Lotus The Perfectionist Air Fry and Convection Oven Review

Design and features

• Heavy and well-made
• User friendly
• Range of functions

The Lotus Perfectionist Oven arrived in a brown cardboard box, and inside of that, a green and white branded box. Everything was packed securely to guard against damage. This is one of the heaviest countertop ovens I’ve ever tested (46 pounds), and that’s a testament to the quality build. It’s made of stainless steel and aluminum. No flimsy components here. The knobs are also crafted of quality stainless steel with a nickel finish, and designed to endure years of turning them left or right. The oven has a generous interior and can fit a 9” x 13” dish or a whole turkey. 

The Lotus Perfectionist came with plenty of accessories, including an air fry basket and tray, baking pan, removable side rack guides, two oven racks, a crumb/drop plate and a temperature probe.

The controls are all on the right side. At the top is the display panel, which shows a variety of prompts and messages. There’s an up arrow to indicate the temperature is rising, and Convention and Air Fry icons are also displayed in this area. Other messages include a notification when the desired time or temperature has been reached. When using the Toast setting, the shade and number of slices can be viewed here as well.   

Beneath the display panel are the buttons for Convection cooking, Probe cooking, and Start/Stop.

At the bottom are the two control knobs: The top knob includes the cooking selections: Proof, Warm, Air Fry, Bake, Broil, and Toast/Bagel. This is also where the cooking temperature is selected, as well as the darkness level when using the Toast and Bagel functions.

The bottom knob is where the time is selected, and in Toast/Bagel mode, it’s also where the number of slices would be selected. And directly below that, to the right, is the button to turn the interior light on and off. 

The Lotus Perfectionist is easy to care for. All of the removable parts are safe to put in the dishwasher. The control panel display, oven racks, and side rack guides can be wiped with a slightly damp sponge. The interior of the oven and the control knobs can be wiped with a damp, soapy cloth. The probe should be cleaned with soapy water, and the glass oven window should be clean with glass cleaner sprayed on a cloth. 

Performance

• Must remember to load food after preheat ends
• Cooks to perfection
• Probe ensures accurate temperature

I was impressed with the oven’s performance and it wasn’t hard to understand why this is called “The Perfectionist”. The countertop appliance does an excellent job of cooking food well on various settings.

Preheat is automatic – after selecting the temperature and time, and pressing Start, it begins the preheat process, and then beeps when the preheat cycle is over. However, I had to remember to put the tray in the oven when the preheat cycle was over – and I forgot this on at least two occasions. Fortunately, it was only for a minute or two, so the cooking time was not drastically affected – and the food turned out well, regardless.

The heating elements cycle on and off when using the oven, which helps to maintain the selected temperature. 

My first test was actually rather funny. I put the frozen Pillsbury cookies on top of the rack. In the photo of the finished test, you can see that they fell through the rack and are now underneath on the pan. However, after the cookies cooled, the rack came right off, and the cookies were delicious. 

The second time, I baked some Nestle Tollhouse cookies without the rack. I sprayed the tray with Pam Nonstick Cooking Spray. Both times, the cookies were delicious – crunchy on the outside, and soft, warm, and gooey on the inside.

In my next test, I made salmon. I used the air fryer basket and tray, and sprayed the basket with Pam spray. 

Then, I air fried the salmon at 375°F for 12 minutes – and added some rice and small tomatoes to the final meal. The salmon was light and flaky, tender and juicy on the inside. Fortunately, I cooked two pieces of salmon, so I was able to refrigerate the second piece so I didn’t have to cook the next day.

When I resumed testing, two days later, I broiled some pork chops. I seasoned the pork chops, sprayed the rack with Pam spray, and then put the pork chops in the Lotus Perfectionist. I chose Broil/Hi for about 10 minutes, then flipped the pork chops, and broiled them about 5 minutes longer.

When the meat was done, I added rice, small tomatoes, and carrots. The pork chops were browned and crunchy around the edges, and tender and juicy on the inside.

My next test was French Fries. I used the air fry basket, spraying Pam spray in the basket before loading it up with fries. I air fried at 350 degrees for around 18 minutes. 

The fries were a golden brown, and they were crunchy on the outside and hot, soft, and tasty as I bit into them.

I used Probe mode to cook chicken thighs. Note: the probe is designed to be used in either Air Fry or Bake mode, so I baked the chicken thighs. I sprayed the baking pan, inserted the meat, and then inserted the probe about 1 inch into one of the thighs. (In hindsight, I should have taken the top rack out since it wasn’t in use, but I’m in the habit of leaving both racks in most of the time.) Since I had no idea what the ideal internal temperature should be, I had to research this information online. I decided on an internal temp of 170°F – and the display screen shows the temperature every step of the way. 

When the food reached the set temperature, the oven produced a long chime and a series of short chimes. I unplugged the probe and removed the tray from the oven. The chicken thighs were delicious – they were tender, juicy, and flavorful.     

In other tests, I also used the Convection feature, which cooks food faster. Keep in mind that when using the Convection setting, the temperature should be reduced by 25°F, or the cooking time should be reduced by 25%. Lotus does not recommend the Convection feature for frozen pizza.  

I also used the Warm feature when food was done before I was ready to eat it. The Warm feature has a temperature range of 140°F and 170°F.

As a general rule, Lotus recommends a light spray of cooking oil to provide a crispier texture, and advises that most foods need to be flipped, stirred, or rotated.

Should you buy it?