Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine

George Foreman Grills are iconic and one of the only cooking items that I can think of that has a position in pop culture. The grill rose to fame through infamous adverts featuring boxing world champion George Foreman, making it a household name and highly successful product.

Full name - ‘George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine’ the idea behind the grill is to offer the benefits of two-sided cooking inside the house and to make food healthier by allowing fat to drain into a separate reservoir. This is achieved by the slanted grill channelling the fat runoff into a separate plastic container.

There are several benefits to the grill such as its portability and simple operation, in addition to those above, however, there are definite issues with the design.

Firstly its simplicity means there is no temperature control, which can become problematic when cooking certain foods. For example, I have found that if I am making a toastie, the bread will burn before the cheese has been able to melt on the inside. I appreciate that the intended use of the grill is to cook meats, but it is a little frustrating that it can't be effectively utilised for other foods.

The non-stick surface makes it easy to wipe down, however, it is not designed for proper cleaning. The grill does not come apart, so you can't take the plates off and wash them separately and it's not easy to wash in the sink without getting electricals wet. This leaves the only option to wash on the worktop, which creates lots of mess in your kitchen and doesn’t give you the best results.

Lastly, despite being marketed to adjust well to different thicknesses of food, I have not found that the case. I’ve found that if you put something too thick in it, only the back section will get proper contact with the grill, meaning you need to flip your food, defeating the point of the double grill.

I don’t hate the George Foreman, and I don’t even think that the negatives that I have spoken about make it badly designed I think that it’s a brilliant concept and useful for many situations. However, the issues mean it is not ‘great design’, and I think this is what sets the good and great design apart. Good design solves an issue, whereas great design solves an issue but works brilliantly in its other aspects. Not every item can be great, and not every item needs to be, but in this case, I do wish some of these issues had been thought about.