only thing I'm a little concerned about is the viewing window as it appeared not to be completely water-tight. To properly wipe it down, you'd need to get a screwdriver to separate the casing and dry each part. Not a dealbreaker — but just saying!
I found it super easy to follow the above instructions. No harder than any other model I've cleaned, to be honest. That being said, I've been told by our head of ecommerce Annie Collyer and our freelance contributor Helen McCue, that a drawer-based air fryer is so much easier to clean than say the Tefal Actifry. There are no shelves to remove, so unlike the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven, you don't need to worry about those either.
With that said, Paris Rhône does have 14.8-quart and 19-quart air fryer toaster ovens, which can comfortably cook regular-sized chickens, so I'd be interested in seeing how it compares to the Cuisinart model.
How does it compare to other air fryers?
If I could compare this air fryer to another, I'd say it's a cross between the Instant Vortex Plus and the Cosori Lite — with the viewing window that the Instant Vortex Plus 6-quart Clear Cook has. That Amazon air fryer is 50% pricier, however, so if the transparent window is the feature you've fallen for, you'll save yourself $40 by buying the Paris Rhône.
Bear in mind that (generally speaking), we've rated Instant's air fryers pretty highly, so it might be worth spending that little extra for a more Americanized user experience.
Is the Paris Rhône air fryer worth it?
For an appliance that's under $80 — this air fryer is worth it! Yes, it might have less than 100 4.5-star reviews on Amazon RN, but this could be France's worst-kept secret.
